Bare wood mouldings

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Woodypk
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Bare wood mouldings

Post by Woodypk »

Evening all,

Historically, I’ve always made my own mouldings, being a woodworker rather than a framer.

Because of this, I’ve never bought pre made mouldings and so I’m not sure where is the best place to get bare wood mouldings in Oak and Ash at a decent price. I have no idea what I can expect to pay per meter.

Is it always the case that I’d need to open a trade account to get the best deals? I live around 15 mins from mainline mouldings but their range isn’t the most expansive…

I’m planning to re-introduce pre-made frames after having some time off making/selling them. I’ve just had a couple of sets of blades sharpened up and now I’m ready to get chopping again…. Just this time trying to weigh up the time saving of making my own from rough sawn timber vs cost of buying them in (they’re all basic flat profiles that I’m making/looking to buy).

Any advice would be greatly received.
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by Justintime »

You will find the best selection and price at Rose&Hollis in London. Yes you will need a trade account. They'll send out a catalogue and price list. Their website is quite basic and you can request login details when you have an account.
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Woodypk
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by Woodypk »

Thanks for the reply, Justin.

I’ve just had a quick look at their website and it seems there is no obvious way to set up an account. Is it something I’d have to do by email or over the phone? And, if you use them, would you know if you need to place a minimum price order before they’ll deal with you as a new customer?

Thanks.
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by Fruitini »

I’d give them a call although they won’t be there till Monday morning. You’ll have a apply for an account and I expect they’ll ask you for a business reference or two (a company you already do business with). I’m not sure if there is a minimum order value but you have to pay carriage on all orders - they don’t offer a free carriage break point. Don’t expect discounts as a new customer if you are only buying small volumes. You’ll pay book prices which range from £2-3 per metre for the narrowest stuff up to £13-14 pm for the biggest. Regular custom brings discounts which you’ll have to negotiate.
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by Justintime »

No minimum order.
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prospero
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by prospero »

I can heartily recommend R&H. I have dealt with them for nigh-on 40 years. :lol:

Very friendly and helpful normally turn orders around so you get them next day. :clap:

Give them a call. :wink:
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by vintage frames »

As everyone has said, R&H are the main men when it comes to bare-wood mouldings. They'll even send you one stick of moulding if that's all you need at the time.
Your only limit will be from their off the shelf selection of profiles.
If you have all the kit then sometimes it's better to run your own moulding from sawn planks. That way you get the exact profile you want.

Oak is especially interesting in that the supplied profiles are milled from the most economical cuts of lumber. In other words, its hit or miss whether you get a good grain pattern on the front face of the moulding.
Selecting your own quarter-sawn planks will give you more control over that appearance.
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Woodypk
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by Woodypk »

Thanks all, for the replies.

I managed to get a copy of a catalogue from a very helpful poster in this thread and I'm really surprised at the costs.

According to the catalogue prices (not including any bulk buy discount), it looks like it's around 4 times as expensive to buy the mouldings from R&H than it is to make my own in Oak.

Obviously there's my time which needs to be taken into consideration but even with my time, I think there'd be a fair saving to be had by continuing to make my own...

...Bummer!

Anyways, best get back to slicing those boards - the moulding isn't going to make it's self...
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by Justintime »

No surprise really. If you factor in all of your equipment depreciation, your labour, your overheads of running your workshop, heating, lighting, power, tea bags (delivery charges) oh and a profit margin (and in their case North London warehousing and business rates) you're probably about there.
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by prospero »

:D You could bake your own bread for a fraction of the supermarket price. :lol:
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by vintage frames »

I make all my own mouldings (yawn) and I do that because I want to have complete control over the shape of the profile and the wood species it's made from.
That's why I get the business I do.
If a customer insisted on an exact copy of a R&H profile however, I'd be mad not to just buy it in and concentrate more on the finish I'm going to apply to it.
And that's also why I get that business.

Of course, it's always cheaper to make your own but you have to balance that against what the customer is looking for, ie how will the frame look after finishing, and the time spent machining away in the wood-working room.
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by Bobble »

Best laugh since pre-Thursday, thank you all.
Woodypk
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by Woodypk »

Thanks for the input guys.

Anyways, I'm in a very unique position at the moment where the time spent making my own (and the energy expenditure) doesn't really warrant me spending the additional - I didn't realist it would be quite that much more expensive, but as Justin points out, a profit must be made by all!

With regards the control over the dimensions of the moulding, I agree, it's nice to be able to keep hold of my own specification by creating my own. It would kill me to have to pay all that dosh and then take them to the saw and rip them down because the profile was too deep...

Once again, thanks all for you input, it's been greatly appreciated.

Tom
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prospero
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Re: Bare wood mouldings

Post by prospero »

I understand where you are coming from Tom. Making simple profiles with a basic router table is fine if you have the
wood and you don't need 100s of feet.

I used to make a little profile which was a 'bridge' piece for a stacked combination. It was basically a rectangular section
with a step cut into it. It didn't matter how rough it was as it wasn't seen and I just ripped a 44x12 bit of Pine from Wickes
to make 20x12 and fed it through my router table. This was sort-of OK until I started using more and more. Then it became
a rather tedious process so I had some milled in Obeche. I'm on my second batch of 600ft. :P I costs a bit more, but it saves
a lot of time.
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