7 in. Craftsman Molding Head Set is a great buy! January 26, 2012

Sears, I believe, must be clearing out their molding head cutter sets!  At the current price of $25 they are a great buy for the woodworker who knows how to use them!  That is a key element in this, knowing how to use them because, like any other power tool accessory, these things can take a nasty bite out of you if you don't watch what you're doing!

I bought this set for a very specific job (kitchen cabinets for the wife) and the cutter I needed was right there in the pack!  Score!

I got this set home and immediately opened up the instructions and read through them thoroughly.  A set like this can be an extremely dangerous thing since you have to remove the blade guard and riving knives to use them.  Essentially the bits are cutting profiles in larger pieces of wood so the usual safety devices cannot be in place.

With the molding head adaptor in place and the blades firmly locked in I replaced the original table saw throat plate with the stacked dado/molding head throat plate and turned on the saw.  I have to tell you, the table saw makes a nice whirring sound when it runs but with the molding set in there that sound almost becomes sinister and is a great reminder to keep your hands clear of this bad boy at all times!

With the saw running and the blades just above the table top I ran the first scrap piece over the bead blade and a nice little bead was formed.  Not changing anything but the blade height I ran the same piece back over the blade and there was a very nice, crisp single bead left in the wood.  Perfect, this is exactly what my wife wanted for her cabinet doors!

I finished milling all of the wood door frames using the same technique where I ran all the pieces with a shallow cut first and then a second pass to reach the depth of the bead we wanted and each one of them was as clean a cut as one could hope for!  The wood, by the way was poplar so there wasn't too much wear and tear on the blades as demonstrated by the next round of cuts I did for a laundry room cabinet door.

I have used a few of the other blades that came with the set and was able to make some really cool moldings for a couple of projects I have been working on and will certainly use them again for some upcoming projects I have.  For instance, I will by all means use them to create the moldings for our new pool cue rack that will feature some federal, or colonial styling to it.  inside the cue rack I'll be putting in a dart board and dart storage (in the doors) just like the one we saw at Sears!

All in all this is a great addition to the table saw and the radial arm saw if your shop is so equipped!  We have both and they both are just that much more versatile than ever before!  The greatest thing about this set is that I can still get other profile blades from Sears in order to complete other projects that the table saw could do just that much faster than a router.

If you have a need and $25 (plus tax) then head over to Sears and get you one of the greatest tool accessories they have ever sold, the Craftsman Molding Head Set , 7 in. Diameter!

Replacement cutters are available. http://www.corobcutters.com January 31, 2010

I have used this molding head for over 25 years, I think. (I don't know exactly when I got it.) When used on a radial arm saw with the appropriate cutters and care in alignment, it will produce easily almost any medium to large scale molding you can design. And it will do it easier than a shaper or router. For simpler jobs (standard shapes for cabinetry, for example) it is at least the equal of most router or shaper setups. That said, though,  it is easier to work around a router table than it is to be reaching around a radial arm saw and cutter head.  

The only complaint I have is that the cutters came from the factory slightly unbalanced. I didn't realize this until I had to sharpen a set of cutters. I made a template to guide me as I reground the cutters and discovered that each cutter projected a slightly different distance from the template! I ground them all to the template and found that the (admittedly slight) vibration in the head had disappeared.

Even if Sears does not sell new cutters you can get them from http://www.corobcutters.com

I just took a look at their site (1/31/10) and the cost seems to be $16 per set. They have big discounts on multiple pattern sets and a 3 for the price of 2 offer also.

moulding cutter October 22, 2008

this would be a replacement for one i have used up, however it was missing the one set of cutters i really needed so it willl be returned. you do not make the one set i need anymore!!!!!!!! i have used this set a lot works fine , paid for itself on the first house i did and it has done 4 houses.

Product Not Supported July 12, 2008

This product works fine if you have sharp blades. Sears no longer supports this product by selling replacement blades. I would not buy the molding head cutter set knowing that replacement blades are not available!