I was cutting all my crown molding wrong for years until a guy in Spokane asked me a question

I always measured and cut my crown molding flat on the miter saw table, like you would with baseboard. It worked, but the joints were never perfect, always needing a little filler. About six months ago, I was doing a job in Spokane and the homeowner, an older retired guy, watched me for a minute. He just asked, 'Why aren't you setting it up like it sits on the wall?' That simple question stopped me cold. I realized I was treating it like a flat board when it's actually a three-dimensional piece. I went home, watched a few videos, and started setting the molding against the saw fence at the same spring angle it sits on the wall. The difference was night and day. My joints started fitting tight right off the saw. Has anyone else had a similar 'aha' moment with a basic technique they thought they had down?

3 comments

3 Comments

rileyb6124d ago

Classic case of overcomplicating it. That exact thing tripped me up for way too long. Cutting it flat feels so natural because that's how you handle every other trim piece. The spring angle trick is a total game changer. It seems obvious once you know, but nobody tells you until you mess it up a bunch of times. My waste pile got a lot smaller after I figured that out.

eva_adams6818d ago

My first crown molding job looked like a toddler did it.

eva_adams6824d ago

You say it's obvious once you know, but I don't buy that. Cutting it flat works fine for most simple rooms. All this fuss over spring angles just complicates a basic job for no real gain.