CROWN MOLDING QUESTION

[Brian Miller]

Help, my brain is failing. I am trying to add some crown molding to our fireplace mantle. We have a brick fireplace, with a wood mantle and bookshelves on both sides. The vertical sides of the bookshelves extend about 3" beyond the brick, so I bought some small Pine crown molding from Menard's, which is 2-1/4" wide.

A few years ago, while attending the Indianapolis Woodworking show, I watched Jim Heavey demonstrate how to cut crown molding, with the molding flat on the miter saw table and using the built in stops, included on most miter saws. The stops are at 31.6° swing and 33.9° tilt. I have a Bosch 12" dual bevel miter saw and have cut and installed crown molding around the ceiling, without any problems. The only difference at my fireplace is that the side moldings are vertical and the molding under the mantle is horizontal.

I cut two 10" test pieces, glued them together and went upstairs to the fireplace. When I held the vertical piece against the brick and the book shelf side, the horizontal piece under the mantle was not against the brick. It was pulling away from the brick, so I go back to my shop to measure the angle and it is very close to 10°. So I am thinking if I reduce the bevel angle to 28.9, I should be good. I glue again and can see that the corner is not square. It measures 99°.

UGH! What am I doing wrong? What angle should I be using for the tilt. FYI - I checked the short angled flats on the back of the molding and they are 45°.

[Richard D.]

Not sure I understand but if it is off 10 degrees total the corner is out 5 degrees. That would mean 33 miter and 28.5 bevel for a 95 degree corner.

I use a construction master app on my phone. There are YouTube videos also.

[jteneyck]

I stand the molding up upside the back rest, upside down. Then it's just a simple 45 deg miter cut for a 90 deg corner. Note, make sure you mark the piece so that you make the angle cut the correct way. Way easier for moldings that are narrow enough to fit under the blade.

John

[fredhargis]

jteneyck said:

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I stand the molding up upside the back rest, upside down. Then it's just a simple 45 deg miter cut for a 90 deg corner. Note, make sure you mark the piece so that you make the angle cut the correct way. Way easier for moldings that are narrow enough to fit under the blade.

John

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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[mike4244]

Don't cut the crown flat. Place the crown upside down,cove portion is up on the table and against the fence.Make sure the crown is tight against both the table and fence.Swing saw to the right 45° and make the cut.
This will give you the left miter when the crown is installed . Swing saw to the left for a right miter.
Before actually cutting your miters check the included angle.If the angle is a dead 90°, then make each cut 45-1/2°.This will give you a nice tight miter.What ever the included angle may be,divide in half and add 1/2° .Example, 95° 95/2=42-1/2.add 1/2 ,set saw for 43°
If you have crown stops,use them although not absolutely necessary.
By the way the stops you referred to are actually detents. The stops i referred to are adjustable to keep the crown at the correct angle,usually 38/52°. The method I mentioned will work with any angle,make sure the crown is flat against the fence and the table.
mike

[Richard D.]

Something like this on your miter saw will make things a bit easier. The old "upside down and backwards".

[Paul K. Murphy]

jteneyck said:

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I stand the molding up upside the back rest, upside down. Then it's just a simple 45 deg miter cut for a 90 deg corner. Note, make sure you mark the piece so that you make the angle cut the correct way. Way easier for moldings that are narrow enough to fit under the blade.

John

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I agree completely!
I rarely use this---->!
Take that for what it's worth.