In 2015, we "on paper" designed a new cove-style brace for our line of corbels for countertops and shelves. It is similar to our concave brace design, except it looks "beefier" when viewed from the front.
However, there was a problem; we weren't confident that we could effectively produce them. After some consideration, we dismissed the option of using the method that we use for our concave and convex braces for our corbels. Flush trim routing, also called pattern routing, would be too problematic and potentially dangerous because the cove brace does not have much surface area (it's 3/4" wide) and is too tall (1 5/8".)
So, we decided to use a "cold" laminating technique and build bending forms to glue and clamp six, 1/8" strips. But, after about two weeks of trial and error, I decided to quit the process because there were too many expensive and time-consuming problems to solve.
Next, Steve and I decided it was finally time to spend the necessary time and effort to create a method for flush trimming the parts by sanding. After extensively researching the market for the sanding machine that we had imagined, we concluded that there was nothing available for our task. Steve decided that he could design a custom idler drum for our existing edge sander. He had a machinist build it to his specs and attached a large bearing to the bottom of the drum, allowing us to efficiently flush trim sand our corbel parts. To my knowledge, we are the only manufacturer using this technique. We will gladly discuss the details of this machine if you give us a call.
Despite being our most expensive brace option, the cove brace is now our best selling corbel design and my personal favorite.