Bespoke Picture Rails - advice needed please

[bignickit]

Hi,

Im redecorating one of my bedrooms and have just had the plasterers in. In the process of replastering, i had to remove the picture rail from the wall, which has damaged it beyond repair.

I want to replace it with the same design, as the picture rail is the same on the other walls in the room and also in every room in the house. The issue is, as the picture rail is from the 1930s, i cant find the same design anywhere.

Does anyone have any advice on how to solve this with basic shop tools (hand tools, router (nothing too specialist))

Ive attached a drawing of the picture rail cross section.

All advice welcome! thanks in advance.[attachment=0]

 

[AndyT]

This is quite easy to do and for the section shown won't even need unusual tools. You will need a rebate plane.
The main challenge is holding the work. The answer is to make a "sticking board" which is just two long thin boards, a wider one underneath and a narrower one on top, screwed together. The technique is most often discussed with reference to sash windows which are generally relatively small. You'll need to make something as long as your bench to get decent lengths of picture rail. The sticking board holds your work still while giving free access to the whole length.
Start with a rectangular section as big as the overall finished size. Tuck it into the long corner between the two boards, with a stop screw at either end to hold it in place.

Mark the section on the ends of the wood. First plane the rebate, using a rebate plane or plough plane or router. The sticking board needs to be arranged to give room for the plane's fence to run against the edge of the work. Then do the round top, by repeated chamfering. Finish with sandpaper. (A hollow plane would be good for this but you can get by without one.) Then turn the wood round and plane the angle.

This recent video shows the sort of thing but there are plenty of others.

https://youtu.be/ch5TgxSEt8I.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Andy is probably too modest to say, but he very kindly made me a small piece (with moulding planes!), to go in a bedroom I was decorating, so he knows his stuff.

I have seen the profile you show in builders merchants though, so you might find it yet.

[edit] I was going to say do the whole room, but if the plaster is old, that could be unpleasantly dramatic! If your repair is the window wall (most likely), the corner mitres won't be easy to see, because of the way the light falls so you won't need a perfect match. And the outside mitres into the window reveal are hidden by curtains usually too. So go for it! I usually use long screws rather than nails (traditional) though, as I like pictures not to fall off the wall...

 

[bugbear]

This is "similar"

https://www.wrp-timber-mouldings.co.uk/ ... rail-frame

You could either use it "as is", or use it was a time saver, and work it to be closer to your measured profile.

EDIT: PR3 also looks good, here:
http://www.midlandmouldings.co.uk/timbe ... e-rail.php

BugBear