LRH Magic Molder — and the Amazon Alternative

LRH Enterprises sells the Magic Molder direct and through specialist retailers rather than Amazon. The Corob head scored here is the equivalent Amazon stocks, and the principle is identical.

What a molding head is

A steel body that mounts on the table saw arbor in place of the blade, carrying two or three interchangeable profile knives. Raise it through the table, guide the stock along a fence, and it cuts the knives’ profile into the edge.

It is effectively a small spindle moulder using the saw’s motor and arbor, and for running architrave, skirting profiles, coves and beads it is genuinely capable.

What it needs before you switch it on

A zero-clearance insert cut for the head. The standard throat plate has an opening for a thin blade. A molding head is much wider and will hit it. You need an insert made for the head, and you make it by lowering the head below the table, clamping a blank insert down, and raising the head through it with the saw running.

A fence with a cutout, so the head can be partially buried and only part of the profile exposed.

Feather boards or hold-downs. A wide cutter grabs. Stock must be held down and against the fence throughout.

None of this is optional, and it is why molding heads have a reputation among people who used them without it.

Check your saw first

Molding heads need a long enough arbor to take the head and the nut. Many saws sold in the UK, EU and Australia have deliberately short arbors, and a riving knife that cannot be removed — which is exactly the safety design that also rules out dado stacks.

If your saw is one of those, a router table is the right tool for mouldings and this is not a purchase to force.

Feed slowly, in passes

Take the profile in two or three passes, raising the head each time. Full depth in one pass in hardwood is where these throw work back at you.