Crown Molding Corner Gaps - How to Fix?

Sparky617 said:

Joe,
I like the jig and may get one for my next crown project. My miter saw is about 15 years old and Bosch has since changed the design and you can no longer find the crown jigs made to fit it. The one you linked doesn't attach to the saw and is universal.

I'd love a tool that told you want angles to set to utilize the compound feature. The directions give you an angle for "standard" crown, whatever the heck that is. You'd think you could say set the compound at XX degrees for 4" crown, XY degrees for 4.5" crown, YY degrees for 6" crown, etc. A table would be great. The jig is nice because you set it and all your cuts are consistent.

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The height of the crown doesn't change the angle.
The angle of the back is what might change.
THe easy way to find that angle is have a piece of 3" with the same back angle cut that standing up and then lay it down and set the saw to match that.
Somewhere I have a book of angles that came with the radial arm saw.
Finding something like 31.6 degrees never really helped.

bud16415 said:

No reason to cut a compound miter if you stand the crown up in the jig. Just measure the corner take half the angle set your saw and use the jig.

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Until you get into 8" crown.

bud16415 said:

That’s a great jig. The way the guy in Neal’s vid holds them to cut them looks sketchy to me. I have always made a jig like the one you bought to hold them square.

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cutting it backwards like that would be easy with the angle cut to fit the back sitting against the table. I may try that.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWm7MuHVebM[/ame]

nealtw said:

Until you get into 8" crown.

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Band saw with jig and fence.

bud16415 said:

Band saw with jig and fence.

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The fasted guy I ever saw do a huge crown had a flat jig and he used a skill saw.:trophy:

nealtw said:

The fasted guy I ever saw do a huge crown had a flat jig and he used a skill saw.:trophy:

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That foam stuff you could use a bread knife. My dad had a huge miter box that guided the saw. I wish I had that setup. I have coped with a saber saw before.

bud16415 said:

That foam stuff you could use a bread knife. My dad had a huge miter box that guided the saw. I wish I had that setup. I have coped with a saber saw before.

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You can still find these new.

I'm late to the party as usual.

@ the OP, if only the bottom is loose you can fix that by shimming the offending part into tightness, then caulking the wall line as needed. Doesn't look as bad as you'd think. Generally if the top is open, you can use a block on both pieces in the corner and tap both upward together which will close the joint.

@sparky617 there is a chart from Delta which gives you the saw angles based on the measured angle of the actual corner. Works for 45/45 or 38/52 crown. It only goes in one degree increments but you can 'guess' halfway to the next full degree, With my digital protractor and this chart I can flat cut any crown perfectly anywhere anytime. Once you get used to flat-cutting you'll learn where to 'fudge' the cut slightly to open the back just enough to always keep the front tight, yet still have enough mating to get a solid glue bond. You can't do that trick with a 'bedded' cut.

Coping usually gives the best results but sometimes the wide stuff is bowed and I find that generally works better flat-cut and miter-jointed. Install the the bowed piece first, test fit the other, then wedge out the bow before final joining. If it's bowed out cut the mating piece a little tight to push it in.

My paint-grade filler, whether for gaps or nails, is MH Ready Patch applied with a putty knife to final shape. Almost zero shrinkage unless really thick, dries rapidly, and a bugger to sand so don't leave any excess behind. Don't leave the can open as it dries just as fast there if you do.

With the right tools, knowledge, and perspective on how to solve the problems you sometimes run into, running crown is easy but it might take you years to get all of what you need to handle it that well!

Phil

also late to the party, but it is important to note that if you don't nail up your crown correctly, it will also throw off your miters and coping. I cope all inside corners. When outside corners are involved, I make cuts and use miter clips to glue the joint together off the wall. Once dried, usually by the time I've made the next cuts and laid it out, it helps to lay up the crown almost perfectly.

Also, in the first picture, it doesn't look like the miter is off, it was just a measuring issue. Don't measure with a tape, use a folding rule. No numbers to memorize. It can also help to take a cut 2 blocks, one the distance on the ceiling and one the distance on the wall and draw a line all the way around the wall to help lay up the crown better.

Below is a picture of the first time I cut and did crown. Not perfect, but certainly passable.

1acre said:

also late to the party, but it is important to note that if you don't nail up your crown correctly, it will also throw off your miters and coping. I cope all inside corners. When outside corners are involved, I make cuts and use miter clips to glue the joint together off the wall. Once dried, usually by the time I've made the next cuts and laid it out, it helps to lay up the crown almost perfectly.

Also, in the first picture, it doesn't look like the miter is off, it was just a measuring issue. Don't measure with a tape, use a folding rule. No numbers to memorize. It can also help to take a cut 2 blocks, one the distance on the ceiling and one the distance on the wall and draw a line all the way around the wall to help lay up the crown better.

Below is a picture of the first time I cut and did crown. Not perfect, but certainly passable.

View attachment 14225

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Nicely done.:thbup: