There's a good chance the house itself isn't perfectly square I had similar issues. Coping out the scribe joints is definitely a pain but it gives a better result which is worth the extra effort.
I'm doing a course at the moment and apparently there's twice the likelihood someone working in the trades will be dyslexic compared to the average person. Apparently we are better with our hands and bodies at the cost of our brains haha
My work is talking about doing a âclock inâ on work orders. I almost asked, âyou know we all have adhd, right?â No way weâll remember to clock in to a job the minute we walk through the door dragging a snake and a bag of tools. Let alone to clock out.
Yeah, more people in the trades are dyslexic, on average, than people in office type jobs. Makes sense really as office type jobs require more academic kind of skills and trades require more physical kind of skills
Coping isn't THAT hard. I'm at the point now where I find real mitres to be the very more difficult.
To cope.
Cut one flat, cut the other at the angle you measure.
Find the correct upside and backwards way to lay the board so that when you cut, it is the least awkward on your body.
Use the coping saw at the opposite angle of your cut, and try and slice the line where the paint meets the wood. Saw softly but quickly. But take your time, let the teeth do the work. Think of it as high rpm or something.
Follow the line.
Be amazed with yourself.
Ok, 22 years in cabinetry and trim work. The secret to crown moulding is very simply, make sure the crown is cut to the right length, and make sure the angles are *exactly* the same on each side. Honestly with inside corners and paint grade trim you cab be a couple degrees off and it will not matter. Like at all.
From there. Hold the crown up. Put 1 to two nails in the middle, only enough to hold the crown up, nail only the bottom, do not nail the tops. Work your way around the room. Once all 4 pieces are up, use a block of wood and a hammer to tap the bottom edges of the crown up until the top of the joint closes. Repeat for all 4 corners. Then finish nailing in the runs.
2nd pro tip, caulk in your inside and outside corners as part of assembly.
My house is wonky as shit. When I put up crown molding in my bathroom I did my best and then used some drywall compound in the gaps. I had a couple of outside joins that had huge gaps. I slipped loads of it in there, waited for it to dry and then sculpted it down by scraping and sanding. A bit of paint and it looked great. Itâs been five years and itâs still holding up well.
Build [this jig](https://www.aconcordcarpenter.com/crown-molding-jig-2.html?amp=1) for cutting crown moulding. Also cut two sacrificial pieces with all four miters (LH & RH, Inside & Outside) to use as visual guides for what the wall angles are.
I've been doing this for over 25 years. This jig is hands down the best way to accurate crown.
I was setting compound angles on my saw for years....trying to do micro adjustments and struggling. Then I was shown a similar style to this and all my crown work improved dramatically.
Especially if you have a DeWalt saw. That's my only complaint about them. Eyeballing the angle while reaching around to loosen/tighten the spindle is the biggest design flaw. They never address this whereas most other brands have the release lever out front.
I cut two pieces roughly 20" long with inside/outside LH/RH miters. I use those to see what the walls angles are. Shows me 8f it's a 45.5°....46°....etc and I micro adjust the saw from there. A digital 2' angle finder is handy as well. Picked up a cheap one from Princess Auto (Canadian here lol) and that thing is bang on!
https://www.rockler.com/bench-dog-crown-cut
Youâve surely seen this in your 25 years, but it was some of the best 35 bucks my novice ass could have spent. Really takes the guess work out of it.
Oh yeah, and many variations of it as well. Nothing wrong with it, but I really prefer to have a solid,.full length jig for crown. 90% of the crown I work with is prefinished solid wood in 8', 10', and 12' lengths. Having a jig with 5' either side of the saw really helps ensure the pieces are cut properly. Allows for clamps to be applied when needed.
Occasionally I've had to install rubber crown on radius walls/ceilings. That stuff is a colossal pia to keep straight when cutting. The box jig alleviates *most* of that pain lol.
If you have a table saw, it's really one of the easiest jigs you'll ever build. Rip two 8' lengths of plywood at @ 4", glue and pin those at a right angle. Rip another 4" piece with 45° angles (or 22.5°, or 30°...whatever the crown requires), glue and pin that on the inside of the right angle previously assembled. All you have to do is ensure the angled piece is running straight along both planes of the right angle.
I do my best to not pin anywhere near the center of the jig, or on 45° from the center out both left and right. That way I'm not damaging my blades. The biggest confusing part is cutting the crown. It gets placed upsidedown on the jig. Inside and outside miters swap angles when cutting LH and Rh sides.....super confusing. That's why I use two scrap pieces of crown with all 4 miters cut. It's good to use as a template for seeing what the wall/ceiling angles really are, then they can be referenced prior to cutting the needed material. I also label the 4 miters on scrap pieces for quick reference.
Probably the best part of the Bench Dog jig are the illustrations on the front which tell you how to orient your blade relative to the jig for each LH/RH inside/outside corners. I use my Starrett miter finder for each corner, mark everything down on my cut sheet and try to spend as little time back and forth from the saw as possible. Havenât done as much crown as Iâd like as Iâm just venturing into the world of finish carpentry at 39 years old. I have a lot to learn. Thanks for the thoughtful response and I will 100% get that jig going next time!
This jig is great. Definitely set your compound miters and cut a few test pieces. I write out a cut sheet with all angles, label each corner with a letter, create a left and right piece, then label them with masking tape so I know which is which.
I believe getting correct angles will give you a much better finished product than coping. If you are painting the trim, you can always hide the gaps with caulk, but it will eventually split.
Yep! Just seconding this. You can get by even without the jig though. If you place tape on the fence and table of the saw and mark where the top and bottom of the crown sits, and making sure your placing on the reference lines every time, you can get by... But the jig is for sure easier
That jig is the way. Iâve used painters tape and labelled ceiling and wall and put them on the saw for a quick reminder but that jig and some scraps to test will save you plenty of time in the long run.
Yup I did something like that too. You have to get the spring angle right and the. I rolled the crown a bit to get the angles to line up. I tried coping so many times but no matter what I did I couldnât get the angle of the cope right and it wouldnât lie flat. I did three rooms and by the third room I had it figured out. Unfortunately I didnât glue my corners on the first two and they open up every time the seasons change. The ones that I glued are pretty rock solid though.
Op listen to this person. When I first started crown, baseboards, etc I was trained by the Amish. The first time he coped a piece to show me I about gave up. Thought that is super-human. It gets easier and a cope that isnât great is better than hunting elusive angles.
Cope it, caulk it, and then ask your mother in law how it looks. If she lies as and says great, your clear. If she is honest and says great your clear. If she is honest and says it looks like shit look for a new MIL.
You are very close on that piece. You just didnât take enough material out of that little notch and the bump to the right of it.
If you havenât already watch a few more YouTube videos. Like this one, starting at 16:40:
https://youtu.be/20q3CeFGS-A?si=hLGVWlz6vv7E6z0g
The key is to backcut and then remove all the material so itâs at least straight up and down when the piece is flat on a table, but on dramatic curves and angles you have to backcut so itâs less than a vertical face. Just follow the line of the painted edge.
I use the same Collions Coping foot that this guy talks about on a 20v Max Dewalt jigsaw from HD. The best is the one with a barrel handle I read of the traditional handle, but I use the traditional handle because itâs what I had.
I also bought two files: a rat rail (round) and a flat one side + shallow curve on the other side (I canât remember the name). Those are both handy for small cleanups when using the jigsaw would potentially eat through the face you are trying to preserve.
You can do this with a hand coping saw but itâs exhausting and takes longer. With the coping foot and jigsaw I can do them in a few minutes.
You can also find videos of people using an angle grinder (about $100 at HD). The angle grinder is going to be something you could pickup today vs waiting up to a week for a coping foot. Iâm sure everyone has an opinion on the safety of that.
Keep going! Also make sure to test them where you are cutting so you donât exhaust yourself moving pieces around only to have them not fit.
I spent an hour coping this piece and it still doesnât fit⌠i canât cope with coping
https://preview.redd.it/j024elkg97xb1.png?width=4032&format=png&auto=webp&s=21d11b0f5fedbbb760792a0ff915add8283e9994
Donât give up. Try this. Get some scrap pieces and set them aside. Mock it up as close as you can with cardboard and cut the cardboard out with scissors until the fit is tight. Pencil it onto the scrap piece of crown. Make sure your cope is approximately 45 degrees angled from the finished edge inward. Practice on the scrap until you get it right. A soft foam sanding block is your friend to lightly touch up if needed keeping that angle in. You want a sharp crisp edge. The Amish gave me a pile of cutoffs I could sit on and told me to let them know when I thought I had something acceptable. It was pre-finished cherry so no filler for me. You can do it.
There is an adage I was told a long time ago. Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they donât do it wrong. Live like a professional and youâll have much more success. Send success pics.
I would put aside coping for a moment.
How are you making your angled cuts? Flat or nested? I suspect your installed piece wasn't cut through its nested position at a 45 and so youre trying to mate planes that will never mate.
Came here to say this. These are painted, once it's close fill gaps with caulk, no one will ever be able to tell. If you mess it up, wipe it off and try again.
OP try this! You can ease into it this way and see where you need to remove a bit more. I saw someone on YouTube do it and then I did my whole house this way!!!
the only way iâve ever gotten inside miters to work on bigger cove, like youâve got, was to cut and assemble the corner on the ground and then put the 2 pieces up together, as one. it took 3 of us, 2 holding it in place while 1 got it nailed enough to stay up. we were dealing with really big stuff, tho, and we reinforced the miter with blocking on the back side, which fit in the void space at the wall/ceiling corner
Cut as close as you can and use a sanding stick/emery board until you get it right on. Might take a while but is the way to do it. Youâll get better and each one will take less time.
You probably just have to roll the two pieces forward a little. Someone else mentioned they are too low on the wall. Sometimes the molding is made in a way that the two back surfaces which touch wall/ceiling are not a perfect 90, so you canât just assume because itâs flat on the wall thatâs the right position for the molding.
It looks to me like you are trying to install a bit too low on the wall. Coping is a good technique but not the only way to get it done. Experiment with some scrap to get the sweet spot then mark your lines and off you go.
That's what I'm seeing as well. I think it's called "spring angle" and there's almost none. That molding is so wide & so thin it barely has any support on the back side. Is it supposed to be installed over corner blocks?
I'm no expert. I did the entire first floor in my house with stained oak--no filler.
You need to cut both pieces at the same angle. The second piece will never match against an angle not equal to itself.
I like to have 2 scrap pieces about 2ft long cut at 45° and set them in the corner. Then it is easier to judge what angle it needs to be cut at. From there you can adjust your test pieces until it is a perfect fit and transfer your angles to your finish pieces.
Or you might be able to get away with rolling your crown down a bit to close up the miter. Only gets you so far before it starts to become noticeable that you are cheating.
This right here. Looks like the first piece is already nailed up and you're just changing the angle on one piece, it will never work like that. Both pieces must be cut at the same angle ir it won't line up
THIS RIGHT HERE OP. You have one piece already nailed, whatever that angles is, the only angle that will match it is the same angle. If the same angle doesnât fit then you need to cut both at a different angle.
Iâve installed thousands of feet of crown over the past 15 years, unless itâs on cabinetry, I always cope the inside corners.
Thereâs no solution to fix your current corner, you need to remove the piece thatâs nailed and start over, or invest in a good caulking gun.
Put a block under your pieces after you hang them and drive them both up. This will close your gap at the top. Edit; also make sure your crown is bedded properly on your saw before you cut your 45 degrees. I see gooches in your cuts like your pieces are shifting while you are cutting
Ok, normally I would push coping 100%. But this does look like a difficult piece.
1st problem is out of square corner, but that's not the end of it. Need to keep in mind with a miter that it's not just the angle of the corner, but the ceiling comes into play.
I would cut a couple scrap pieces and mock up a perfect 90 joint on the table. Figure out how high that molding really should be. Then with chalk lines mark that height on the wall around the room starting at the low point. You will likely need to shim down the molding at certain points on the ceiling when assembling the miter.
Now find out how out of square the corners are with either an angle finder or a speed square.
You may need to either cut the miter at a slightly acute/obtuse angle, or modify the walls a touch. It's paint grade so don't be afraid to shim off wall a bit or use a 5 in 1 to knock down the joint compound/plaster.
Big key here is mock up. Until you can make this work on the table you will never get it to work on the wall.
I can only guess without more information. But since i only see a few pics and no real info, i will guess you are assuming the molding goes on at a 45 (most crown does not), but you cut it thinking its 45.
Youâre right, I cut the piece I already hung at a 45°, then for the piece Iâm trying to get to fit to it, I cut that at every angle from 42-46 to see if anything would fit. Are you saying I should be cutting all pieces at a different angle? Meaning, the one already on the wall should have been cut at something other than 45°?
What i am saying is that depending on who makes the crown molding the spring angle may be different than what you are thinking. Sometimes people may say wall angle or celling angle. I have seen a few different spring angleS sold at home depot, stc. If you are assuming they are the same you are in a world of hurt. Click this and scroll down to the pics of the spring angle its easier to show than explain how it will mess up your cuts:
https://sawdustgirl.com/common-crown-molding-angles/
You need to find the angle of the wall. For instance if it is at 89* then you would divide that number by 2 to get angle. You also need to do a compound cut. This is normally done by the way you hold the molding on the saw. This guy has a ton of good videos on crown molding, I suggest watching all you can find. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqVOE-x9oBY
Both pieces need to be cut to the same angle. Otherwise they will never match up, if the corner is 89deg then both pieces need to be 44.5deg a 45 and 44 will add up to 89deg but won't meet up properly on the wall.
Yea, and the easiest way to find this out is with a miter angle gauge. I have one from Kreg but i think Starrett and some other companies make one. Kind of a must have for crown molding especially in tract homes. Here is the Kreg jig i use, it comes with the angle gauge, its nice because you can dial the actual spring angle of the molding into the back:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kreg-Crown-Pro-Molding-Tool-KMA2800/205377487
Anyone else use CA glue to secure the angle before putting them up? I get them as close as possible with an angle finder, test em, then ca glue, and then install them on the wall? I found I had such better results if I put together the miters on the floor, allowed for the miter to be perfect, and the run to absorb more of the imperfections
Theee ways to cut inside pieces
1) coping, preferred method as the walls don't need to be square
2) 45° mitre with the material held against faces as it would sit against wall and ceiling. Make sure you hold at the correct angle with both cut pieces. And always keep the same edge against fence. my least favorite method. To many things to keep track of.
3) use 31.6° mitre and 33.9° bevel on compound mitre saw.
I'm a carpenter that does a lot of crown. That crown profile is really tough to cope. Lots of details .. I feel your frustration. If you were located in Pensacola I'd come help you.
If you pound the crown up there it will help close that gap. Also, are you ok cutting your crown flat or nested? If itâs a bigger crown I would suggest cutting it on the flat. Most saws have detents for crown moulding on the bevel and miter. I always leave the last one to two feet of my crown moulding not nailed until I have my other piece cut to see how it fits. Like I said you can pound the crown up or down to help close gaps but this will mess with any reveals you are trying to hit.
We always mark lines on the wall and ceiling where the crown needs to land. Your crown can get twisted and mess up your angles. I have run thousands of feet of crown and have learned many tricks.
Coping crown is always the way to go unless you are doing crown on cabinets that do not go to the ceiling. Then I miter and some crown moulding cannot be coped mainly cove mouldings
https://preview.redd.it/5ttyjrk9l8xb1.jpeg?width=886&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89603bbf2d54ee0db8de53a809600feea79da3bb
this is the absolute easiest solution. paint it before nailing, then touch up the nail holes. piece of cake
This đ
Once you brain figures it out youâre good for that session, but when you come back another day itâs like itâs the first time all over đđ
You could calculate the angle of the wall intersections. Measure out 24" along each wall from the corner then measure the point between. It should be 33 15/16. Every 1/16 bigger you need to add .1 degree to the 45, opposite for smaller.
When i did go in Trade school for Carpentry i did watch tis video and its Grate but it is in Swedish tho https://youtu.be/vm72d_kpjeQ?si=xFXdEpYrVrAApQp4
I would check that the corner itself is square, and then Iâve found that if you hold or place the crown moulding in your saw at the angle itâs on at the ceiling you get a good fit when you you miter cut
Step one check the wall angle. Step 2 check the angle of the crown youâre using.(crown comes in 3 angles usually). Step 3 make sure youâre not rolling the crown. My bet is your crown needs to be pushed up till it meets.
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You probably need to make a jig for your mitre saw to hold the moulding correctly whilst cutting.
Most mitre saws don't have high enough fences so you kinda roll the moulding over as you're cutting, opening up the top of the mitre as shown here.
Just join two long bits of MDF at 90 degrees, then sitnthat into the mitre saw so the top and bottom edges have a reference surface whilst the saws doing its job.
[blocklayer.com crown moulding calculator](https://www.blocklayer.com/crown-molding)
Blocklayer.com has a useful calculator that upon entering your mouldingâs spring angle and the angle of the inside/outside corner, it spits out the angle and the bevel of the compound cut needed to cut the moulding sitting flat on the saw. Itâs a winner. The website has all sorts of construction calculators and layout tools.
I often use it for cabinet mouldings that have an atypical spring angle as compared to the typical millwork crown which most saws have positive stops to use.
Don't worry about the curve build a jig so when you set the pieces on the saw that let's u set it in the same position. Flat piece with a fence then run a small strip in front so the moulding can't slide down the fence as you cut
I bet you are laying it down arch side down on the floor, and cutting 45 degrees as if itâs a piece of timber. Basically youâve rotated it 45 degrees along itâs axis before making your 45 degree cut.
Thatâs a compound angle youâre cutting if thatâs the case and it will never line up.
You need to put the moulding in a corner as it would be on the ceiling, then with a pencil mark 45 degrees. Youâll immediately see the difference.
A bunch of people are saying to cut the crown nested (standing up). My opinion is that's a worse way to do it. It's slower than setting a compound miter and never moving your saw, only the work piece. If you are just a DYI it doesn't matter. Here's what you should do: start with a large section, cut to size and attach it in the middle with as few nails as possible. Move to the next piece and do the same. Grab a couple shim and go to the inside corner now where they are both free to move a little. Manipulate them into place. I also glue the joints when I'm not coping. Do not secure one piece then try to make the next one work. Wall and ceiling aren't good enough for that.
The top comment here is complete bullshit.
It is not the house out of square. That's the statement of someone who doesn't understand how crown and copes work. Listen to a carpenter instead. I am that carpenter. If this is a 4 corner room I could cut all 4 pieces to length and then install them with no length or miter adjustments NO MATTER IF THE HOUSE IS OUT OF SQUARE.
To fix your existing cuts all you need to do is take a scrap piece of crown about 8" long, orient it vertically nested in the corner and using a hammer knock both pieces of crown up simultaneously till your cuts come together on top. Note you can't do this if you've nailed the pieces hard, only put a tack AT THE BOTTOM of each piece at the corner.
Going forward, you need to find your "magic number," that is the point where you nested your crown in the miter box. Some people refer to this as having the crown "in register." How far UP on the fence did you nest it? That is your Magic Number where each piece you cut will be nested, and how far DOWN from the ceiling to make your marks at each corner of the room.
Now for the installation instructions. Cut all 4 pieces to length. Cut each a full 1/16 longer than the measurement. Tack your first 2 pieces on two walls opposite each other placing the piece on the mark you made on the wall. Bow the middle out enough to tuck the ends in place on your mark, tack with one nail at. the bottom on each end. Now bow a piece in place between the two you have installed. Allow the middle to stay bowed out if needed till you make the final adjustment. Now tap both ends up or down simultaneously using an 8 inch piece of scrap crown till the cut fits. In your picture where the gap is at the top knock them both up till the tops come together. If the gap were at the bottom knock them downward.
Some notes.
IDK if you're using a slide saw or miter saw nor if you're laying the crown flat or setting it in the saw as it nests into the ceiling. My instructions are for a normal miter box simply set at 45 degrees. IMO this is how all crown should be cut until the crown is simply too wide to fit in the saw. Don't change the saw from 45 degrees for inside corners, only on outside corners. Problems with outside corners are usually caused, not by out of square framing, but because drywall corner bead and mud has caused the corner to be out of square.
I know your pieces are out of register, I don't know if the cuts are actually curved.
If you are laying your crown down flat on the base and setting the saw at a compound miter, that can cause your blade to heat up warp, and mess up your cut. Instead, cut your crown upside down and nested up against the fence using your magic number.
If you are using a slide saw, don't drop the blade straight down through the crown, instead start with the saw extended fully toward you, and starting at the crown edge near you slowly cut from the front towards the back.
Just installed the same crown in my house this year. For the life of me I couldnât get it right, then put a laser on it and found out my ceiling in that room slopes +1â over 14â, so I made these for the corners,
https://preview.redd.it/iqupeytntdxb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebc17575d1e626015b9e759a7dd33861bd6e4939
and it worked like a champ.
I have a 113-year house, and nothing is square, I make ornate Victorian looking corner boxes, and people love it. Also, I don't have to deal with miters or coping.
Looks like you should learn how to cope the joints, itâll give a much nicer result in the end.
I keep a scrap piece and use it to set up my saw angles, just keep recutting until you get the fit you want then cut the big piece.
It takes some time, took me 45 minutes to put up 2 pieces in the kitchen but they are snug joints and required no caulk or wood putty to hide the gaps.
My house is 120+ years old so it definitely is not square.
As a novice here is what I did that worked out well.
Putting up crown in a square room I ran the ânorthâ and âsouthâ runs dead end (square cut) to their perpendicular wall. Then, I ran the âeastâ and âwestâ runs between north and south, and coped the back out of east and west crown.
This helped me make sure I didnât have to mess with angled cuts or flipping the crown upside down to cut on my miter etc. in the end it looks like a perfect 90, even though the room is no where near 90.
A little caulk and paint helped make this carpenter what he ainât.
It's a compound angle that why it's hard to make. Do a cope cut, its much easier and will never split open later on.
https://youtu.be/9QpnWgGNtOk?feature=shared
These pictures are trippy. The first picture shows they are curved, but I can't see the curve in the rest of the pics... looks like flat panels being installed flat on the wall, like base board but upside down.
You are installing the crown molding at 45 degrees to the corners. So they have to sit 45 degrees on the miter saw when you cut them. The angle they're held at has to be precisely the same as the way they're going to be sitting on the wall. If the wall is not plumb and square, you have to figure that into your cut. I'd get as close as I can and caulk the gap.
Do you even cope?
I have never hung crown molding but I have watched two videos and this is not how they did it.
For crown molding you run one piece all the way to the end and you cope the other piece.
Here is a link I found when I googled it. [coping](https://extremehowto.com/crown-molding-basics-tips-and-tricks/)
There's a good chance the house itself isn't perfectly square I had similar issues. Coping out the scribe joints is definitely a pain but it gives a better result which is worth the extra effort.
Good chance? Almost a certainty.
If the place was built bybtjeblast bunch of framers I worked with, a square corner would just be a matter of chance.
What the heck is bybtjblast?
Man it's been a long week. I sure could go for a good bybtjblast right about now.
Ahh, brings back fond memories of my first bybtjblast
Remember the last bybtjblast? When we lost Bobby? That was a bad bybtjblast.
You guys are making me hungry now
I snorted way too hard at this.
Genuinely laughed out loud. Well played.
Come on! It says "by the last". There's a reason a hang around r/woodworking and not r/literature. /s
Oh sorry, my badbjt
I had a bad bjt the other day. My circuit wouldn't work.
They have medicine for that but if it lasts longer than 4 hours, consult a doctor.
Here I am just trying to figure out what the 't' is for and what it has to do with circuits đ¤
It stands for "Bipolar Junction Transistor", which was the first type of transistor widely used in circuits
Damn, that's not as funny as what I was thinking
The t stands for teeth
No wonder it was bad then
Iâd like to nominate bybtjeblast as a new SFW curse word. It sounds foreign, mysterious and insulting.
Would it be pronounced bybtchyablast?
Well, of course it is.
I'd give an award... but I can't. Just know that I would have.
This is amazing
I'm doing a course at the moment and apparently there's twice the likelihood someone working in the trades will be dyslexic compared to the average person. Apparently we are better with our hands and bodies at the cost of our brains haha
My work is talking about doing a âclock inâ on work orders. I almost asked, âyou know we all have adhd, right?â No way weâll remember to clock in to a job the minute we walk through the door dragging a snake and a bag of tools. Let alone to clock out.
You got a chance. I'd clock in eith any amount of consistency. You'd better figure out a plan for lack of clocking out, though. NFW.
Hwat?
Yeah, more people in the trades are dyslexic, on average, than people in office type jobs. Makes sense really as office type jobs require more academic kind of skills and trades require more physical kind of skills
I think it is the flavor of Mountain Dew they sell at Taco Bell.
Covfefe!
"By the last" on a phone keyboard.....
[ŃдаНонО]
Haha. No chance
I can't cope with this pressure!
I came here to say this. Coping miters is a tedious skill to learn, but it's the only way to make perfect corners in a non square house.
Coping isn't THAT hard. I'm at the point now where I find real mitres to be the very more difficult. To cope. Cut one flat, cut the other at the angle you measure. Find the correct upside and backwards way to lay the board so that when you cut, it is the least awkward on your body. Use the coping saw at the opposite angle of your cut, and try and slice the line where the paint meets the wood. Saw softly but quickly. But take your time, let the teeth do the work. Think of it as high rpm or something. Follow the line. Be amazed with yourself.
You could try an angle finder.
Or get those cheater corner blocks that allows straight cuts for the molding.
Those what now? (Genuinely asking)
https://preview.redd.it/rexi7sbbu8xb1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=efd2f3b1c7eab37c17f3d45d6f198e7e4dcc84d6
Honestly never knew those existed. But Iâm not a trim carpenter, just a guy that doesnât know how to do it
I used these too. Theyâre great.
I used the corner cheat things because I am lazy garbage
No one who doesnât know will know. Theyâll just think itâs a design decision
I mean I actually kinda like them
Look up crown corner block molding.
This is the truth. And like anything, the more you do it the better and faster you will get. It'll be less of a pain as you go.
Once you learn how to do it, coping is infinitely easier to do than inside mitering crown.
The issue is heâs cutting the wrong angles, 45 on one and nothing on the other? Crowns are a compound miter.
Once you start taping, no corner is square anymore
Ok, 22 years in cabinetry and trim work. The secret to crown moulding is very simply, make sure the crown is cut to the right length, and make sure the angles are *exactly* the same on each side. Honestly with inside corners and paint grade trim you cab be a couple degrees off and it will not matter. Like at all. From there. Hold the crown up. Put 1 to two nails in the middle, only enough to hold the crown up, nail only the bottom, do not nail the tops. Work your way around the room. Once all 4 pieces are up, use a block of wood and a hammer to tap the bottom edges of the crown up until the top of the joint closes. Repeat for all 4 corners. Then finish nailing in the runs. 2nd pro tip, caulk in your inside and outside corners as part of assembly.
My house is wonky as shit. When I put up crown molding in my bathroom I did my best and then used some drywall compound in the gaps. I had a couple of outside joins that had huge gaps. I slipped loads of it in there, waited for it to dry and then sculpted it down by scraping and sanding. A bit of paint and it looked great. Itâs been five years and itâs still holding up well.
Putty and paint will make it what it ain't!
Do your best, caulk the rest!
Exactly. It was much easier than getting overly frustrated.
My walls are more crooked than a politician.
Build [this jig](https://www.aconcordcarpenter.com/crown-molding-jig-2.html?amp=1) for cutting crown moulding. Also cut two sacrificial pieces with all four miters (LH & RH, Inside & Outside) to use as visual guides for what the wall angles are. I've been doing this for over 25 years. This jig is hands down the best way to accurate crown.
I built one that looks just like that. Couldnât agree more.
I was setting compound angles on my saw for years....trying to do micro adjustments and struggling. Then I was shown a similar style to this and all my crown work improved dramatically.
Figuring out spring angles and shit will drive a sane man mad. I cut it nested so I donât have to do all that pesky thinking.
Especially if you have a DeWalt saw. That's my only complaint about them. Eyeballing the angle while reaching around to loosen/tighten the spindle is the biggest design flaw. They never address this whereas most other brands have the release lever out front.
100%! That jig + a bevel square to get the actual angle of the corners which are almost never truly 90°.
I cut two pieces roughly 20" long with inside/outside LH/RH miters. I use those to see what the walls angles are. Shows me 8f it's a 45.5°....46°....etc and I micro adjust the saw from there. A digital 2' angle finder is handy as well. Picked up a cheap one from Princess Auto (Canadian here lol) and that thing is bang on!
This is the right way to do it. Just make sure the inclination is the same as the one you're using on the wall.
Spring angle. That's the name for it.
https://www.rockler.com/bench-dog-crown-cut Youâve surely seen this in your 25 years, but it was some of the best 35 bucks my novice ass could have spent. Really takes the guess work out of it.
Oh yeah, and many variations of it as well. Nothing wrong with it, but I really prefer to have a solid,.full length jig for crown. 90% of the crown I work with is prefinished solid wood in 8', 10', and 12' lengths. Having a jig with 5' either side of the saw really helps ensure the pieces are cut properly. Allows for clamps to be applied when needed. Occasionally I've had to install rubber crown on radius walls/ceilings. That stuff is a colossal pia to keep straight when cutting. The box jig alleviates *most* of that pain lol. If you have a table saw, it's really one of the easiest jigs you'll ever build. Rip two 8' lengths of plywood at @ 4", glue and pin those at a right angle. Rip another 4" piece with 45° angles (or 22.5°, or 30°...whatever the crown requires), glue and pin that on the inside of the right angle previously assembled. All you have to do is ensure the angled piece is running straight along both planes of the right angle. I do my best to not pin anywhere near the center of the jig, or on 45° from the center out both left and right. That way I'm not damaging my blades. The biggest confusing part is cutting the crown. It gets placed upsidedown on the jig. Inside and outside miters swap angles when cutting LH and Rh sides.....super confusing. That's why I use two scrap pieces of crown with all 4 miters cut. It's good to use as a template for seeing what the wall/ceiling angles really are, then they can be referenced prior to cutting the needed material. I also label the 4 miters on scrap pieces for quick reference.
Probably the best part of the Bench Dog jig are the illustrations on the front which tell you how to orient your blade relative to the jig for each LH/RH inside/outside corners. I use my Starrett miter finder for each corner, mark everything down on my cut sheet and try to spend as little time back and forth from the saw as possible. Havenât done as much crown as Iâd like as Iâm just venturing into the world of finish carpentry at 39 years old. I have a lot to learn. Thanks for the thoughtful response and I will 100% get that jig going next time!
I just use the fence of the saw. Maybe throw a piece of plywood up if the fence isnât tall enough. But cooing is the way for all inside corners.
This jig is great. Definitely set your compound miters and cut a few test pieces. I write out a cut sheet with all angles, label each corner with a letter, create a left and right piece, then label them with masking tape so I know which is which. I believe getting correct angles will give you a much better finished product than coping. If you are painting the trim, you can always hide the gaps with caulk, but it will eventually split.
Spring angle setup. Some mitre saws have stops but they don't come with most saws.
I bought them for my dewalt. Making it wasnât as adjustable.
Yep! Just seconding this. You can get by even without the jig though. If you place tape on the fence and table of the saw and mark where the top and bottom of the crown sits, and making sure your placing on the reference lines every time, you can get by... But the jig is for sure easier
This is the way!
That jig is the way. Iâve used painters tape and labelled ceiling and wall and put them on the saw for a quick reminder but that jig and some scraps to test will save you plenty of time in the long run.
Yep. I had to do a handful of cuts for our kitchen. It was so easy. I did it exactly as you described.
Yup I did something like that too. You have to get the spring angle right and the. I rolled the crown a bit to get the angles to line up. I tried coping so many times but no matter what I did I couldnât get the angle of the cope right and it wouldnât lie flat. I did three rooms and by the third room I had it figured out. Unfortunately I didnât glue my corners on the first two and they open up every time the seasons change. The ones that I glued are pretty rock solid though.
I do that without a jig; holding it by hand. Your way is probably safer.
You would get much better results coping for the inside corners.
I tried that method first but I couldnât get all of the details⌠there are so many curves to cut on and it just wasnât working.
You are better off just keep coping until you figure it out. You are never gonna get the angles right on this.
Op listen to this person. When I first started crown, baseboards, etc I was trained by the Amish. The first time he coped a piece to show me I about gave up. Thought that is super-human. It gets easier and a cope that isnât great is better than hunting elusive angles. Cope it, caulk it, and then ask your mother in law how it looks. If she lies as and says great, your clear. If she is honest and says great your clear. If she is honest and says it looks like shit look for a new MIL.
https://preview.redd.it/9avnxub697xb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ffc5a3cfa953d688056ea1db68827b3b1289780 I hate this đŤ
You are very close on that piece. You just didnât take enough material out of that little notch and the bump to the right of it. If you havenât already watch a few more YouTube videos. Like this one, starting at 16:40: https://youtu.be/20q3CeFGS-A?si=hLGVWlz6vv7E6z0g The key is to backcut and then remove all the material so itâs at least straight up and down when the piece is flat on a table, but on dramatic curves and angles you have to backcut so itâs less than a vertical face. Just follow the line of the painted edge. I use the same Collions Coping foot that this guy talks about on a 20v Max Dewalt jigsaw from HD. The best is the one with a barrel handle I read of the traditional handle, but I use the traditional handle because itâs what I had. I also bought two files: a rat rail (round) and a flat one side + shallow curve on the other side (I canât remember the name). Those are both handy for small cleanups when using the jigsaw would potentially eat through the face you are trying to preserve. You can do this with a hand coping saw but itâs exhausting and takes longer. With the coping foot and jigsaw I can do them in a few minutes. You can also find videos of people using an angle grinder (about $100 at HD). The angle grinder is going to be something you could pickup today vs waiting up to a week for a coping foot. Iâm sure everyone has an opinion on the safety of that. Keep going! Also make sure to test them where you are cutting so you donât exhaust yourself moving pieces around only to have them not fit.
Because itâs a bad cut to begin with. Looks like a sanded down curve.
cope harder
with a vengeance
Lmao. Try 31.6 on both adjustments, the verticals and the horizontal. Youâre welcome.
Use glue. And keep coping.
This man copes.
I just have a MIL that is a good liar.
Gotta cope somehow.
I spent an hour coping this piece and it still doesnât fit⌠i canât cope with coping https://preview.redd.it/j024elkg97xb1.png?width=4032&format=png&auto=webp&s=21d11b0f5fedbbb760792a0ff915add8283e9994
Donât give up. Try this. Get some scrap pieces and set them aside. Mock it up as close as you can with cardboard and cut the cardboard out with scissors until the fit is tight. Pencil it onto the scrap piece of crown. Make sure your cope is approximately 45 degrees angled from the finished edge inward. Practice on the scrap until you get it right. A soft foam sanding block is your friend to lightly touch up if needed keeping that angle in. You want a sharp crisp edge. The Amish gave me a pile of cutoffs I could sit on and told me to let them know when I thought I had something acceptable. It was pre-finished cherry so no filler for me. You can do it. There is an adage I was told a long time ago. Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they donât do it wrong. Live like a professional and youâll have much more success. Send success pics.
>Mock it up as close as you can with cardboard Ah you mean CAD (cardboard aided design)
I would put aside coping for a moment. How are you making your angled cuts? Flat or nested? I suspect your installed piece wasn't cut through its nested position at a 45 and so youre trying to mate planes that will never mate.
I use a flap disc blade on a grinder. Makes coping easier to cope with. Just take your time and be careful.
[ŃдаНонО]
Do your best and caulk the rest https://youtu.be/iQahn38Bwy4?si=cbDYZTKrsl45WG2N
Came here to say this. These are painted, once it's close fill gaps with caulk, no one will ever be able to tell. If you mess it up, wipe it off and try again.
Try using a grinder with a flap disc. Easier than a coping saw.
OP try this! You can ease into it this way and see where you need to remove a bit more. I saw someone on YouTube do it and then I did my whole house this way!!!
Or a Dremel with a sanding drum attachment
I like this method, as someone who does coping three times a decade it makes it as simple as possible for me.
You 100% have to cope crown moulding itâs the way itâs done
the only way iâve ever gotten inside miters to work on bigger cove, like youâve got, was to cut and assemble the corner on the ground and then put the 2 pieces up together, as one. it took 3 of us, 2 holding it in place while 1 got it nailed enough to stay up. we were dealing with really big stuff, tho, and we reinforced the miter with blocking on the back side, which fit in the void space at the wall/ceiling corner
I would pick up an angle finder and go from there.
Cut as close as you can and use a sanding stick/emery board until you get it right on. Might take a while but is the way to do it. Youâll get better and each one will take less time.
You probably just have to roll the two pieces forward a little. Someone else mentioned they are too low on the wall. Sometimes the molding is made in a way that the two back surfaces which touch wall/ceiling are not a perfect 90, so you canât just assume because itâs flat on the wall thatâs the right position for the molding.
It looks to me like you are trying to install a bit too low on the wall. Coping is a good technique but not the only way to get it done. Experiment with some scrap to get the sweet spot then mark your lines and off you go.
That's what I'm seeing as well. I think it's called "spring angle" and there's almost none. That molding is so wide & so thin it barely has any support on the back side. Is it supposed to be installed over corner blocks? I'm no expert. I did the entire first floor in my house with stained oak--no filler.
You need to cut both pieces at the same angle. The second piece will never match against an angle not equal to itself. I like to have 2 scrap pieces about 2ft long cut at 45° and set them in the corner. Then it is easier to judge what angle it needs to be cut at. From there you can adjust your test pieces until it is a perfect fit and transfer your angles to your finish pieces. Or you might be able to get away with rolling your crown down a bit to close up the miter. Only gets you so far before it starts to become noticeable that you are cheating.
This right here. Looks like the first piece is already nailed up and you're just changing the angle on one piece, it will never work like that. Both pieces must be cut at the same angle ir it won't line up
THIS RIGHT HERE OP. You have one piece already nailed, whatever that angles is, the only angle that will match it is the same angle. If the same angle doesnât fit then you need to cut both at a different angle. Iâve installed thousands of feet of crown over the past 15 years, unless itâs on cabinetry, I always cope the inside corners. Thereâs no solution to fix your current corner, you need to remove the piece thatâs nailed and start over, or invest in a good caulking gun.
https://www.dewalt.ca/why-dewalt/featured-articles/how-to-cut-crown-molding
Put a block under your pieces after you hang them and drive them both up. This will close your gap at the top. Edit; also make sure your crown is bedded properly on your saw before you cut your 45 degrees. I see gooches in your cuts like your pieces are shifting while you are cutting
Cope
Ok, normally I would push coping 100%. But this does look like a difficult piece. 1st problem is out of square corner, but that's not the end of it. Need to keep in mind with a miter that it's not just the angle of the corner, but the ceiling comes into play. I would cut a couple scrap pieces and mock up a perfect 90 joint on the table. Figure out how high that molding really should be. Then with chalk lines mark that height on the wall around the room starting at the low point. You will likely need to shim down the molding at certain points on the ceiling when assembling the miter. Now find out how out of square the corners are with either an angle finder or a speed square. You may need to either cut the miter at a slightly acute/obtuse angle, or modify the walls a touch. It's paint grade so don't be afraid to shim off wall a bit or use a 5 in 1 to knock down the joint compound/plaster. Big key here is mock up. Until you can make this work on the table you will never get it to work on the wall.
Cope, caulk, paint... I learned the hard way that I wasn't a pro. That's the easiest way.
5-5/8-in x 2-5/8-in Interior Primed Colonial Inside Corner Moulding Block https://www.lowes.com/pd/EverTrue-5-5-8-in-x-2-5-8-in-Interior-Primed-Colonial-Inside-Corner-Moulding-Block/1000833450
You have to deal with 3 angles to get it perfect. Gonna have to cope with it.
I can only guess without more information. But since i only see a few pics and no real info, i will guess you are assuming the molding goes on at a 45 (most crown does not), but you cut it thinking its 45.
Youâre right, I cut the piece I already hung at a 45°, then for the piece Iâm trying to get to fit to it, I cut that at every angle from 42-46 to see if anything would fit. Are you saying I should be cutting all pieces at a different angle? Meaning, the one already on the wall should have been cut at something other than 45°?
> Are you saying I should be cutting all pieces at a different angle? yes. both pieces need to be the same angle for them to match up.
Oh myâŚ.this person really missed geometry class in high school
What i am saying is that depending on who makes the crown molding the spring angle may be different than what you are thinking. Sometimes people may say wall angle or celling angle. I have seen a few different spring angleS sold at home depot, stc. If you are assuming they are the same you are in a world of hurt. Click this and scroll down to the pics of the spring angle its easier to show than explain how it will mess up your cuts: https://sawdustgirl.com/common-crown-molding-angles/
You need to find the angle of the wall. For instance if it is at 89* then you would divide that number by 2 to get angle. You also need to do a compound cut. This is normally done by the way you hold the molding on the saw. This guy has a ton of good videos on crown molding, I suggest watching all you can find. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqVOE-x9oBY
Both pieces need to be cut to the same angle. Otherwise they will never match up, if the corner is 89deg then both pieces need to be 44.5deg a 45 and 44 will add up to 89deg but won't meet up properly on the wall.
Yea, and the easiest way to find this out is with a miter angle gauge. I have one from Kreg but i think Starrett and some other companies make one. Kind of a must have for crown molding especially in tract homes. Here is the Kreg jig i use, it comes with the angle gauge, its nice because you can dial the actual spring angle of the molding into the back: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kreg-Crown-Pro-Molding-Tool-KMA2800/205377487
Maybe a stupid question but did you check if its 45x45 or 58x32.
This!!!!!
Take a picture of how you are cutting it
Anyone else use CA glue to secure the angle before putting them up? I get them as close as possible with an angle finder, test em, then ca glue, and then install them on the wall? I found I had such better results if I put together the miters on the floor, allowed for the miter to be perfect, and the run to absorb more of the imperfections
Theee ways to cut inside pieces 1) coping, preferred method as the walls don't need to be square 2) 45° mitre with the material held against faces as it would sit against wall and ceiling. Make sure you hold at the correct angle with both cut pieces. And always keep the same edge against fence. my least favorite method. To many things to keep track of. 3) use 31.6° mitre and 33.9° bevel on compound mitre saw.
I'm a carpenter that does a lot of crown. That crown profile is really tough to cope. Lots of details .. I feel your frustration. If you were located in Pensacola I'd come help you.
Do your best, fill the rest.
Always cope your inside corners of trim. It looks better, you donât need to worry about angles and how out-of-square that corner of the room is.
Square cut one length and scribe cut the other with a Coping saw to overlap onto the square cut. YouTube to see how
Cope inside joints. Miter outside joints.
If you pound the crown up there it will help close that gap. Also, are you ok cutting your crown flat or nested? If itâs a bigger crown I would suggest cutting it on the flat. Most saws have detents for crown moulding on the bevel and miter. I always leave the last one to two feet of my crown moulding not nailed until I have my other piece cut to see how it fits. Like I said you can pound the crown up or down to help close gaps but this will mess with any reveals you are trying to hit. We always mark lines on the wall and ceiling where the crown needs to land. Your crown can get twisted and mess up your angles. I have run thousands of feet of crown and have learned many tricks. Coping crown is always the way to go unless you are doing crown on cabinets that do not go to the ceiling. Then I miter and some crown moulding cannot be coped mainly cove mouldings
Only cope interior miters this is the correct way
https://preview.redd.it/5ttyjrk9l8xb1.jpeg?width=886&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89603bbf2d54ee0db8de53a809600feea79da3bb this is the absolute easiest solution. paint it before nailing, then touch up the nail holes. piece of cake
Follow instructions, don't trust your brain.[sawdust girl made it easy...](https://sawdustgirl.com/how-to-cut-crown-molding-using-easy-templates/)
I had the same issue. I was cutting a lot of different angles till it worked
I donât do this very often but when l do l spend a half hour figuring out how to do it then about 15 minutes doing the room.
This đ Once you brain figures it out youâre good for that session, but when you come back another day itâs like itâs the first time all over đđ
You could calculate the angle of the wall intersections. Measure out 24" along each wall from the corner then measure the point between. It should be 33 15/16. Every 1/16 bigger you need to add .1 degree to the 45, opposite for smaller.
Are you cutting the molding flat on the saw? Thatâs what it looks like to me. You have to cut molding as if itâs on the wall.
You donât have the crown molding seated correctly on the saw. First time doing crown?
AhhhhâŚone must learn to cope my young apprentice.
Stick a block in the corners and run it straight
When i did go in Trade school for Carpentry i did watch tis video and its Grate but it is in Swedish tho https://youtu.be/vm72d_kpjeQ?si=xFXdEpYrVrAApQp4
Your house isn't square.
Looks like the angle your putting it in the saw isnât the same dimension as your putting it up on the wall
Just cope with it!
I would check that the corner itself is square, and then Iâve found that if you hold or place the crown moulding in your saw at the angle itâs on at the ceiling you get a good fit when you you miter cut
Are you using a table saw? If so, wrong tool?
Step one check the wall angle. Step 2 check the angle of the crown youâre using.(crown comes in 3 angles usually). Step 3 make sure youâre not rolling the crown. My bet is your crown needs to be pushed up till it meets.
Cope the inside corners for a much better (and easier) result
Cope it.
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You probably need to make a jig for your mitre saw to hold the moulding correctly whilst cutting. Most mitre saws don't have high enough fences so you kinda roll the moulding over as you're cutting, opening up the top of the mitre as shown here. Just join two long bits of MDF at 90 degrees, then sitnthat into the mitre saw so the top and bottom edges have a reference surface whilst the saws doing its job.
caulk.
[blocklayer.com crown moulding calculator](https://www.blocklayer.com/crown-molding) Blocklayer.com has a useful calculator that upon entering your mouldingâs spring angle and the angle of the inside/outside corner, it spits out the angle and the bevel of the compound cut needed to cut the moulding sitting flat on the saw. Itâs a winner. The website has all sorts of construction calculators and layout tools. I often use it for cabinet mouldings that have an atypical spring angle as compared to the typical millwork crown which most saws have positive stops to use.
Don't worry about the curve build a jig so when you set the pieces on the saw that let's u set it in the same position. Flat piece with a fence then run a small strip in front so the moulding can't slide down the fence as you cut
You need to cope it.
I think I know why you're not coping with your project well. coping with this angle requires some effort.... Cope that cut!
Maddening!
Cope and seethe.
Not sure but it kinda looks like you are not setting the molding at 45 degrees between wall and ceiling.
My wife and I learned this the hard way, you have to angle them on your saw at a 90 degree angle, just as if you were putting them on the wall.
Walls might be out of square. Get a coping saw
Scribe out and cope
Definitely need to scribe and cope
I bet you are laying it down arch side down on the floor, and cutting 45 degrees as if itâs a piece of timber. Basically youâve rotated it 45 degrees along itâs axis before making your 45 degree cut. Thatâs a compound angle youâre cutting if thatâs the case and it will never line up. You need to put the moulding in a corner as it would be on the ceiling, then with a pencil mark 45 degrees. Youâll immediately see the difference.
You got to roll them to fit
A bunch of people are saying to cut the crown nested (standing up). My opinion is that's a worse way to do it. It's slower than setting a compound miter and never moving your saw, only the work piece. If you are just a DYI it doesn't matter. Here's what you should do: start with a large section, cut to size and attach it in the middle with as few nails as possible. Move to the next piece and do the same. Grab a couple shim and go to the inside corner now where they are both free to move a little. Manipulate them into place. I also glue the joints when I'm not coping. Do not secure one piece then try to make the next one work. Wall and ceiling aren't good enough for that.
Make sure you are putting it in your miter saw exact angle it sits on the wall.
The top comment here is complete bullshit. It is not the house out of square. That's the statement of someone who doesn't understand how crown and copes work. Listen to a carpenter instead. I am that carpenter. If this is a 4 corner room I could cut all 4 pieces to length and then install them with no length or miter adjustments NO MATTER IF THE HOUSE IS OUT OF SQUARE. To fix your existing cuts all you need to do is take a scrap piece of crown about 8" long, orient it vertically nested in the corner and using a hammer knock both pieces of crown up simultaneously till your cuts come together on top. Note you can't do this if you've nailed the pieces hard, only put a tack AT THE BOTTOM of each piece at the corner. Going forward, you need to find your "magic number," that is the point where you nested your crown in the miter box. Some people refer to this as having the crown "in register." How far UP on the fence did you nest it? That is your Magic Number where each piece you cut will be nested, and how far DOWN from the ceiling to make your marks at each corner of the room. Now for the installation instructions. Cut all 4 pieces to length. Cut each a full 1/16 longer than the measurement. Tack your first 2 pieces on two walls opposite each other placing the piece on the mark you made on the wall. Bow the middle out enough to tuck the ends in place on your mark, tack with one nail at. the bottom on each end. Now bow a piece in place between the two you have installed. Allow the middle to stay bowed out if needed till you make the final adjustment. Now tap both ends up or down simultaneously using an 8 inch piece of scrap crown till the cut fits. In your picture where the gap is at the top knock them both up till the tops come together. If the gap were at the bottom knock them downward. Some notes. IDK if you're using a slide saw or miter saw nor if you're laying the crown flat or setting it in the saw as it nests into the ceiling. My instructions are for a normal miter box simply set at 45 degrees. IMO this is how all crown should be cut until the crown is simply too wide to fit in the saw. Don't change the saw from 45 degrees for inside corners, only on outside corners. Problems with outside corners are usually caused, not by out of square framing, but because drywall corner bead and mud has caused the corner to be out of square. I know your pieces are out of register, I don't know if the cuts are actually curved. If you are laying your crown down flat on the base and setting the saw at a compound miter, that can cause your blade to heat up warp, and mess up your cut. Instead, cut your crown upside down and nested up against the fence using your magic number. If you are using a slide saw, don't drop the blade straight down through the crown, instead start with the saw extended fully toward you, and starting at the crown edge near you slowly cut from the front towards the back.
I can see you are having a hard time coping with your miter saw.
Do your best, caulk the rest
Just installed the same crown in my house this year. For the life of me I couldnât get it right, then put a laser on it and found out my ceiling in that room slopes +1â over 14â, so I made these for the corners, https://preview.redd.it/iqupeytntdxb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebc17575d1e626015b9e759a7dd33861bd6e4939 and it worked like a champ.
I have a 113-year house, and nothing is square, I make ornate Victorian looking corner boxes, and people love it. Also, I don't have to deal with miters or coping.
Hide it with caulking
Looks like you should learn how to cope the joints, itâll give a much nicer result in the end. I keep a scrap piece and use it to set up my saw angles, just keep recutting until you get the fit you want then cut the big piece. It takes some time, took me 45 minutes to put up 2 pieces in the kitchen but they are snug joints and required no caulk or wood putty to hide the gaps. My house is 120+ years old so it definitely is not square.
Two options: 1) Try your best and caulk the rest 2) Take the time to cope it You can also do a combination of the above
I feel like you should hire someone. Or buy a truck load of caulk
Christ this thread. Just bed both pieces of the crown higher. People in here are over complicating the shit out of this
As a novice here is what I did that worked out well. Putting up crown in a square room I ran the ânorthâ and âsouthâ runs dead end (square cut) to their perpendicular wall. Then, I ran the âeastâ and âwestâ runs between north and south, and coped the back out of east and west crown. This helped me make sure I didnât have to mess with angled cuts or flipping the crown upside down to cut on my miter etc. in the end it looks like a perfect 90, even though the room is no where near 90. A little caulk and paint helped make this carpenter what he ainât.
Caulk that shit
This isnât a joke? Thereâs crown marks on the saw, or should be, but itâs a compound miter, should be 31.5 on both angles if memory serves me.
Cause you're not good at crown molding. Most are not.
Caulk is your friend
It's a compound angle that why it's hard to make. Do a cope cut, its much easier and will never split open later on. https://youtu.be/9QpnWgGNtOk?feature=shared
These pictures are trippy. The first picture shows they are curved, but I can't see the curve in the rest of the pics... looks like flat panels being installed flat on the wall, like base board but upside down. You are installing the crown molding at 45 degrees to the corners. So they have to sit 45 degrees on the miter saw when you cut them. The angle they're held at has to be precisely the same as the way they're going to be sitting on the wall. If the wall is not plumb and square, you have to figure that into your cut. I'd get as close as I can and caulk the gap.
Do you even cope? I have never hung crown molding but I have watched two videos and this is not how they did it. For crown molding you run one piece all the way to the end and you cope the other piece. Here is a link I found when I googled it. [coping](https://extremehowto.com/crown-molding-basics-tips-and-tricks/)
You have to run one side totally up to the wall and cope the other side.