alternative methods for attaching door trim

Just curious, but why not nails?

-- Kinky Friedman: "The first thing I'll do if I'm elected is demand a recount."

Rare earth magnets :-)

-- "Checking for square? What madness is this! The cabinet is square because I will it to be so!" Jeremy Greiner LJ Topic#20953 2011 Feb 2

wait for it….Velcro stickies! :D

Thanks shopguryl !

OK you other guys, this was not an april fool question – just wanted to avoid the nails/putty etc. – thought you
would have come up with something more inventive and realistic like splines or something.

I’ll stick with the solutions I found.

-- Vjeko Balas - Croatia

I apologize for trying to add some levity to the conversation! Gheesh!

My 2cents: Drill shallow dowels in the trim where you would’ve put nails, line it up with the framing studs using those dowel plug-pointy things and drill corresponding dowels into the drywall and studs. Glue, insert, and hold. Use Titebond molding glue (white bottle, black cap) which has a quick set time and your hand pressure is probably enough to get it to grab and hold within a few minutes. You might get away with masking tape as a clamp or you could Have a friend join you and you probably can avoid using clamps altogether. Personally, anything you come up with will probably take longer than good ole’ fashion nails and filler. Oh, and once you use glue if you screw up, well there’s no pulling out nails and redoing it. If you’re pre-staining the molding and do go back to nails drive the nails through a peice of light adhesive masking tape, leave the tape on and put filler over the hole and masking tape. Before the filler dries pull off the tape and you’ll only get filler right where the nail went through the tape. Hit that with some stain on a Q-tip and you’ll be golden.

For me, nothing beats the speed and simplicity of nails.

Right on, Brian!

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

If you’re really dead set on not using wanting to putty your nail holes you could try this, drill a 3/32” pilot hole about 1” deep in edge of the door jamb the same spacing that you would normally place your nails then insert a #4 finish nail into the holes with the tip facing out. Do this on both sides of the jamb then place a bead of yellow wood glue or polyurethane wood glue between the nails on the jamb. Next line your trim up on the jamb and using a 6” C-clamp press the trim onto the nails. I have done this on extremely high-end trim work where no putty or filler was acceptable. Just keep in mind if its paint grade this method is a waste of time as it takes 3 times as long.

-- Potential is limited only by imagination