baseboard angles: need quick help!!

[Diane Maluso]

Hi folks. I'm in need of some quick and very basic advice about baseboard angles. I'm out in Duluth trying to help a friend put up interior trim in her rebuilt house. I know next to nothing about it and she knows about as much as I do. Between us we've managed to do much of it but now we're up against the wall... literally! Any help on this is appreciated:

I'm trying to put baseboard up on corners that aren't 90 degrees. The baseboard is just 1X4 with a rounded over top... no taper. So all my angles are being cut as bevels on the CMS.

Two questions about that:

1. Let's say I have an intersection of two walls that is 130 degrees. Each wall is 10 feet long. I've got a sliding compound miter saw that can bevel 45 degrees in either direction. How the heck do I get the baseboard to make the turn?

2. Let's say I have two ten foot walls that intersect at 85 degrees... how do I set that one up?


I have no idea how these angles are figured... I'm guessing that for #2 I divide 85 in half but that didn't work so I'm hoping you guys have more of a clue than I do!

Thanks for anything you've got. I'll take answers, hints, pointers to web addresses, or long epistles sent to maluso@twcny.rr.com. Whatever works.

...Diane (who can't believe how hard real carpentry is and can't wait to get back to her little shop to turn little bowls and make little boxes).

[Scott Coffelt]

I am assuming you are talking about outer angles, but what I do when I can not get the saw to go the correct angle is reverse the wood and cut backwards, subtracting the amount. You have to be carful as it can chip the end (placing a piece of scrpa behind can help with the tear out, but I still take it slow. I also cut them so I have a tight tip and the wall side may have a slight gap, as it is less noticeable. So if the angle was 130/2 it would be 65, so I set my saw at 35 and flip the wood over. Some may use jigs or try and place end facing the blade, but I think it can get real dangerous. I always cope the inner corners so I can get a tight seam. If I have a funny angle, I always try to cut some test pieces to get the fit like I want before I cut the long boards. Good Luck.

[Dave Richards]

Do you have clearance beneath the blade to turn the baseboard stock on edge? Then you could use the miter setting instead of bevelling.

How's the weather up there in Duluth? You should take some time to go up for pie at Betty's Pies if it's still open.

[Jay Sullivan]

Why not just cope the ends? One board is cut square, the other is coped. Just draw the profile of the molding onto it and cut with a coping or jig saw. When the joint is not 90, you will have to set that angle on the saw. Practice on scrap first.

HTH

Jay

[Eric Apple - Central IN]

2. Let's say I have two ten foot walls that intersect at 85 degrees... how do I set that one up?


I have no idea how these angles are figured... I'm guessing that for #2 I divide 85 in half but that didn't work so I'm hoping you guys have more of a clue than I do!

Well that certainly should work for an inside corner. However you need to be aware of "how" the saw is marked. Some are marked 0 at center and others are marked 90. If it's a 90, then dividing 85 (42.5) is the correct thing to do. If it's 0, then you want 90 - 42.5 = 47.5 deg.

If it's an outside corner it's exactly the opposite, you'd want 47.5 on a saw marked 90 at center, or 42.5 for a saw marked 0.

Also, modern drywall always results in a hump in the corners. This is due to feathering of the joint. Coping the fit after you miter will take care of this.

To cope, run one molding end cut at angle to fit snugly against the opposing wall. Usually 90 is close enough for walls +/- 10 deg of 90. Then you miter the other molding accordingly, and mark the edge with a pencil and back cut the freshly mitered face. Google up "cope molding" and you'll find what I mean.