Carpentry and Woodworking - Crown Moldings
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06-27-00, 07:06 PM
how do you cut inside corners on crown moldings?
07-02-00, 09:46 AM
Goldie,
You can miter them or cope them. The mitering is very similar to doing the outside corners, and you will have to do a little fussing with the angles to get a good fit. The other way to cut the corners is to "cope" them.
Here is the text from a previous reply to a question similar to yours:
I may be bashing some current conventional wisdom here, but here goes! The conventional wisdom leads a person to believe that you NEED a compound miter saw to do crown moulding. Many guys I know use them, but I would challenge anyone to do a better, faster job than can be done with a regular power miter saw! (I have a model DW 704 DeWalt that is the best for functionality and safety currently on the market, in my opinion) This saw has a crown moulding accessory which simplifies the cutting, but is not necessary for using the method I use.
What I do to get perfect cuts on crown moulding EVERY time is to start by taking a piece of the moulding I will be installing and measuring the vertical and horizontal dimensions that it will cover. To help with this explanation, hold a framing square so that the wide blade is vertical (representing the wall) and the narrow blade horizontal, on top (representing the ceiling). Then put the crown moulding piece into the corner of the framing square, just like it will fit against the wall and ceiling when it is installed. Are you with me so far? You will notice that the angles on the back of the crown moulding won't fit tight to both blades of the square at the same time. They aren't supposed to. Position the moulding piece so that the vertical side is tight to the wide (wall) blade of the square and slide it up until the front point of the top edge of the moulding touches the narrow (ceiling) blade of the square. Just the very front face of the moulding should touch. It is designed this way so that you get a tighter "scribe" fit to the ceiling and a wider, flat surface against the wall where you do most of your nailing. With the moulding in this position, read the EXACT measurements where the bottom and top of the moulding touch the square. With a typical 3-1//2" crown moulding, the ceiling measurement should be about 2" and the wall measurement about 3". Every moulding is a little different, so use the numbers you get with the moulding you are currently using. Now, make a mark on the miter saw table to represent the ceiling dimension (about 2") and on the miter saw fence to represent the wall dimension. With all that done, all you need to do is simply put a piece of crown moulding UPSIDE DOWN in the miter saw (with the top edge lining up with the mark on the table and the bottom edge lining up with the mark on the fence) and make the cut to the angle you need. This works so slick since this is the only setup you ever need to make! It will work on 90 degree inside and outside corners as well as 45 degree corners (like in a bay window) and out of square and off angle corners as well! If you use the compound miter method, you need to adjust BOTH angles EVERY time you encounter a different corner condition. With this method, say you are trimming an inside corner that is 88 degrees instead of 90. Just set you saw to 44 degrees and with your trim lined up on the two marks, make the cut. When you install the trim, make a gauge block that equals the vertical (wall) measurement and put small pencil marks on the wall so the trim gets nailed up correctly. If you change this measurement, the corners won't fit. The only way they ever fit is to nail them up with the trim at the same angle as it was cut at.
You would be surprised at how simple this method is to show since you now know how hard it is to figure out when it is written!
Practice some cuts before you go after the project with long, expensive pieces. The pros "cope" the inside corners rather than mitering them for a better fit with less trouble, but that is a lecture in itself!Happy carpentering. Feel free to ask for clarification on this or ask other questions that come to mind.
I hope that this gives you an idea of what you are getting into. The moulding adds a great touch to any room, but on a finish carpentry scale of 1-10, with 10 being the hardest, it is at least an 8.
It is hard to comunicate this process here with writing alone, so if you want to familiarize yourself further with the process, you might check the May,2000 issue of Fine Homebuilding Magazine by Taunton Press. It has a great article (with PICTURES) of a crown moulding installation... and each picture is worth a thousand words!
You can miter them or cope them. The mitering is very similar to doing the outside corners, and you will have to do a little fussing with the angles to get a good fit. The other way to cut the corners is to "cope" them.
Here is the text from a previous reply to a question similar to yours:
I may be bashing some current conventional wisdom here, but here goes! The conventional wisdom leads a person to believe that you NEED a compound miter saw to do crown moulding. Many guys I know use them, but I would challenge anyone to do a better, faster job than can be done with a regular power miter saw! (I have a model DW 704 DeWalt that is the best for functionality and safety currently on the market, in my opinion) This saw has a crown moulding accessory which simplifies the cutting, but is not necessary for using the method I use.
What I do to get perfect cuts on crown moulding EVERY time is to start by taking a piece of the moulding I will be installing and measuring the vertical and horizontal dimensions that it will cover. To help with this explanation, hold a framing square so that the wide blade is vertical (representing the wall) and the narrow blade horizontal, on top (representing the ceiling). Then put the crown moulding piece into the corner of the framing square, just like it will fit against the wall and ceiling when it is installed. Are you with me so far? You will notice that the angles on the back of the crown moulding won't fit tight to both blades of the square at the same time. They aren't supposed to. Position the moulding piece so that the vertical side is tight to the wide (wall) blade of the square and slide it up until the front point of the top edge of the moulding touches the narrow (ceiling) blade of the square. Just the very front face of the moulding should touch. It is designed this way so that you get a tighter "scribe" fit to the ceiling and a wider, flat surface against the wall where you do most of your nailing. With the moulding in this position, read the EXACT measurements where the bottom and top of the moulding touch the square. With a typical 3-1//2" crown moulding, the ceiling measurement should be about 2" and the wall measurement about 3". Every moulding is a little different, so use the numbers you get with the moulding you are currently using. Now, make a mark on the miter saw table to represent the ceiling dimension (about 2") and on the miter saw fence to represent the wall dimension. With all that done, all you need to do is simply put a piece of crown moulding UPSIDE DOWN in the miter saw (with the top edge lining up with the mark on the table and the bottom edge lining up with the mark on the fence) and make the cut to the angle you need. This works so slick since this is the only setup you ever need to make! It will work on 90 degree inside and outside corners as well as 45 degree corners (like in a bay window) and out of square and off angle corners as well! If you use the compound miter method, you need to adjust BOTH angles EVERY time you encounter a different corner condition. With this method, say you are trimming an inside corner that is 88 degrees instead of 90. Just set you saw to 44 degrees and with your trim lined up on the two marks, make the cut. When you install the trim, make a gauge block that equals the vertical (wall) measurement and put small pencil marks on the wall so the trim gets nailed up correctly. If you change this measurement, the corners won't fit. The only way they ever fit is to nail them up with the trim at the same angle as it was cut at.
You would be surprised at how simple this method is to show since you now know how hard it is to figure out when it is written!
Practice some cuts before you go after the project with long, expensive pieces. The pros "cope" the inside corners rather than mitering them for a better fit with less trouble, but that is a lecture in itself!Happy carpentering. Feel free to ask for clarification on this or ask other questions that come to mind.
I hope that this gives you an idea of what you are getting into. The moulding adds a great touch to any room, but on a finish carpentry scale of 1-10, with 10 being the hardest, it is at least an 8.
It is hard to comunicate this process here with writing alone, so if you want to familiarize yourself further with the process, you might check the May,2000 issue of Fine Homebuilding Magazine by Taunton Press. It has a great article (with PICTURES) of a crown moulding installation... and each picture is worth a thousand words!
08-10-00, 02:43 PM
Goldie,
I had the same questions about putting up crown moulding. Although The Timber Tailor's instructions are excellent, it is rather difficult to visualize the process. I purchased a book entitled "Finish Carpentry"
The Best of Fine Homebuilding. This book is published by the Taunton Press. The book is loaded with pictures of the entire procedure. Besides the section on Crown Moulding, I found this book to be very informative in a number of other areas as well.
Good Luck,
Ron
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Goldie:
how do you cut inside corners on crown moldings?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
[This message has been edited by sambasdad (edited August 10, 2000).]
I had the same questions about putting up crown moulding. Although The Timber Tailor's instructions are excellent, it is rather difficult to visualize the process. I purchased a book entitled "Finish Carpentry"
The Best of Fine Homebuilding. This book is published by the Taunton Press. The book is loaded with pictures of the entire procedure. Besides the section on Crown Moulding, I found this book to be very informative in a number of other areas as well.
Good Luck,
Ron
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Goldie:
how do you cut inside corners on crown moldings?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
[This message has been edited by sambasdad (edited August 10, 2000).]