A Few Thoughts On Crown Molding
Every woodworking novice is very likely to find the installing of crown molding quite intimidating. Crown molding is a lot more complicated than simple joinery projects. Yes, joining crown molding takes some skill and some practice. The slightest mistake screams out for everyone to notice. However, it is not as difficult as you may believe. Good techniques and the right tools is all you need to achieve the perfect crown molding.
Perfect angles - the way to perfect crown molding.
Where crown molding is concerned, there isn’t a task more significant than the cutting. When doing the cutting, you must be extremely accurate in angle as well as length. The wider the molding, the more important it is for you to get the precise angle. If fitting wider molding, the slightest error in angle cut ends up in a clear continuity break when the pieces are joined.
Cutting crown molding is not like cutting a picture frame where you can just make a flat cut against the miter saw. If you want a perfect cutting of your molding, there are two techniques that you can use. A compound cut will do the trick, but only if you don’t miscalculate the setting of your miter and saw blade. The blade makes a beveled cut by being tilted while the miter cut is made with the saw fence set to an angle. This technique will allow you to lay the molding carefully while cutting.
How to calculate the perfect angle for your molding cuts:
Some basic math is required for you to make the right cuts with the compound cutting technique. But even if you’re not good at math, you can always find a graph that corresponds to the crown molding you want. Some cuts are so commonly used, that you can even buy a saw with specific markings for the corner cut you need. The marks should be at 33.9 for the bevel setting and 31.6 for the miter setting.
The “Upside Down” technique is another equally successful method employed in cutting the crown molding. Most carpenters who do a lot of trim cutting feel this is the easier and the most effective technique. Using this method, the cutting is done by holding the mold in the place it will take when installation is complete. In order to achieve that, all you need to do is turn the molding upside down in such way that the ceiling rests of the saw bed can meet the molding’s edge. Also, the fence of the saw sustaining the wall rests will need to be set right against the molding. After you’ve finished setting all this in place and made sure that the blade and the saw bed meet perpendicularly, perform a 45 degree cut. Adjusting angles is a much easier task thanks to this method.
