The idea is to saw away enough wood to allow the coped cut to fit tight against the profile of the first piece of crown.Īfter cutting, the coped piece needed a little fine-tuning before it fit snugly. Next, I used a coping saw to back-cut the molding along its contoured profile (2). Then, I cut a compound-angle miter into the end of the mating length of crown (1). I cut the first length of crown with a square end, pushed it tight into the corner and nailed it in place. A coped joint, in which a piece of crown is tailored to fit an adjacent profile's curves, makes a tight-fitting seam even if the inside corner is out of square-as many are. I prefer this type of joint over a miter joint because wall corners are rarely perfectly 90 degrees. Inside CornersĪ coped joint connects two pieces of crown molding at an inside room corner. After applying a little wood glue to the joint, I slid the second piece of crown into position and nailed it to the backer board. I nailed the crown to the backer board and then made an opposing compound-angle miter cut onto the end of the mating length of crown. To form a scarf joint, I made a compound-angle miter cut on the end of one length of crown. Molding can shrink or shift out of position slightly-with a scarf joint, as opposed to a square-edged butt joint, a gap won't appear at the seam. This combines opposing compound-angle miters in a clean, nearly undetectable seam. When it can't, two lengths join end to end in a scarf joint (4). Most crown comes in 16-foot lengths, so unless you're trimming out a gymnasium, a single piece can usually span each wall. I cut away the center of the cleat by making a left-hand and a right-hand 45-degree miter cut, opening a channel for the blade to pass through (3). This piece, the cleat, stayed in place between cuts, so I could easily drop each piece of crown into position. I pressed a 30-inch, straight-edged board tight against the crown and clamped it to the table (2). To set this up, I first clamped a length of molding with its edges flush against the saw's vertical fence and horizontal table.

To hold the crown in place, it helps to clamp a cleat to the saw table. The flat method requires adjusting the saw blade to make both a bevel and miter cut my way, the saw table acts as the ceiling, the fence is the wall, and an upside-down piece of crown can be cut at a compound angle with a simple 45-degree vertical chop. There are two ways to cut crown: Either lay it flat beneath the blade, or set it against the saw at the angle, the way it will be installed between the wall and ceiling. The Craftsman rig that I used included a 12-inch dual-bevel compound miter saw ($350) and a pro-duty saw stand ($250). Select a stand with an integral power strip and extendable arms to support lengths of molding.

Choose a 10- or 12-inch saw with a dust-collection bag or exhaust port for attaching a wet/dry vacuum. The power miter saw and stand provide a safe, quick and accurate way to execute precise cuts.

I used a table saw with the blade set to 45 degrees to rip the backer boards from 3/4-inch plywood, then fastened each board to the top plate with 3-inch drywall screws spaced 16 to 24 inches apart. To determine the width of the backer board, I held a piece of crown molding against the inside corner of a framing square and drew a line along the crown's back (1) The diagonal line, minus 1/8-inch for clearance, is the width of the backer board. That method allowed me to nail this project's 4½-inch crown to any point along every wall. I skip all that by installing a plywood backer board to the top plate (the horizontal framing member above the wall studs). Crown molding is usually nailed to the wall studs along the bottom edge and into the ceiling joists above-a lot of stud-finder work.

Crown trick edge adjacent