# Help identifying curved corner block



## ghoustro (Oct 26, 2015)

I'm looking for some help finding out the name of a particular type of corner block/rosette for window and door trim. I've seen it on several older (late 1800's) houses around where I live in Minneapolis, but I'm having a hard time even finding any pictures online other than this one:










The ones I've seen are usually a little over 4" like the standard square corner blocks with the circle in the middle, only they're curved, generally with a continuation of the profile on the rest of the trim. Unlike the one in the picture, the ones I've seen are generally fluted and a little simpler with the same depth throughout, which is what I'm going for.

Anyone know of a place I could order the curved ones? I'm doing the trim for my kitchen renovation, and I think I can handle the rest of the trim in my shop, but I don't think I have the ability to make these curved blocks.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

I have never seen that type of trim, I have seen plenty of the corner block/rosettes but never the quartered one like that. For it to be a matched profile like that one it would have to be a special order and it would not be cheap at all. 

That would take one heck of a cutter to make a round one then quarter it. The diameter would have to include the thickness of the saw blade to quarter it. I would suggest checking with all the custom mill shops around or a machine shop who makes special order cutters.


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## Ghidrah (Mar 2, 2010)

The closest thing I found is at the bottom of this page midwestcustomwoodworks.com

If you're producing your own casing with router bits, you maybe could do the radius block yourself then 1/4 it. Otherwise you're looking at using an established Co or maybe someone with a CNC


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Do you have even one (1) original block? If so then use it as a pattern to make an exact mold.

The replacement blocks would not have to be made of wood if you are painting them. Make the mold and then fill with plaster of paris or any other material you prefer.

George


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

My first thought was turned on a lathe and quartered.

Plaster casting from a mold would work. Picture framer friend was doing a restoration of a massive carved and gilded frame. Much to my surprise, the entire carving was plaster pieces. He had cleaned away a damaged section and was getting ready to make a mold of the frame carving, elsewhere on the frame, to fit in as the missing piece.


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

Turned on a lathe...then,pie cut.

My gut feeling is this is bad juju.Not to the O.P.....to that,we thank you for posting.

Nope,it's an industry issue.A spiraling down of the crafts.Very hard to explain.But point in fact...it's a virus of sorts.You could look at it as an equation,money/divided by time(or vs-vs).The original "spread sheet",where we decide how money and time relate to each other.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Pies should never be cut into more than 4 pieces, no matter how much ice cream is available.
Pie making is an up-spiral craft, judging by the scattered fragments. One sure way to get what I want.
What was the question? Snowing here = brain freeze.


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## ghoustro (Oct 26, 2015)

*followup*

Thanks for the input everyone. Actually my kitchen didn't originally have this type of trim, but it was part of a later addition that had different trim from the rest of the house (in bad shape and painted a million times so I removed it). I just like the curved corner blocks so I decided to try and use them after seeing them in other houses in the area. I'm not planning on painting the trim so unfortunately plaster isn't an option for me. Maybe I'll check some salvage places. The Midwest Custom Woodworks link comes pretty close to what I had in mind, thanks for finding that. But, the rest of the casing in my house is actually more like 4.5", so I think my corner blocks will need to be closer to 5" now that I think about it. I'm starting to lean toward just doing plain casing and making the corner pieces myself with just rounded edges and no fancy millwork. The rest of the kitchen is going to look fairly modern so I think it would fit the aesthetic.


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