I approached it this way -

When I ripped my strips, I cut them between .265 and .275". I then milled the bead edge at 1/4" depth. This left a small ridge (~.01") on both sides of the bead, but this wasn't a problem (more on this later)

I cut the cove at perhaps .23" depth. This cut the correct radius, but left a considerable amount of material at the cove edges.

My design didn't have very many places where the strips met at radical angles, so the ridges on each side of the bead weren't a problem (for the most part). When they were, a few swipes with 120 grit sandpaper took them right off.

When I was done, I had a small groove in between each strip, because the strips aren't seated as deeply into the next strip as they would have been if I had cut the cove deeper.

The way I see it, I'm removing at least .01" of material between planing and sanding, so the grooves dissapeared immediately.

I never had a big problem with crushing the cove edges, because mine were pretty beefy set up like this.

: Can anyone save me time by telling me why the 1/4" cove was selected,
: and whether a larger cove and bead is an option?

: Thanks
: Sion