The edge profile is the shape machined into the front of the sill — it sets whether the piece reads modern or traditional. Here are the six profiles we offer and where each one fits.
Each photographed on the same white oak board, under the same light, at a 3/4″ cut on a 1-1/2″ built-up edge with both arrises treated — so the only thing that differs between them is the shape of the edge. The squares under each show the same profile at every cut depth available.
Softened square edge
The corner knocked off and sanded, about 1/8″ and no more. Reads as a crisp square edge that has been finished properly. The quietest option and the one that disappears into contemporary trim.
Eased is a fixed softening — no depth choice.
45° flat chamfer
A flat chamfer on each arris. Three distinct planes with crisp transitions, so it throws a hard shadow line along the length of the sill. Precise and architectural.
Rounded edge
A quarter circle on each arris. Cut to the full half-thickness the two meet in the middle and the edge becomes a continuous half-round with no flat face left. The classic sill profile and the kindest to knocks.
Concave scooped edge
The opposite of a radius: the curve hollows inward rather than bulging out, so the top surface overhangs a shadow. Recessive and soft, and unusual enough to read as deliberate.
Classic S-curve
Convex at the top flowing into a concave hollow below. Two opposed curves meeting with no flat between them. The traditional millwork profile, at home with panelled rooms and painted trim.
Reverse S — cove into a round
The ogee reversed: the hollow comes first at the top surface, then flows into a round below it. Heavier and more shadowed than the ogee, and the most decorative of the six.
Beyond the profile itself: which arris is cut, how outside and inside corners are handled, and how a thicker visual front is built up. Inside corners on return sills can be routed to a 3/4-inch radius — each corner independently.
Where each ear meets the body of a return sill, the inside corner can be routed to a 3/4″ radius. That is the shape that wraps a bullnose drywall corner, so the sill sits tight against the reveal instead of leaving a gap. Set independently on the left and right.
Left square, the ear meets the body at a sharp 90°. This is the right choice against a square-beaded reveal or a plaster return, where a radius would read as a mistake rather than a detail.
The profile can be cut on the top arris, the bottom arris, or both. Treating only the top leaves a square underside against the apron; treating both gives a symmetrical edge, and it is what turns a radius into a full half-round. Chosen independently of the profile itself.
The sill body is a 3/4″ slab; the thickness you see at the front is an applied build-up laminated to it. That is how a 4″ visual front is made without the weight, cost or movement of a solid 4″ board — and why edge thickness and slab thickness are separate choices.
Any profile can be applied to the top arris, the bottom arris, or both edges of the front face. Profiling just the top keeps a flat underside; doing both gives a fully sculpted front. On thicker sills a laminated build-up lets the visible front read as 2", 3" or up to 4" deep while starting from 3/4" stock.
Outside corners can be left square, clipped or rounded. On return (horned) sills, the inside corners where each ear meets the body can be routed to a 3/4" radius to wrap a bullnose drywall corner — set independently per side — or left square for a crisp intersection. See the measuring guide for how returns are measured.
You can preview every profile live on your own sill — open the configurator, and the drawing updates as you change the edge.
Eight steps, a live drawing, and a firm quote in one business day.