When I install crown molding, I cope the inside corners. Consequently, most pieces have one end that butts into a corner. I like nice, tight joints, so I generally cut the crown a little long. Because of this tight fit, the butt end sometimes jams into the corner, which means I need a pry bar to move it around when the time comes to fit the next piece’s coped end to the butt end. Even if I have a pry bar on hand, wielding it without marring the wall is difficult. A better way is to nip the upper corner off the butt end before putting the piece on the wall. You gain a handy finger-grip notch, which the coped end of the next piece covers, as shown in the drawing.
—Andy Engel, Roxbury, CT
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #172
