# What to do with Craftsman #9-3214 Molding Head w/out cutters



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I’m trying to get rid of a lot of my stuff and I came across a Craftsman #9-3214 Molding Head. I bought it from Sears on clearance probably 20 yrs or more for $5 if I remember right. At the time I thought I would buy new cutters to make a complete set, but the cutters cost more than a complete set new. 










I don’t know what to do with it now, its kind a nice heavy piece of metal with a good clean feel about it. It could make a good paper weight or holding small stuff down for gluing I guess. :grin:

I was looking on ebay for cutters and saw two others selling the exact same thing I have for around $10 which makes me wonder how many there are of these floating around.

I bought one of these in 1970 for a 12” radial saw I had and ending up selling everything including the RAS for $200 to buy books for collage. I had every accessory you could buy for that saw and never even got to use some of it. I wish I still had all the stuff.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I would buy the cutters so that I could work with the tool.

George


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*That's a nice one*

Some of those only have a slot for one cutter. Yours is a 3 cutter set, better in my opinion. I would go on Ebay and pick up a complete set including all the cutters. that way you can leave the most used cutters in the 2 heads.
Your cutters probably ended up selling with the RAS... sorry.... OR you may still find them in a box in a drawer somewhere.... who knows? :wink2:


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> ...
> Your cutters probably ended up selling with the RAS... sorry.... OR you may still find them in a box in a drawer somewhere.... who knows? :wink2:


I bought it from Sears on clearance without the cutters years ago. I figured someone stole the cutters out of the package and that's why they were on clearance.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The best use would be a paper weight. You can still buy the cutters however that molding head cuts really rough. It's like running a jack hammer to make molding with it.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*turn the cutters around ....?*



Steve Neul said:


> The best use would be a paper weight. You can still buy the cutters however that molding head cuts really rough. It's like running a jack hammer to make molding with it.


I know you don't/can't watch You Tubes, but here's one using the same cutter head as Sleeper's as a dado head to relieve the back side of casing:






It's really loud, but doesn't seem to chatter. I have one like Sleeper's but I haven't had a need to use it yet. The video mentions having put one of the cutters in backwards so it may be easy to make that mistake.

Another video showing it used on the RAS:
https://youtu.be/JRviFZLXBi8?t=513

in use:
https://youtu.be/JRviFZLXBi8?t=735


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

Sleeper,
I ran one of those molding cutters on a table saw just long enough to know I did not like it. 
To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid of it. It was loud, out of balance, vibrated something awful and I could just imagine one of the cutters flying out towards me. 
I finished the job realizing I never wanted to use one of those again. 
I realize there's probably some on this forum that use these molders regularly, but I pass. 
Like Steve says, it might make a good paperweight.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Well I do remember being afraid of it when I used it on my RAS, but I have never tried it on a Table Saw. It didn't look too bad in the video Bill showed on the Table Saw.

I know they can be loud and scary and I remember turning on my dads shaper when I was about 8 years old. The noise really scared the hell out of me and I never turned it back on again.

I don't think I would want to try a one cutter molding head.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Steve Neul said:


> The best use would be a paper weight. You can still buy the cutters however that molding head cuts really rough. It's like running a jack hammer to make molding with it.


I have/use one of those and it works very well. No roughness in finished but.

George


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> I know you don't/can't watch You Tubes, but here's one using the same cutter head as Sleeper's as a dado head to relieve the back side of casing:
> 
> Craftsman 3214 Molding Head Set-up and Use - YouTube
> 
> ...


When I went into business I used one for more than a year until I got a shaper. They do chatter quite a bit compared to a router or shaper. I even made a set of knives to do cabinet doors. I literally made double the rails that I needed in case of blow out and occasionally had to set up the coping again because I lost too many parts. I was using it then on my radial arm saw. Once I got a shaper I began using the cutterhead with one knife on the table saw running wide base molding which was awkward to do on a shaper. Since then I bought a Belsaw molder so while I still have the craftsman cutterheads they don't get used anymore.


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## FishFactory (Nov 8, 2013)

If you haven't decided what to do i would be interested in buying it. I used one for quite some time. It is my father's.....works well. I have a smaller one but it won't work in my saw.....I have a full set of cutters. Pm me if you're interested.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

Fwiw
I have the single cutter version of the moulding cutter.
It works great. Isn't loud. Doesn't chatter. Doesn't vibrate.
I like the idea that you only have to sharpen 1 cutter, and don't have to worry about 3 cutters being sharpened the same. Makes it easy to modify a profile.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

You have two choices, lose it or use it.

I used one on a radial arm saw until I bought a router, never used it much after that.

Someone that already has one and still uses it might be glad to take it off your hands for the convince of having a second head.

Personally I would buy router bits before bothering with cutters for it.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

Here are some profiles that can be done with the moulding cutter.


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

seems every shop around here has one in their drawer somewhere. I have two 3 cutter and a one single. 


imho where these shine is that they use hss cutters, so you can grind your own profiles.


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## tewitt1949 (Nov 26, 2013)

A friend of mine had one on his RAS. I left the shop until he was done. Good way to get hurt!!!


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