fiona_murphy•17d agoProlific Poster

Watched a guy cut a miter joint by eye and it blew my mind

I was over at a job site in Rochester last Tuesday helping a buddy with some crown molding. There was this older carpenter there named Joe who must be pushing 70. He didn't use a miter saw. He just marked his angle with a pencil, grabbed a hand saw, and cut that crown molding by eye. I figured it would be off by a mile. But he held it up and it fit like a glove. No gap, no caulk needed. I asked him how long it took to learn that and he said 40 years of doing it wrong at first. I've been relying on my Dewalt miter saw for everything. Has anyone else tried cutting tricky angles by hand for a specific job?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmawood17d ago

Try marking your angles with a speed square first, it’s way more accurate than eyeballing it.

harper69317d ago

That 40 years of trial and error really puts things in perspective, doesn't it. Did Joe mention whether he started learning hand-cutting on simpler joints like baseboards before tackling crown molding, or did he just jump into the deep end? I've always figured crown is the hardest to get right without a saw, so that must have been frustrating for a long time.

terryk1015d ago

Yeah I've been messing around with cutting some baseboards by hand for a small bathroom reno and it's honestly way more satisfying than using the saw. That crown molding story is wild though, I can't even imagine trying that without a miter saw lol. Might have to buy a cheap hand saw and practice on scrap wood for a while before I try anything serious.