Crown Molding Installation

[Douglas Robinson]

The LOML has coerced me into installing Crown Molding in our Powder Room. I have a Dewalt 708 SCMS. Any tips? I understand that if I angle the table to 31.6 degrees to the right and tilt the saw 33.9 degrees to the left (and then reverse both later for the opposite end of each peice) I should have "perfect" 90 degree corners. ANy advice on what type of caulk to use in the corners? Thanks

Doug

[Rod Dilyard]

Take a couple of pieces of scrap wood (or use some of the molding if you can afford it) and make sample pieces about a foot long. One should have inside miters and the other outside miters. If you use scrap wood label the front and top clearly. Use these pieces to make sure that you have the saw and molding oriented correctly before you cut. It's easy to get disoriented when doing crown and these pieces allow you to easily make sure you've got it right.

When I did my kitchen I used this method and it helped a lot.

Also, make sure your blade is sharp so that you can fine tune the cut without the blade wandering and ruining the miter. You should prepare yourself for lots of trips up and down the ladder as you test each piece and shave it to fit - take your time.

Good luck.

[Von Bickley]

Douglas,

Just asking, have you ever ran any crown molding? You do know about coping the inside corners, don't you?

[Douglas Robinson]

No. This is my first attempt at crown molding. What is involved in coping the corners?

[Von Bickley]

Doug,

One piece of the crown molding will be cut at a 90 and put in place. The adjoing piece will be cut on a 45 and the waste material will be removed with a coping saw. Can be a real PITA until you get familiar with using the coping saw.

[Ron Taylor]

then most anyone can.

All of the pieces are cut at 90 degrees at the full length to the wall. This part is easy (and allows you to justify the CSMS to SWMBO). The exception is with one or both ends at outside corners, then the outside corner(s) are mitered appropriately.

I'd start where both ends are inside corners, then you don't have to worry about a miter on the first piece.

Install the first piece. It will be butted to the wall on BOTH ends.

Now cut the second piece. If you are right handed, this piece will be the piece for the wall on your LEFT as you face the first wall. Lefties work to the other side. Remember to cut full length to BOTH walls.

(If you don't follow the rightie/leftie business, you're gonna have the Dickens of a time coping the stick).

Now, before you hang that second piece, cope it.

Your coping will be on the trailing end as you face the wall. Thats the right hand end for righties and the left hand end for lefties. In other words, the wall where you just hung the proceding stick.

With your coping saw cope the trailing end along the line that is created by the 90 degree cut and the profile of the crown mould. You should cope at approximately 45 degrees, but the angle is not critical. In other words, just follow the line of the profile with your saw at about 45 degrees inward. The closer you follow the profile, the tighter your fit will be. It is not difficult with a good coping saw.

The coped end will fit the profile of the proceding piece and the flat end will butt to the next wall.

Continue with this process until done.

See, I told you it was easy. Actually, it is much easier to get a good looking tight fit with this method than trying to miter the inside corners.

I have done it with a band saw, but the softness of trim wood and ease of using a coping saw makes the bandsaw a bit of overkill.

Whew!!!! Glad I ain't gotta follow my own instructions..

[SteveKrim]

Hi all - I'm another Pond refugee... I am doing a FirePlace Mantle. If you can picture this, the piece along the front edge is 1x6 oak. I am then going to take a piece of crown molding and place that along the bottom edge and finally, put the bottom under the crown molding. So, with that said, I made the sides (coped the edge next to the limestone almost perfect - very proud of that!!!) by doing a compound cut 45 by 45 and put the 2 sides in place. I then started looking at the front piece of crown molding, did a test cut on some scrap and it just didn't look right using the opposite 45 by 45 compound cut!!!

I realize this is a dis-jointed explaination at best, but I am learning! Any suggestions on getting this design to work??? Is my compount cut correct and I'm just looking at it wrong???

HELP!

Thanks,

Steve

[Von Bickley]

For those of you that haven't ran crown molding, it can kick your back-side until you get the hang of it. I don't have a SCMS or even a CMS, all I have is an old standard Makita miter saw. For me, it works to cut the molding at 45 with the molding up-side down on the miter saw bed, and set on the bed at an angle that would equal setting it to the wall. I'm sure that some of the professional WW'ers here can give a better explanation.

[Steve Clardy]

Laying it flat and using those oddball measurments, 31.6 and whatever the other is is WAY to time comsuming. Doing it that way, when you cut the piece it can actually slide away from the blade, making an inacurate cut. I stand it upside down at an angle. The backside edges are 90 degrees, so stand it up that way. 1 edge on fence, 1 edge on table. When it position, clamp on a board in front of it on the saw table, [helps to have a wood surface on the sides of miter saw level with saw table]. This keeps the crown in the same position on every cut. No guessing where it was standing up at. Make 1 miter cut, make a scrap cut to match it. If it doesn't quite fit, adjust your cut on the scrap. Once your are happy with it, cut your other piece.
Steve

[Steve Clardy]

[Jerry P. Doan]

I suggest that you get the crown molding stops that are specifically offered for the 708 and then follow Steve's directions.

[Steve K]

I have a page with tips on installing crown molding on my website along with links to several other pages dealing with crown installation. You should find something to help you here



Steve K

[Phil Phelps]

Originally posted by Von Bickley
Doug,

One piece of the crown molding will be cut at a 90 and put in place. The adjoing piece will be cut on a 45 and the waste material will be removed with a coping saw. Can be a real PITA until you get familiar with using the coping saw.

Now you tell me The first time I coped crown molding was on a job that called for six inch mahogany. Talk about PITA. I used a grinder.

[Phil Phelps]

Originally posted by Jerry P. Doan
I suggest that you get the crown molding stops that are specifically offered for the 708 and then follow Steve's directions.

Yes, Those locking guides are great. Steves' board works but, the guides are really worth the buy.

[Dale Thompson]

Douglas,
Check out the website below. It has pictures and everything. I used it the first time I did the crown molding thing and it worked great--at least my mother thinks that it looks good.

Incidentally, I have the 708 also but used the "regular miter saw" version from the website because of the high 708 fence. I think that that version may be a little more accurate. It is also, once you set up the auxiliary "stop", probably more repeatable and less subject to slippage.

Also, the website has pictures and stuff on "coping" crown molding joints. It all worked for me. The pictures and stuff turned a "mystery project" into a real pleasure and a lot of fun.

Incidentally, if you are going to stain the molding, you will want to consider coping the inside corners--separation can occur and you may not have perfect 90 deg. corners to begin with. If you are going to paint them, then a simple miter should work because you can always use wood filler and hide it with the paint. Just a thought. I was stuck with the staining option.

Good Luck!!

Dale T.

http://www2.fwi.com/~krumy/