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Custom Molding

Miters are pretty standard for trim work, but all of the 45° cuts really slow down installation. I prefer rosettes, corner blocks, and plinth blocks because they make cutting a breeze and, in my opinion, add a bit of elegance. Unfortunately, the trim my wife and I selected didn't work with off-the-shelf blocks. So, I decided to make my own. Not only was I able make blocks that fit our trim, but could make more than 10 plinth blocks for the price of one off the shelf! Here's how I did it.

1. Trim to Width

I went super-low-end on my lumber. Just a standard 2"x6" for under $4. Dimensional lumber usually comes with rounded corners. So, I started by trimming my boards to width at the table saw. In my case, that was 4". If you were shooting for 3" widths, you could probably use a 2"x4". You definitely need about a half inch more than your final width so that you can trim the rounded edges.

Trimmed lumber — Lumber trimmed to width.

2. Route the Vertical Edges

If I routed each block individually, there wasn't enough surface area to get clean, straight router passes. To minimize any wonky routing, I routed what would become the sides, or vertical edges, before cutting the board into individual blocks. That gave me one nice long pass through the router table with a lot of stability. I used a CMT 3/32" radius ogee bit to shape the edges. I only had the plunge bit. A guided bit probably would have worked a bit better, but sometimes you make do with what you have. If you have a bit with a guide bearing and an appropriate shape, you'll probably have straighter cuts than I did. But mine weren't horrible. You can totally do without guide bearings.

Router and trimmed board — Note how routing the whole board gives you more stability against the fence.

3. Cut Individual Blocks

After routing the horizontal edges, I cut the board into individual blocks. You could setup a stop on your miter saw. I just used the guide on my miter saw's fence.

Board at miter saw — About to trim boards to length.

4. Route the Horizontal Edge(s)

Now that I had individual blocks, I went back to the router table to shape the top and bottom edges as needed. The 4" or 1 1/2" width of the blocks wasn't enough for the router table fence to support, so I used the miter gauge to guide the pieces past the bit.

Tip: If you get a wobbly router pass on a corner block, you can try routing the opposite corners. When you install, just put the wobbly cut edges to the wall. The bad edges will be hidden by trim.

Router and individual block — Using the miter gauge to support the block at the router.

5. Sand and Finish

From there, it was just a matter of filling any unwanted knots/cracks, sanding, priming, and painting the blocks.

6. Install

Due to the thickness of my blocks, I needed to get 2 1/2" finishing nails. Anything less was just anchoring into drywall. If my finish nailer accepted longer nails, I would have liked a bit more length. But, 2 1/2" was able to grab onto the header and door frame.

Inside corner block — Installed inside corner block.

7. Enjoy

Between the look of the corner and plinth blocks, the elimination of cutting 45° angles everywhere, and a material cost savings, I'm really happy with the decision to build my own molding. You may be asking, "What about the bullseye or flower designs you find on most off-the-shelf rosettes? These look pretty plain without a design." True. But fear not. I have an update on the way that will really put the "custom" in "custom molding."