I finally got the business with the bit straightened out and the crown molding made. Pictures are with it held in place with the pressure of being just a shade long. Bit tricky as I had to cope both ends, if I wanted to go with one piece, which I did.
A major tip of the hat to Brian Carleton who offered to balance the bit, as I was complaining about gnarly vibration. I mailed it to him, he did the deed and mailed it back. Huge difference, I ran it briefly at top speed (holding it so an exploding bit wouldn't aim shrapnel at my midsection) and it was virtually vibration free. For the actual cutting, I ran it at approx. 15K rpm, using a speed reducing box I got one eBay.
Came out pretty good, looks almost like the original, and though it's not exactly the same, no one will notice. Anyone new to the thread, who wants to ask why didn't I just go out and buy some of it, well uhhh, if you can find that style for sale now, some 6 or 7 decades after the house was built, yer a better man than oy am, Gunga Din.
