Replies

1. 
   Sphere | Nov 11, 2005 02:24am | #1

   Cut a hunk "upside down and backwards" with the saw at 45..like the old days, use a bevel sq to read the degrees or just set the saw to the cut off. No math.

     Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   " it is your reflection , silly" ..Dare I say?

1. 
   jpr1 | Nov 11, 2005 06:48pm | #10

   Thanks Sphere (and all others responding) but if "I" tried that, thats how it would end up on the wall!

   I found Joe Fuscos' site and he has the math (along with a few other great tips!)

   I will stay with cutting flat on my Makita. Fudging for a nice fit is inevitable no matter how you do this.

   I have three rooms to do by tommorow am; two with  lousy drywall ceilings against  typical plaster walls circa 1952! Finish paint on both as well! This should be a real picnic!

   Fortunately paint grade, have plenty of caulk & putty.

   Thanks again Jim

1. 
   Sphere | Nov 12, 2005 12:36am | #11

   I'll tell ya a few mopre tidbits of my years playing with crown and goofy walls.

   Get thee: a decent scribe compass ( the old style with out the knob, kinda like grade school ones, that are now lousy cuz they made them dull so kids don't poke each other).

   Add a "4-in-1" Nicholson rasp/file to the arsenal, and a really well tuned and razor sharp block plane for the miters and copes.

   Don't forget the all present "burnisher" for out side miters..I use a nailset..the secret is to cut one leg of the miter a HAIR longer than needed, then ya ROLL the edge over the offending gaps and pare gently away the excess..with your next most important tool belt sharp pointy thing.. a really finely honed chisel. A 3/4 is your best friend, enough width to "skew" as you pare and not so wide as to need special attn. as far as tool pockets go..

   Speaking of chisels and crown..a 3/4 will be adequate for EXTERIOR chopping away fascia applied to brick facade with out having to wahck it as hard as say a 1"..more deep bang for the buck..I once or twice had a 1.25" chisel for "ruff" chopping, the first time I trimmed a cornice and loosend a brick..I realized a 3/4 takes a move to travel the distance, but half the force to drive..points to ponder.

   Getting back to coping skills, drink heavily..oh wait..pay the bucks for the best coping saw you can get, I refuse to mention brands for unknown reasons, and really study the blades..I mean buy a sh!t pot of them and play with it for a while..do not , do not lose the aspect that this is supposed to be "craft" and be tempted to go fireing up some new gizmo, for just this job.

   Remember, this is FUN..not production.

   Have at it my man..enjoy the experiance.  Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   " it is your reflection , silly" ..Dare I say?

1. 
   trimnailer37 | Nov 12, 2005 03:04am | #12

   don't forget bastard file. other than that you and i are on the same page. i have different wedges that i put beneath the crown (dependent on spring angle) so i am more comfy coping. i have used a jigsaw in the past, but i pretty much reserve that for really wide hardwood crown.

   please tell me what coping saw you use. i have one that says "bahco" or something with an orange handle and a fish that is my favorite so far. i've gone through at least 5 brands thus far, and am yet to be completely satisfied.

    ----------"the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. one should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."- f. scott fitzgerald

1. 
   Sphere | Nov 12, 2005 03:44am | #13

   Yer gonna hate me now..I made mine.

   I will post a pic when I get it around to commencement with the camera..lol

   Basically, you need to have the utmost control of tension, mine uses a toggle and wood frame, aka a "turning saw"..from the old days..but for quick dirty cuts I'll adapt to a Stanley..if ya have the knack, you can tweak the "bow" tension to really pull a 6" blade tite enuf for servicable work...

   If you want a "fret saw" which I use for 75% of my work, the blade is adjustable, and infinaite as far as replacements go..

   I use a fret saw..cuz I am not doing a lot of coping on houses, but prefer to be more accurate with a different end user in mind. and I happen to have a slew of blades that have no pins.  Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   " it is your reflection , silly" ..Dare I say?

2. 
   DougU | Nov 11, 2005 03:33am | #2

   I think the DeWalt web site has that info on it.

   Doug

   Found it;

   http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?Site=woodworking&ID=2

   
   

   ---

   Edited 11/10/2005 7:36 pm ET by DougU

3. 
   HeavyDuty | Nov 11, 2005 05:25am | #3

   Forget the math, do as Sphere said. Corners are never 90 and you have to adjust to the corner anyway.

1. 
   JohnSprung | Nov 12, 2005 04:05am | #14

   > Corners are never 90 and you have to adjust to the corner anyway.

   How about this:  Take some scraps of the crown you're using, and cut pairs for 89, 90, 91 degrees, maybe more if the walls are farther out.  Mark them with big numbers using a sharpie.  Cut one end of each for inside, the other for outside. 

   Use these short test pieces to hold in place and find out what angle you need for each corner as you come to it.  Not worth the bother for one simple room, but maybe a net time saver for a whole house, do you think? 

    

   -- J.S.

    

1. 
   HeavyDuty | Nov 12, 2005 04:29am | #16

   Then I need a set that goes from 85-95. :)

1. 
   JohnSprung | Nov 12, 2005 04:34am | #17

   In that case, start by making just the odd numbers, and estimate the evens. 

    

   -- J.S.

    

2. 
   blue_eyed_devil | Nov 12, 2005 05:13am | #18

   John, our trimmer eyeballs each corner and KNOWS how many degrees to adjust. He whips the crown out so unbelievably fast and good.

   blue 

1. 
   JohnSprung | Nov 14, 2005 11:51pm | #22

   > John, our trimmer eyeballs each corner and KNOWS how many degrees to adjust.

   Yes, it's amazing how good you can get with experience.  A friend of my mother's worked as a machinist in WWII, and she got to where she could eyeball things down to thousandths of an inch, on parts up to an inch long.  She actually won some bets, eyeballing and then checking with a micrometer. 

   Maybe those test blocks are kinda like training wheels for the eyes?  ;-) 

     

    

   -- J.S.

    

1. 
   blue_eyed_devil | Nov 15, 2005 07:32am | #23

   John, I don't have any doubt about your story.

   Whenever humans do things all day every day, their minds have an uncanny ability to do things that some would say are impossible.

   I myself won a bet once when a guy with a speedsquare didn't believe that I could cut a rafter angle by eye. He challenged me to cut a 9/12, checked it with his speed square and then told me I was lucky. LOL. That guy will NEVER be able to cut a 9/12 by eye because he's NEVER TRIED!

   I don't cut as many rafters as I used to and I'm losing my touch. I'm okay with that though. As old and slow as I am, I don't mind using a framing square or a pattern for the cuts that are important.

   It might help alot if I'd get a pair of bifocals!

   blue 

4. 
   hammer1 | Nov 11, 2005 07:24am | #4

   Standard crown moldings are generally either 52/38 or 45/45. If you have some large crown that you can't cut standing, 52/38 settings are 31.6 for the angle and 33.9 for the bevel. Here's a site from Dewalt, with a table for angle and bevel settings for walls at a variety of angles of intersection.

   http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?Site=woodworking&ID=2

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

5. 
   Jer | Nov 11, 2005 08:08am | #5

   What Sphere said.  I just don't seem to have good luck cutting crown on the flat.  Been doing it the old way for too many years.

1. 
   trimnailer37 | Nov 11, 2005 08:18am | #6

   unless the nested crown is higher than your blade, no math needed. bevel square, bevel board, done (someday an angle finder, someday). agreed. too many variables on the flat. and all them numbers is confusin.---------"the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. one should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."- f. scott fitzgerald

6. 
   steve | Nov 11, 2005 03:28pm | #7

   ditto on the tables online, but:

   i prefer to cut crown "standing up" with a jig to hold it in place, then only the mitre angle has to be changed for each cut, not the bevel

7. 
   pickings | Nov 11, 2005 05:34pm | #8

   Whatever the table says +/- 1° or 2° or 3°. {:-)

   Sorry, I was trying out the alt/0176 trick I just learned.

1. 
   HeavyDuty | Nov 12, 2005 04:17am | #15

   Sorry, I was trying out the alt/0176 trick I just learned.

   ¿

8. 
   xosder11 | Nov 11, 2005 06:10pm | #9

   I just bought a pair of crown stops for my new dw716. They will keep the crown nested perfect evey time. Haven't had a chance to use them. But for 30 bucks, I'm sure they're worth it.

9. 
   Pete | Nov 12, 2005 03:23pm | #19

   come on guys, lets quit trial and error and guessing and cob-jobbing our crown.  time is too expensive and so is the material to waste it stressing over whether or not you have it right.

   spend the hundred or so bucks on the bosch miter finder.

   hold it up to the corner, it tells you the angle.  say, it's 88 degrees.

   you punch in the spring angle, and it tells you the exact bevel and miter settings to cut your crown safely 'on the flat'

1. 
   blue_eyed_devil | Nov 12, 2005 05:09pm | #20

   That sounds like an interstingtool Pete.

   I don't think anyone would ever have an 88° (hey, I remembered that alt 0176 thing!) corner, but if they did that tool would be great, assuming that it wasn't in the truck or at home.

   blue 

1. 
   JoeBartok | Nov 12, 2005 07:42pm | #21

   This Square Tail Fascia Calculator will work for crown molding.

   Click on the Crown Molding Angles link for sketches, formulas and how to enter the crown angles in the calculator.Joe Bartok