Utilizing Stacked Base and Crown Plates
As I admire specific aspects of clock designs, replicating thick and complex edge profiled base, pediment, and crown plates typically is one aspect of the design that I have to pay close attention.
Most recreational woodworkers (like me) do not have access to shaper/molders and/or custom ground cutters. For sure there are large and complex design router bits available that will profile edges of stock that is quite thick. These bits, however, require large table-mounted routers and require a certain level of expertise to safely use. They also are quite expensive to purchase.
Woodworkers, more typically, have access to handheld routers and small horsepower table-mounted routers and rely on small, affordable, stock router bits available through woodworking supply catalogs or our local retail outlets such as (Sears, Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, etc.).
The good news is that it is actually not all that difficult to design beautiful bases, pediments, crowns for clock cases with small, stock router bits by laminating (stacking) different length & width and thickness plates together with individually machined edge profiles that will, when laminated together, provide a nice decorative edged base pediment or crown for the clock.
Most of the woodworking supply catalogs will illustrate the bits at full size or at a specified % reduced size and they will generally show an illustration of what the profile will look like on the edge of the wood. Referencing these illustrations and the specified cut depth, cut width, cut height, and radii dimensions provided, you can put together any number of plate laminates to accomplish the overall appearance you want.
Written By: John Cooper
John spent the better part of the 28 years he was employed by Klockit, designing hundreds of clock and furniture kits and plans and has continued with product design since his retirement in 2008. John’s love of clocks, his passion for creating furniture for his own home as well as for family, and his great appreciation for the beautiful finished pieces Klockit customers make from our kits and plans inspire him to continue to create still more new clock and furniture designs.
