well I can speak only for my house when we did the addition, I matched the existing moldings...
I made trim head table saw knives and had router knives cut...
I ran up most of it by myself, know that there are several windows where I biscuit joined butted shorter pieces because it was such a pain to run more....

Met History wrote:
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A homeowner at 114 East 101st Street, an 1882 rowhouse, has embarked on a "restoration" campaign of some innocence - this is a modest, working class block, completely ferae naturae as pertains to preservation.   Among other improvements, the owner has stripped the wooden door surround of globs of paint, and polyurethaned it. 
 
The door surround is of modest profile, and must be of the 1960's-1970's.  The stripping has revealed that the trim was made up of entirely separate parts - there are irregular joints in the wood every 12-36 inches or so.   It appears the owner is completely unaware of anything beyond the fact that he or she has exposed "the natural wood" - even though the wood was meant to be painted.
 
The joints I interpret to indicate that the stock was "cheap", and this was an economy move.
 
1.    Am I right?
2.    Why would stock be made up like this?  Like, how is it saving money?
3.    Is there a term for this?
 
Christopher Gray