Wood Furniture Moulding | How It's Made

Embossing Wheels

This section describes the process of embossing wood using wheels that date back to 1908.

Embossing Process

• Some of the embossing wheels at this shop date back to 1908.

• The oldest wheels are made of bronze and the newer ones are made of steel.

• There are hundreds of patterns to choose from.

• The worker selects the wheel with the desired pattern and mounts it to an embossing machine that was built in 1908.

• The worker locks the embossing wheel onto the shaft and ignites torches that heat the embossing wheel.

• As the hot wheel revolves, it presses the pattern into a molded strip of wood.

• The heat releases moisture from the wood, preventing splintering during embossing.

• A drive wheel below works in concert with the embossing wheel to move the wood forward.

Rosettes

This section explains how rosettes are used to accentuate furniture corners, windows, and doors.

Making Rosettes

• Using a sliding apparatus known as a sled, a woodworker delivers a board to the teeth of a saw.

• He makes straight cuts and squares to desired dimensions.

• The worker draws lines from one corner of the wood square to another and from opposite sides.

• The lines intersect at exact center of square.

• The worker clamps the square in a milling machine with the cutting tool aimed directly at the center.

• He activates the tool to make the first circular cut.

• The worker removes the wood square to check out the cut and measures it to confirm that it is in fact dead center.

• He returns the square to platform under milling tool.

• This time, cutter spins into wood to make wider and deeper circular cut.

• This further expands pattern in radial fashion and completes rosette pattern.