Cutting Crown on flat Inside Corner???

[Carroll Courtney]

Guys I have a 12" Dewalt compound miter saw that I need to cut some crown molding on the flat.I tilt the compound to 45 then the miter to 45 and it is way off.The crown is from HD so its nothing special,but I guess there is a formula for cutting inside corners while laying the molding flat on the saw.Is there a chart that shows the angles that I need to setup the compound and the miter to get that perfect inside angles?Sounds confusing but I hope someone knows what I am talking about

[Leo Graywacz]

Why are you cutting it on the flat when your 12" saw is more than capable to cut it nested?

If you insist on cutting it on the flat you need to know the spring angle of the molding. Then you can look up in a chart what to set the miter and bevel at.

But the easiest way is to nest the crown in the saw and just cut the miter.

[Bradley Gray]

If the crown isn't too big, set the moulding on the saw as it will be installed only upside down and cut at 45 degrees.

For best results cut a cope after mitering.

[Phil Mueller]

As said above. On inside miters you can run one side square to the wall, then miter and cope the adjoining molding.

[Leo Graywacz]

You can miter the inside corners too. But it's much harder to get a nice joint because when you nail it together it usually moves since drywall isn't that solid.

I miter the crown for an inside joint. Then I cope it using a hand coping saw. Then I use a Dremel with a sanding drum to tune it in perfect.

[Sam Murdoch]

Here is helpful link on the topic. http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2015/...crown-molding/

[Justin Ludwig]

+1 on Leo's comments.

I built plywood outfeed tables for my miter saw stand so I can screw nesting boards in place. I never have to press the crown and make sure it's nested on the proper spring angle this way. Use a 2' offcut of crown to set the nesting board, secure it anyway you can. Get after it. The locals 'round here look at me crazy when I set up. Then they see me measure entire rooms or an entire kitchen of cabinets - cut everything in one trip then install it. I sometimes have to make a trim to shave a piece or to compound a piece on a jacked up wall. Blows me away to see guys take 1-2 measurements to the saw at a time - not hobbyists, but pros.

[Martin Wasner]

I rarely cut crown just using a miter, but I also hate big blade saws. I think it's easier, doing a compound cut, but to each their own. You're not fighting with the material as much when you've got a 16' long stick trying to flap and roll around.


Setting the bevel and miter at 45º won't get you there obviously. First, what kind of crown? Is it 38/52, or 45/45?

For 38/52 on a 90º corner it's 31.6º miter, 33.8º bevel.
On 45/45 on a 90º corner it's 35.2º miter, 30º bevel.

There's calculators available online for other angles that do the trig for you.

[Leo Graywacz]

Last crown I bought at HD was 37/53 blink.gif

[Justin Ludwig]

I rarely cut crown just using a miter, but I also hate big blade saws. I think it's easier, doing a compound cut, but to each their own. You're not fighting with the material as much when you've got a 16' long stick trying to flap and roll around.

I don't even try to fight them. Unless it's crown for a room - I'll cut it down to +1" on the flat, then nest it. Sometimes there are bows in the crown that cause it to pull/push from the nesting board - cut the piece long from your mark and get the offcut out of the way. Proceed to trim to mark.

I don't like laying my saw over for repeated 45* compound cuts. That's where the big blade stares back at me. But like you said, "to each their own."

[George Bokros]

Last crown I bought at HD was 37/53 blink.gif

I found the same thing. I don't understand why HD crown is at an odd angle. From lumber yards it is either 38/52 or 45/45.

[keith micinski]

I have never understood why anyone would want to fight cutting crown anyway but flat. Making jigs and blocks helps but doesn't always make it perfect and I can't seem to find any advantage to cutting it this way and several disadvantages. 33.9 and 31.65 aren't any harder to find on my mitre saw then 45 is.

[Leo Graywacz]

I don't fight it at all, as a matter of fact, it's a breeze. I am constantly adjusting the crown miter to fit the corners. It's a lot easier to swing the miter to 44 degrees than it is to figure out the two angles for miter and bevel. By the time you use your chart or calculator, I'm installing my pc of crown. I have a Bosch angle finder and I usually bisect that angle for the miter. It makes for a very tight joint which is necessary when you are using prefinished crown, not so much when it's going to be painted with a brush afterwards.

I don't need any jigs, I just nest the crown according to the flats on the crown's backside. Last couple of times I've used a nesting jig and it's made it easier. The only time I ever do crown on the flat is when the crown is too big for my saw. Like the 8" crown I did a few years ago. And the outside miter was very hard to do because it was no where near 90º.

[Jim Dwight]

I recommend Ron Paulk's you tube videos on crown. I had done a few rooms before watching it but learned enough to do the last little bit far easier. He cuts it nested, not flat, and recommends a few simple jigs you make of scrap plywood. Crown can normally be installed at a range of angles and it is important to be consistent. So Ron has you pick a distance along the wall and ceiling that you want the crown to sit. Then you make a board the distance out on the ceiling for setting the piece you will hold against on the bed of your miter saw. You make another piece to hold the crown up at these distances while you nail it. And he also uses a U shaped jig for the cope cut. It's amazing how quick Ron copes with a jig saw. It's worth watching these You tubes even if you are somewhat experienced.

There are tables of the angles available over the internet but it will not solve the need to install the molding consistently at the same angle. Nor will it help you cope. A cope deals with corners a little off from 90 better than a miter. It also deals with movement from the walls moving or the molding shrinking. Outside corners get mitered, glued, and clamped until the glue is dry. Inside corners get coped. Walls without backing to nail into get a piece of wood glued to the drywall to nail into. Practical solutions to the problems that come up in every crown job.

[keith micinski]

I recommend Ron Paulk's you tube videos on crown. I had done a few rooms before watching it but learned enough to do the last little bit far easier. He cuts it nested, not flat, and recommends a few simple jigs you make of scrap plywood. Crown can normally be installed at a range of angles and it is important to be consistent. So Ron has you pick a distance along the wall and ceiling that you want the crown to sit. Then you make a board the distance out on the ceiling for setting the piece you will hold against on the bed of your miter saw. You make another piece to hold the crown up at these distances while you nail it. And he also uses a U shaped jig for the cope cut. It's amazing how quick Ron copes with a jig saw. It's worth watching these You tubes even if you are somewhat experienced.

There are tables of the angles available over the internet but it will not solve the need to install the molding consistently at the same angle. Nor will it help you cope. A cope deals with corners a little off from 90 better than a miter. It also deals with movement from the walls moving or the molding shrinking. Outside corners get mitered, glued, and clamped until the glue is dry. Inside corners get coped. Walls without backing to nail into get a piece of wood glued to the drywall to nail into. Practical solutions to the problems that come up in every crown job.

Unfortunately you must be a much better trim carpenter than I am because trying to get a 12 foot long piece of crown nested perfectly in any saw has never been anything but a nightmare for me