Carpentry and Woodworking - A trick of the trade for making nice tight miters

I'd like to pass along a tip on how some of us in the industry make mitered pieces look so great.

Have you ever mitered two pieces of either plywood or solid wood and they just didn't look so hot because there was a little gap or space where the miter just didn't close enough? Well, time to put an end to that

Glue and nail or however you put your miters together. Allow it to try. Once dry, take the side of a regular hammer and press it down directly on the miter as you slide the hammer back and forth on the joint using light pressure. This will break the point and seal the miter closed. You never want to leave a miter with a very sharp point because the stain wont take to it very well.

Try it out and let me know how it worked for you.

That sounds good. I always used sandpaper but will try crushing the fibres in next time.

With sandpaper, you're only softening the edge, not crushing the fibers. By using a hammer, you're pushing the joint together.

Mike's right. An old finish carpenter also showed me this trick a long time ago. It works good when making plywood boxes or plywood wrapped beams.

On second thought, I'll try this not with a hammer but with a hard roller. The wheel is small and solid, the sort of thing one uses to press thin sheet goods in gluing, and it's just one drawer away from the hammers. I guess I could safely apply a lot of force with this tool.

I can see why this folded edge would stain much better than a sandpaper-rounded edge.

Always remember with running trim and crown moulding,

a lil' caulk and a lil' paint make a carpenter what he ain't.

LOL Mako.

Hey, you have to hand it to the inventor of caulk, as he's/she's a genius.

Caulking, joint compound, or wood filler are all REAL nice IF you're painting - when you've got to stain, are there any other options to fill joints or gaps so they aren't glaring mistakes?

--- Dragon77

Colored nail putty. It comes in all sorts of colors to match stained wood. It gets applied after the wood is stained, sealed and sanded... but before the final coat(s) of finish.

But doesn't nail putty either remain pliable or tend to shink?

--- Dragon77