Trimming 3/4" t-molding to 5/8"

[opt2not]

I'm working on restoring a cabinet that was made with 5/8" thick wood, and have been trying to find green coloured t-molding that'll fit snug. Most of the sites I've searched through have 3/4" thick t-molding, none of them carry 5/8".

I've checked all the usual suspects (t-molding.com, etc...), to no avail.

Basically I have two options:
1. Give up and use another colour.
2. Do what the t-molding.com guys suggest and order the 3/4" molding, then trim it down to 5/8".

#1 is easiest, but I'd like to entertain the idea of #2 as it'll really make the cabinet sing with the green t-molding.  My question is, what would the best solution for  trimming the thickness of 3/4" t-molding to 5/8"? ...and would that even look good? I'm scared I wouldn't be able to trim it straight as well as it turning out not smooth looking.

Any suggestions would help a bunch.
Thanks!

[Chadwick]

Utility knife + steady hand 

[HaRuMaN]

router + flush trim bit?

on second thought... that may not work well...  best to test on scrap first

[Dustin Mustangs]

Triming T-molding to size is a piece of cake if you do it right.  In fact, most furniture / cabinet makers buy it slightly over-sized on purpose so it can be trimmed once installed to ensure a perfect fit.  This is because the slot is not always perfectly centered on the edge and there are also manufacturing tolerances for both the board and the t-modling that can leave the edge of your board partially exposed.

Here is how they do it:

Install it on your board as you normally would.  This includes construction (or other type of) adhesive in the slot at each end of the molding which most people don't do.  Once that's done, find or buy a chisel of the same style shown in my pic.  Hold it as I am in the pic and simply run it all the way around your board on each side.  The blade is pinched between your thumb (which is directly over the edge of the board) and your index finger (which is under the blade and against the edge of the board).  It will slice though the t-molding like butter and leave it perfectly flush with the surface. 

A couple of important notes:   

The chisel needs a perfect edge on it.  Any chips or gouges on its blade could scratch your board so finding/buying a nice one is important (they are cheap and easy to find).  Be sure to grip it as I have shown and described with the bottom of it FLAT on the board (so you don't gouge it) and with the cutting edge at a 45` angle to the t-molding.  This is exactly how I am holding it in the pic.

This is REALLY easy and the result is so much nicer then buying it the exact size you need.  I did my whole cab with this technique and it looks awesome although the pic is of a speaker shelf I made with some of the scrap.

[opt2not]

Thanks a lot for the advice! I'm going to give this a shot and order the 3/4".
I totally get your point about the non-centered groove for the molding teeth, it makes sense to do it this way if I want a perfectly flush edge and rely less on the routing.
I'll just have to be steady and patient with the cutting.

Awesome feedback! Thanks again.
 

[Dustin Mustangs]

You'll be surprised how easy it is to get a perfect edge.  Really, I could do it with my eyes shut just by feel and I'm by no means an expert.  You'll see what I mean when you give it a try. 

Glad I could help!

 

[Chadwick]

Dustin's idea is better than mine.  I recommend you try it his way.

[MarkMapo]

Yes - a SHARP chisel, with the emphasis on SHARP.  The Sharper the better.  I've even re-sharpened on a wet stone after one side before going to the next.

Everthing he said is true - hold FLAT to the cabinet (you'll dig in if you start lifting up).  However, I've found that I do it in 2 passes.  The first pass you're just getting the bulk, the second pass is for smoooooooth.

If you do happen to dig into the edge of the T-molding (and leave a knife like nick), then just heat it slightly and it smooths out perfectly.

This works with regular edging too - but if you use wood edging, sometimes the grain in the wood will "pull" the chisel into the cabinet (this is why I do 2 passes).

[TheShanMan]

Great tip here. I have a DK cab that used offset t-molding, so trimming is my only option. I hadn't considered using a chisel.