TaskBoy

Crown moulding. It sucks. I almost threw in the towel today after trying to cope inside corners. I have three more to do on a 4 x 6 foot light recess. I sucked at geometry in school and it shows now. I'm saving money doing this myself, right?

inspectorD

Once you master the crown, you can do any linear trim around. It takes patience. Try the library for a book with pictures.
Or ask around for someone to help you out with the first piece. Two confused minds are better than one.

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pwhoolboom

I'm dreading when the time comes that I have to face the beast known as crown molding....

mabloodhound

Crown isn't the task that I most enjoy, but it isn't all that bad as you make it out to be. Remember, when you are going to cope an inside corner, you need to get a coping line to follow. It's easy if you just turn your crown upside down (the fence is like the wall and the base is the ceiling) on your miter saw table and cut a back 45º angle.
The result where the 45º meets the curves on the face, is a profile of the cope you will cut. You can then use a pencil to mark this line and back-cut it with your coping saw. I've even got to the point where I can cut my length before I cope just by using the tip of the 45º as the measuring point. Works every time.
When cutting the cope, I've used the Collins foot on my jigsaw with some success but I would like to try the new angled jig being sold on Rockler and other web sites.
Dave

TaskBoy

Hi all, here's an edit to a question about inside corners on Carpentry and Woodworking:

EDIT: I was suffering extreme frustration with my first crown attempt today. I just realized that I was cutting OUTSIDE miters for my INSIDE corner copes. I mean, hey, the outside cuts slant back to overlap the moulding it's fitting to, right? In appearance yeah, but the curves of the moulding won't be accurately angled/displayed for back-cutting. No wonder my back-cut curves wouldn't fit.

So, I will try INSIDE miters for my INSIDE copes' back-cutting. I bet they will match up just fine now. I hope someone learns from my goof. I'll post results.

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I am happy to report that I made the proper cuts today (inside miters) before my coping back cuts and presto! the rest of the crown job was banged out in a couple hours. Amazing. I am feeling a deep sense of pride on how well it came out. Thank goodness it's primed MDF and not natural hardwoood, lol! A little caulk and paint does wonders. Seriously, though, I am very happy how it came out. I will put up a new post with before and after pics of the kitchen when the lights are in, etc..

BTW, I just used a coping saw and half-round file for the back-cut. I found that a single edge razor blade really does a nice job of cleaning up the back, too. I actually got pretty fast after my second one (total of 5). My scarf came out super clean, too.

inspectorD

Feels good to get that under your belt.
Now you are ready for 2 piece crown. That is when you have a piece of upside down baseboard installed first, then the crown over that. Makes for a nice look.
What room is next.HEHE

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Just My
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