Dado rail help

[Kcbh]

Hi…Grab a cuppa, it’s a bit of a long one..
I’m trying to fit a new dado rail. The straight walls are fine, cutting corners etc all fine but I have a 90° curve in one wall, not an angle… the walls are 90° to each other but with a nice curve between the walls… should be able to see in the picture.
My initial thought was to steam the dado rail enabling it to bend but obvs can’t do that with MDF rail and pine just won’t bend that far without snapping. So I have made a silicone mould of the rail, in the hope that I can fill it with filler or something similar, bend it around the curve and hope that I can make it stick to the wall…
Is this possible or am I wasting my time?
I wanted one smooth piece rather than small cuts and filling the gaps….
Many thanks and sorry for the long post..

 

[blup]

The traditional way was to cut grooves in the back to help it bend, but keep them hidden. Works with mdf afaik, so you could practice

 

[conny]

I had this in my last house, skirting and coving going around a corner.
I got round it by doing double thick cuts across the back, cutting quite close to the front. You will probably cut through at the recessed moulding sections but this can't be avoided but can be filled in later before painting. Measure the distance around the curve and add about 3" each end. Find the centre of the curve on the wall and measure out till you reach the flat section. Add another inch or more to this measurement. do this for both sides from the centre point. Now find the centre of your cut board and transfer these measurements to each side of the centre line. Now cut your slots in the back of the board. You could cut them in a 'wedge' profile so the end near the front face will be thin and the end at the back will be wider. This will allow the wood to bend in a slightly tight curve.
Don't try to bend dry wood. I laid mine across two supports over a self-made trough of bricks lined with cling film to act as a bath. Each morning and evening I would liberally spray hot water over the whole section and put weights on the form the bend. It will eventually be below water level so I would then raise the supports by another brick until it was the right radius. I then tied a rope around the ends to hold it in position until it dried out. I would suggest trying it with a length of scrap wood for a trial first, (doesn't have to be skirting, a plain plank of similar thickness will do for trying).
Patience is the key. Without a proper steam oven, it will take time but can be done. any cuts that come through the front moulding can be filled and sanded to the profile once it's installed.

 

[opps]

I have worked in many houses where the carpenter used small sections.

As a decorator, it would take me almost a whole day to round off a skirting like the one in your image. I use profiled bits of timber to sand away the sharp edges and then back fill with two pack filler, sand that and refill/re-sand as required.

I am not sure that steaming a dado will work. My (limited) understanding is that whilst it will bend, it will deform because the upper part is much thicker than the lower part. The result will be that although it will bend around the corner, it will dip downwards as it goes around the corner.

I believe that the Victorians made a reverse profile of the dado and ran a plaster profile in situ.

I live in a house with a hockey stick window bay- meaning that it has an internal, rather than external, bend. I used plaster to make the rough profile and then used filler over the top of that. That was almost 30 years ago, and it is still fine.