ecw

i'm on a job where the designs have changed for the elliptical arches. they were originally smooth arches about 2' wide by 5' long, now they want raised panels in them. the construction is finished and primed so ripping them out & starting over is not an option. we used 1/8" masonite (cut to the desired sizes for the styles & rails) & nailed it on to use as straight edge guides then routed them out. being elliptical, of course the router keeps jumping off the guide, & being over head it is impossible to consistantly see the work. the 1/8" is the only thing that will bend to the elliptical. does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this ?
eric

woodnthings

Can you post a photo? How wide/thick/deep is the material you're are routing? from the side? from the bottom? Upside down? Vertical profile bits? Small hand held trim router? What's the section look like? Need more info. bill

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ecw

can't post pics, however can answer questions such as these. the object is not to route the panels in place, those will be built in a form & done separetly. the questions i have are regarding the cutting out of the flat panels, leaving the styles & rails in place thereby the existing flat (2' wide by 5' long by 3/4" deep)elliptical arch becomes the styles and rails when the (to be) panels areas are removed, this is due to the fact that the construction is complete(casing, coloumns & placement, capitals, etc.) & primed.
routing from the bottom side of the arch.
currently using small trim router.
section is currently one elliptical smooth surface, when completed to have three equall sized raised panels.

i'm wondering if there is an easier method to cut out the existing surface, leaving the style & rail system?

ecw

correction: "cutting out of the flat panels" to be "cutting out of the flat sections"
third line

cabinetman

If I understand what you are describing, you want to cut sections out of the flat panel, and what remains would appear to be frames that look like rails and stiles?

jaros bros.

Can you cut out a nice template out of heavy paper and transfer it to mdf? You could then fabricate your raised panels and install them and just place a moulding over the top of the edges and butted into the stiles and rails. Perhaps flexible moulding would be the best.

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ecw

cabinetman is correct

ecw

as far as the raised panels go that is not a problem & yes we're using flexible moulding. thanks for the thought though.

cabinetman

This is just an idea that might save you some time and headache, and I'm guessing you already considered it. Instead of cutting out the face, why not make up R&S type panels and just add the panels to the face.

ecw

adding to the face would change the reveal. the arch allready has casing on it with a 3/16" reveal. this reveal must remain 3/16", to apply anything to the face and have the raised panels plane with the stiles & rails would change that reveal.
tomarrow we'll finish with the arches. i was just hoping that for future reference somone might have an idea for an easier method.
thanks for all the considerations though.
eric