My miters suck because I'm not DFW Crown! haha. But for me I was working on a old house and with the corners never being perfectly square so it always took a couple attempts. Thanks for all your tips. I made a fireplace crown molding using your tips.
Thanks so much. Have been a wedding photographer for 34 years but now with the prolification of digital cameras it’s a ruined industry. Looking into this as a transition job. It looks rewarding and there’s something awesome about working with wood. You are open honest and share so much. Even just around my new home which needs a ton of work you have helped me so much. Unfortunately I️ could afford to hire someone to do everything and this has been a life saver. Thank you
Great tips!!! I just got my saw a couple weeks ago and I finally got it set up (I'm retired and disabled so I just do what I can and it goes very slow sometimes) but one thing I highly recommend with ANY type of saw is making sure your blade is properly aligned. I use a Speed Square for this. I put it on the saw table and check vertical angles and set to 90 degrees there. Then do the same with the horizontal setting. That way you can be sure that your saw (especially if you just got it and like mine is used) is dead on and square to start with. I use this method with my jig saw, miter saw, circular saw, and radial arm saw because that is the first and most important step you can do before starting to cut any angles. I made the mistake of loaning my jig saw to my son and when I got it back it was all out of alignment and was cutting diagonally instead of true 90 degrees, so it's an important first step. Just wanted to add a little bit of knowledge for others here. You have an awesome show! Keep the videos coming. We appreciate your efforts out here for us.
I'm a finish carpenter and I keep watching your videos to getcha on something. But, I can't find anything wrong with your skills or approach to the craft. I've learned a couple things as well. Thanks.
I’ve seen a couple of things, not because they’re wrong, but because the way he does certain things is different to the way I do, with the same results. With certain things he seems to go the long way around things, but hey what works for one doesn’t always work for another.
@@mike5162 you got serious issues, and should seek counseling! I'm not a fan of Trump, but Trump had nothing to do with this. Talking about carpentry?Get help!
If this is intended for beginners, you should point out why the angle finder is so important. It is extremely rare to trim a wall that is not only plumb but has 90 degree corners. Many mitres suck because it is assumed there are accurate corners in wall construction. Thanks for the content man...keep pounding!
What I learned in ANY trade, "it's not the tools that makes a CRAFTSMAN, it's the craftsmanship that makes the tools, you are a true Craftsman, your patience in instructions specks TELLS all, THANKS FOR YOUR TEACHING.
“That’s a nice miter right there” lmao dude your awesome and regardless of his equipment people, you can still get it done and done well, gadgets don’t give you skill. Attentiveness is skill, I see people use ryobi on job sites all day and still put out good work because at the end of the day no ones cares what you use, it’s all about the work you produce.
The problem that is overlooked is a slight drift of the material because of the pull of the blade. I glued sandpaper to the fence to prevent molding from sliding along the fence.
My biggest problem was always the taper at the bottom of the drywall which causes the baseboard to tilt forward and you always end up with a gap when coping or misalignment when mitered. I started keeping drywall screws in my pocket, driving a few in on each wall and plumbing them to where to the top of the molding hits the drywall as a shim.
I used to mud 12" out from the corners to combat this. I have something better now. Before mud and tape... I created a small corner tool that will score the drywall paper 1" on either side. I drag it down the wall in the corner and peel off the drywall paper. This means there is a perfect slot for my tape to go. There is no build up and more or less a perfect 90. It doesn't crack. You could do the same thing with a straight edge or free hand.
Great tip. Quick remodel on existing or following drywall crew you gotta deal with what you got. If your doing the full job just get the 4.5ftx12ft sheets and save your knees and time.
Great video Richard, keep up the great job. I put a square on the base and against the blade to verify that it is in fact at 90 degrees to the deck and then make sure the stop and gauge are reflecting that number. Lay the square down and make sure it's 90 degrees to the fence. Saws take some abuse getting moved around and things can need some TLC to make it perfect again. Never know if a new saw was dropped before you received it.
I'm a DIY man, do the occasional mitre, they're a pain, until just recently when I realised these things need cutting accurately. I worked out the exact same two tips as mentioned here! And of couse treating the cows to a handfull of food also helps to align a human's centre.
I ended up going through and recalibrating my saw as it was off by a small amount. You might address how you go about this process if you have time. Great videos, thanks.
One more thing to check: make sure you’re using a good blade. A full blade or a blade that is not meant for finished material will leave your cut looking pretty rough
Love the Starrett you endorsed in a previous video, it was the third trick tool I bought after seeing you demo them. I appreciate being able to spend wisely after you test them out! Great job Rich!
Good basic video. Most new Carpenters don't pay close enough attention to many of the things you point out. Biggest thing most people need to learn is to to square up and calibrate the mitre saw, this needs to be done frequently, especially if you move or transport the saw a lot. Even the good saws tend to cut crooked straight out of the box. Also I like to differentiate between a bevel and a miter because it's important to know. Lastly, if your work has to be caulked it was done wrong, eventually you learn how to just look at a corner and know if it's 43° or more like 46°. Very seldom will a corner be a true 45°.
Thumbs up and commenting for the cow shot at the end. If you ever vacation in NW Montana, I'll hook you up with some fresh roasted coffee and some burger for posting all these videos for us newbies. Not even joking. 😉
I like the title, sounds like some one has read The E-myth "why most businesses fail, and what to do about it" classic book by Michael Gerber, best ever to me. From a guru to another; keep up the good work! Respect.
I did my baseboards and I made those two mistakes. I was aware of that and no matter how much I tried to address the problem by having side supports it was just a bad setup. But thanks for confirming what I thought it was the reason for bad miter cuts
In Connecticut I noticed the outside corners are bowed from taping compound and corner beads bowing. I use a larger angle template, lock it into place and then use the digital angle finder to find the true angle over a run instead of a small 4 inch length on each side
Using a compound miter saw, I set the stop block with a tape to a fix length to the teeth of the blade, check it more than once but when I cut the wood it's a little less than the actual measurement. Do you know why that is? Thanks.
Fundamentals all the way, good video for people who may not have been shown these foundational steps. Thanks for the time you take to make these videos.
I wanted to ask you, when a piece of baseboards isn't long enough and you're piecing things together is it better to cut the two pieces in. Straight 90 cut or in and angle. I did one in an angle and it blended in better than the straight cut pieces.
My Craftsman miter fence is a bit uneven when I place wood across both ends of the fence. Been tricky setting it up to get zero degree when it is set to zero according to the markings.
Great information. I make pretty good miter cuts but my hurdle is saw not lining up with laser site. it kind of becomes Guessing game. can l adjust this? ( and yes l own a ryobi)
You check the saw fences for 90° to the bed. Check you index table by making those two cuts then measuring with a try square top and bottom. Cut wide stock flat on base to check bevel on saw. Then, in practice, instead of fumbling to set saw 1° above the index notch, click it into the index, whether 22.5°. 45° or 90° then use thin shims of various thicknesses between the stock and the fence if you feel the need to cheat an angle a tad. You can chop these off the molding you're using but make several different thicknesses. You can then take one shim and move it closer to the blade to add the minimum angle or further away for more effect from the same thickness shim. One thing Richard forgot to mention here but he did comparing chopsaws is blade runout. If your blade is not true or the arbor has runout, you'll get a wider kerf. You will see this in a zero kerf insert or simply chopping part way into wide stock and comparing the kerf to the blade teeth with a micrometer. Good stuff Richard and thanks!
99% of the time, I cut all my moulding laying flat on the saw table, not standing up against the fence. That will eliminate that part of "why my miters suck".
Angle finder, I was told by a old timer (cloth apron hand saw guy, he sharpened his saw on breaks) it is called a bevel square. This guy was a joy to work with. He passed at leased 30 years ago.
I am putting up some 3-1/2" crown that came with my painted cabinets...it's more detailed (on the low side) than other crown I have seen. In addition, the material is maple and really hard to cut through when I try to cope it..any advice? I am coping because i have heard the joints come out better generally. Let me know if you have any thoughts to make this task easier. thanks a lot
I bought the Milwaukee compound mitre saw with the digital angle read out.I like the saw,but it weighs a ton,not easy to move around.There are times I wish I had bought a smaller/lighter saw.
This guy is good. A big problem is crappy drywall installation. Bulging out at the bottom where metal studs are locked into track. Then the screws are never flush so its hard for a perfect mitre to look good. Caulk & paint will make it what it ain't! I do appreciate skilled craftsmen, very rare.
If I'm installing 5" base I take my measurements 5" above the floor. To get a miter closed usually means planing the back of the base or scraping or gently hammering the drywall or corner bead.
man you do quality work. one thing I particularly like is your professional attitude and humbleness. your about my son's age or younger. Keep up the great videos and just keep ignoring the losers. never alow your professionalism to make you haughty, it's a real deal breaker for fans.
Since this video is about how to fix miters I want to tell you how to square your miter saw which is extremely important to good miters. I usually use white toe kick cover but anything straight will work. Cut to straight pieces of stock to about 18 inches each since you may have to make a number of experimental cuts before your saw is square. Put the two pieces together face to face. If you don't have a clear side mark one side as your face side. Now put the two pieces under your blade trim just enough so both pieces are fully trimmed front to back. Now open the pieces like a book so the two trimmed edges are butted together. Is there a gap at the front or the back? If there is the cut isn't square and you must adjust saw until the gap disappears. Now do the same against the back and adjust the saw until the gap is gone. Now the saw is cutting square. Using a square just isn't good enough due to variations off of true in blades. If you have excessive wobble in your blades replace the collar behind the blade. Now you have a square miter saw done the easy way. Check it for square when you put a new blade on.
I was wondering if my explanation was clear enough. I found that if your saw wasn't cutting perfectly square all the fancy angle squares did little good if inaccuracy in your saw compounded a problem at a corner. Thanks for the reply
rbbartho cheap: there are ton, Amazon has a tacklife digital protractor which there must be 1 Chinese company that makes then and puts different companies names on it. Then the company that I’ve seen him using is Starrett 505P-7 miter saw protractor but that’s analog & a pricier company, potentially makes a higher quality product though
Tennman55 This video identified two things I had wrong while trying to cut miters. First, my saw was off by 1 degree vertically and my material supports didn't support the wood in perfect right angle to the saw, but once I corrected the problems, they are perfect!!
I try to avoid cutting with the skirting (baseboard) standing upright like that.. I instead lay the material flat and bevel the saw to suit.. I find it much easier to hold the material square and flat this way.
i do mine that way too. yeah, my miters only suck because my saw cuts are square and straight. problem is my house is anything but. i end up fixing it with sandpaper to massage my work piece to fit the house, lol.
U can use coping saw for wood & mdf products. Gives a nice tight look if done correctly. But there are easier quicker ways to cope. He actually has video's on it. You can use angle grinder with thick 40 grit sanding pad. Or they make a coping plate for a jig saw. You attach to your jig saw. And cut upside down and towards yourself. So need to be experienced with it. But it's much quicker. Can't remember who makes them. But its easy enough to Google..
Baseboards Inside corner when one wall slopes away? Doing a 350 year old house, east coast Canada. Example: outside wall/floor/baseboard run is fairly level to the inside corner BUT the floor drops almost 2” over 12’ along the inside wall. These are driving me mad! Obviously both pieces need a 45* cut to form the 90* inside corner BUT one piece needs a compound mitre to allow for the slop away in the floor. I can’t compound both pieces of and inside corner while maintaining a tight plumb fit against the wall. This one really has me scratching my head. (3.5” colonial wood) If you could help on this one I’m be grateful!
I found that sometimes if you are using a 12" saw, the blade can bend a bit when you're cutting your pieces. Usually it's a thin blade and the downward force can bend the blade and screw up your cuts.
Good reminders. It's often the little things that cause the most problems. One note, its critical to know what your wall angle is, don't assume it is square.
I use finders/protractors and I rarely have to go back to the saw to fix the angle, I do sometimes need to shear off the short point against the wall on outside corners if the mud is not done well. Love the cow by the way...
Thing is most trim guys are measuring a whole floor of a house at a time and making a cutlist then going to the saw and cutting every piece at 45. Unless you check your corners while measuring and write it on your cutlist too I suppose.
I check angles as I go. And only do sections at a time. Like 4 or 5 pieces also assume each piece needs a 46* miter. Cut most casing with a 1* back bevel helps also.
I'm an apprentice and watch your videos all the time. So helpful. Question... I'm doing baseboards with mitre corners and cut them with the timber upright like you do. Yesterday my boss said to cut with timber laid down. What do you think?
My check for square on a saw is to do a square cut on something with 2 parallel sides 4 or 5" wide. Then I'll flip one side over and but them back up with the sides hard up against the fence. Any out of square in the saw's fence gets doubled and easy to see.
I agree with smokingcheeba - but that name! eesh.. Coping inside corners is fast and easy, no headaches and a very nice finish. Used to work for a trim guy that insisted on 47.5 degree cuts for all outside baseboard corners, since it was getting filled and caulked. Anyway, even if you don't have the best chop saw, the left 45 will almost always be a perfect 90 from the right 45. When you NEED a perfect 90, be sure to cut the opposite sides of the joint on opposite 45's on the saw. Should get you so close even your boss won't complain. Even on cabinetry, I'll cut outside corners at 45.5 just to give that little extra wiggle room.
My issue, when cutting oak, is that the saw seems to try to drag the board while cutting across. I usually cut an ever so slightly proud first cut, then recut exactly.
Excellent reminders but Even with perfect miter cuts, if the walls are bowed or the ceiling or floor is not level, those can throw them out too. Coping the corners when possible help there.
Love that angle finder. I nvr knew about them til i saw u use them. But they don't sell them around here, in East Tenn. And I've tried to order em twice. Got canceled both times. But I've got to get me 1for sure... Oh I also nvr thought about using contact glue on my outside miter's. Until I saw u do it. Thats craftsmanship. I mean I've tried other methods. But there a pain in the ass. Do u sell that stuff? If so where at?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and taking pride in your work. I never been involved in the trades but have respect for people that do it and do it well.
the bottom edge of drywall is tapered if it was a full width piece and that will also cause an open miter. strips of cardboard to shim between the drywall and base can be used.
Cope a little shy of the line and finish it up with sand paper. Sometimes file the tight stuff with small rasps. A steep back cut is important too. A good tip from these vids is to apply sticky sand paper to the face of a scrap and run your cope on that sand paper to seat it to the exact profile.
@@nickfantoni5576 sure thing. sometimes if the drywall is proud/recessed of the door or window jamb you may have to roll or close the miter on the saw fence to keep the face closed. There are some vids online demonstrating it.
I find the best thing to do is take a brand new speed square and dedicate it as your tuning jig. Set your verticle zero making sure the speed square is slowly briught into contact with the blade while watching the gap between them clise. With the blade at zero and the speed square resting on the miter's table turned 90° from the blade. Check to see if the speed square touches the blade along it's body at the same time with no gap at top or bottom. Also make sure you position the blade into the table kerf as to hide the teeth from contacting the speed square. Once it is touching perfectly perpendicularly to the blade. Lock that in as your zero. Adjust any stops or degree markings accordingly. Your table should read dead zero. This will set your true zero for bevel cuts. For angle and common cuts. Put the speed square lying flat on the miter bed perpendicular to the fence and blade with the teeth buried in the kerf. Your table at zero should allow both planes of the speed square to rouch the blade and fence exactly at the same time along both edges completely. Your table being set,you should make sure the back of your molding doesn't have a recess millied through the center back side of the body. This may cause your molding to sit incorrectly against the miter fence. One other reason a miter won't line up correctly is because the moldings,although purchased at the same time and store,may be a diffent lot number.
A little bit of sawdust on the table can also throw off your cuts, as will too much of a gap at the bottom of the drywall which allows the base to buckle under and open up. My favorite challenge is dealing with rounded inside 22 degree corners crafted by drywall hombres that get away with not using a corner bead.
Riptide 10x Only put a nail in the top of the baseboard that’s not being coped, if it gets shoe I don’t even put one in it either, the cope will hold it, I’m talking about only on inside corners of course.
Yes, and not all house corners are true 45 degree, so match the angles with the wall corner at the floor (using the angle finder), or ceiling whichever spot you're trying to cover.
Gear Barrel they . I havent used the milwaukee that long yet. So its hard to say. Give me like one month. The milwaukee is a 10 inch so by that alone the Dewar already has a little advantage
or if the floor isn't flat making the base float up and out of plane with the other side, or if the mud on either the inside or outside corner is thick enough that the corner is not 90 degrees that can make a 90-degree perfect cut won't close up nice. lots of possible things to compensate for in the angle of cut.
also a dumb thing someone might do is not notice that the base is plowed out on the back side and that it doesnt sit flat on the fence as a result, with the routed out part on the top corner of the fence.
Hey Richard thanks for the info , I don't know why I haven't picked up a miter gauge as yet , seeing you show it , it's so obvious that I should have/use one .. As Jack of all trades Home Reno guy , I can go a couple months with worrying about cutting mitres , and as such keep forgetting to get that on my " to buy " list . ...It's on now ... Oh and when your gauge reads something different than the normal 90 , I'm old school , so instead of breaking out the phone , I break out the brain :-) :-) Thanks Bob from Calgary
If you are having some trouble getting your miters to line up properly, these tips may help. Thanks for watching!
dfw crown did you go with the Milwaukee sponsorship?
I have all Milwaukee tools now, love them. Your videos have helped me so much one of the best channels!!!!
My miters suck because I'm not DFW Crown! haha. But for me I was working on a old house and with the corners never being perfectly square so it always took a couple attempts. Thanks for all your tips. I made a fireplace crown molding using your tips.
dfw crown I
dfw crown I
Thanks so much. Have been a wedding photographer for 34 years but now with the prolification of digital cameras it’s a ruined industry.
Looking into this as a transition job. It looks rewarding and there’s something awesome about working with wood.
You are open honest and share so much.
Even just around my new home which needs a ton of work you have helped me so much. Unfortunately I️ could afford to hire someone to do everything and this has been a life saver.
Thank you
He makes it look so easy, but when I need fix something around the house, I go from Degrasse to Forest Gump in 5 seconds.
Just sending a note to say how much I appreciate your channel. You really do take your time to teach. Thank you.
Great tips!!! I just got my saw a couple weeks ago and I finally got it set up (I'm retired and disabled so I just do what I can and it goes very slow sometimes) but one thing I highly recommend with ANY type of saw is making sure your blade is properly aligned. I use a Speed Square for this. I put it on the saw table and check vertical angles and set to 90 degrees there. Then do the same with the horizontal setting. That way you can be sure that your saw (especially if you just got it and like mine is used) is dead on and square to start with. I use this method with my jig saw, miter saw, circular saw, and radial arm saw because that is the first and most important step you can do before starting to cut any angles. I made the mistake of loaning my jig saw to my son and when I got it back it was all out of alignment and was cutting diagonally instead of true 90 degrees, so it's an important first step. Just wanted to add a little bit of knowledge for others here. You have an awesome show! Keep the videos coming. We appreciate your efforts out here for us.
Definitely one of my favorite channels. Straight to the point, no click baiting titles i.e."99% don't know" - great info- keep up the awesome work
I'm a finish carpenter and I keep watching your videos to getcha on something. But, I can't find anything wrong with your skills or approach to the craft. I've learned a couple things as well. Thanks.
I’ve seen a couple of things, not because they’re wrong, but because the way he does certain things is different to the way I do, with the same results. With certain things he seems to go the long way around things, but hey what works for one doesn’t always work for another.
rudgem he’s a young buck stud and you wish you knew what he knows at his age. ADMIT IT. Trump would never admit it it and either will you. I admit it.
@@mike5162 you got serious issues, and should seek counseling! I'm not a fan of Trump, but Trump had nothing to do with this. Talking about carpentry?Get help!
Jackstraw 81 are you a Russian troll?
@Mortimer Grayko Now he gone, thank god.
If this is intended for beginners, you should point out why the angle finder is so important. It is extremely rare to trim a wall that is not only plumb but has 90 degree corners. Many mitres suck because it is assumed there are accurate corners in wall construction. Thanks for the content man...keep pounding!
What I learned in ANY trade, "it's not the tools that makes a CRAFTSMAN, it's the craftsmanship that makes the tools, you are a true Craftsman, your patience in instructions specks TELLS all, THANKS FOR YOUR TEACHING.
“That’s a nice miter right there” lmao dude your awesome and regardless of his equipment people, you can still get it done and done well, gadgets don’t give you skill. Attentiveness is skill, I see people use ryobi on job sites all day and still put out good work because at the end of the day no ones cares what you use, it’s all about the work you produce.
The problem that is overlooked is a slight drift of the material because of the pull of the blade. I glued sandpaper to the fence to prevent molding from sliding along the fence.
My biggest problem was always the taper at the bottom of the drywall which causes the baseboard to tilt forward and you always end up with a gap when coping or misalignment when mitered. I started keeping drywall screws in my pocket, driving a few in on each wall and plumbing them to where to the top of the molding hits the drywall as a shim.
Nice tip, sir. Thank you.
I feel your paint, I hate that dadgum sheetrock crimp, grrrrr
I used to mud 12" out from the corners to combat this. I have something better now.
Before mud and tape... I created a small corner tool that will score the drywall paper 1" on either side. I drag it down the wall in the corner and peel off the drywall paper. This means there is a perfect slot for my tape to go. There is no build up and more or less a perfect 90. It doesn't crack. You could do the same thing with a straight edge or free hand.
Great tip. Quick remodel on existing or following drywall crew you gotta deal with what you got. If your doing the full job just get the 4.5ftx12ft sheets and save your knees and time.
I do this as well.
Great video Richard, keep up the great job.
I put a square on the base and against the blade to verify that it is in fact at 90 degrees to the deck and then make sure the stop and gauge are reflecting that number. Lay the square down and make sure it's 90 degrees to the fence.
Saws take some abuse getting moved around and things can need some TLC to make it perfect again.
Never know if a new saw was dropped before you received it.
I just use a big serrated knife, and lots of caulk. And then talk the customer into painting it white.
This is my favorite comment.
Marissa Martin lol easy money... no hustle needed 😎
Not all cowboys wear hats lol
I've done this to myself lol
I hope that's a joke if it wasn't its pretty funny
I'm a DIY man, do the occasional mitre, they're a pain, until just recently when I realised these things need cutting accurately. I worked out the exact same two tips as mentioned here! And of couse treating the cows to a handfull of food also helps to align a human's centre.
do you match inside corner angles when doing trim or do you cope one side?
I ended up going through and recalibrating my saw as it was off by a small amount. You might address how you go about this process if you have time. Great videos, thanks.
Lee Sommer I think my new saw needs this adjustment. 🤪
You can find that in the owner's manual. Get a good square or speed square to help!
One more thing to check: make sure you’re using a good blade. A full blade or a blade that is not meant for finished material will leave your cut looking pretty rough
Love the Starrett you endorsed in a previous video, it was the third trick tool I bought after seeing you demo them. I appreciate being able to spend wisely after you test them out! Great job Rich!
Good basic video. Most new Carpenters don't pay close enough attention to many of the things you point out.
Biggest thing most people need to learn is to to square up and calibrate the mitre saw, this needs to be done frequently, especially if you move or transport the saw a lot. Even the good saws tend to cut crooked straight out of the box. Also I like to differentiate between a bevel and a miter because it's important to know.
Lastly, if your work has to be caulked it was done wrong, eventually you learn how to just look at a corner and know if it's 43° or more like 46°. Very seldom will a corner be a true 45°.
So, you're saying to set the angle on the saw with an angle-finder? Vs. using the notches on the saw?
Thumbs up and commenting for the cow shot at the end. If you ever vacation in NW Montana, I'll hook you up with some fresh roasted coffee and some burger for posting all these videos for us newbies. Not even joking. 😉
You had also mentioned the Starret angle finder a while back. Which one do you prefer?
"SAWSET PROTRACTOR" is the most accurate miter finder out there. No Math. No gimmick.
Do the comparison.
Do you recommend cutting tall baseboard against the fence or flat?
I like the title, sounds like some one has read The E-myth "why most businesses fail, and what to do about it" classic book by Michael Gerber, best ever to me. From a guru to another; keep up the good work! Respect.
I did my baseboards and I made those two mistakes. I was aware of that and no matter how much I tried to address the problem by having side supports it was just a bad setup. But thanks for confirming what I thought it was the reason for bad miter cuts
In Connecticut I noticed the outside corners are bowed from taping compound and corner beads bowing. I use a larger angle template, lock it into place and then use the digital angle finder to find the true angle over a run instead of a small 4 inch length on each side
Great channel. What is the two part glue you use for molding??
Just a suggestion, double check that your fence is 90 degrees to your base. Just a suggestion.....
Wording is important here. Fence should be 90 degrees to the blade.
Sorry, you were right. The workpiece is very tall and he's pushing it back to the fence.
Using a compound miter saw, I set the stop block with a tape to a fix length to the teeth of the blade, check it more than once but when I cut the wood it's a little less than the actual measurement. Do you know why that is? Thanks.
You show cutting the base board upright is that the best way or laying it flat.
Fundamentals all the way, good video for people who may not have been shown these foundational steps. Thanks for the time you take to make these videos.
I wanted to ask you, when a piece of baseboards isn't long enough and you're piecing things together is it better to cut the two pieces in. Straight 90 cut or in and angle. I did one in an angle and it blended in better than the straight cut pieces.
Thanks simple but, great tips. I wish that you were in my area your work is outstanding and the best professional I've ever seen.
My Craftsman miter fence is a bit uneven when I place wood across both ends of the fence. Been tricky setting it up to get zero degree when it is set to zero according to the markings.
Great information. I make pretty good miter cuts but my hurdle is saw not lining up with laser site. it kind of becomes Guessing game. can l adjust this? ( and yes l own a ryobi)
You check the saw fences for 90° to the bed. Check you index table by making those two cuts then measuring with a try square top and bottom. Cut wide stock flat on base to check bevel on saw. Then, in practice, instead of fumbling to set saw 1° above the index notch, click it into the index, whether 22.5°. 45° or 90° then use thin shims of various thicknesses between the stock and the fence if you feel the need to cheat an angle a tad. You can chop these off the molding you're using but make several different thicknesses. You can then take one shim and move it closer to the blade to add the minimum angle or further away for more effect from the same thickness shim. One thing Richard forgot to mention here but he did comparing chopsaws is blade runout. If your blade is not true or the arbor has runout, you'll get a wider kerf. You will see this in a zero kerf insert or simply chopping part way into wide stock and comparing the kerf to the blade teeth with a micrometer. Good stuff Richard and thanks!
Love your videos . Need help with back cuts and front cuts . Any videos on this subject ? Thank you
Wow. I bought that yellow angle finder at HD and couldn't figure out how to use it to find inside corners. Thanks man!
99% of the time, I cut all my moulding laying flat on the saw table, not standing up against the fence. That will eliminate that part of "why my miters suck".
Angle finder, I was told by a old timer (cloth apron hand saw guy, he sharpened his saw on breaks) it is called a bevel square. This guy was a joy to work with. He passed at leased 30 years ago.
Love your channel. Do you think crown molding looks good in every house? Or are there guidelines for when crown molding and wainscotting looks good?
Ernesto Vega ....I put crown molding everywhere, it's a money maker if you know how to do it, I would 10 times rather run crown than baseboard
For the base board can you just to a bevel cut so theres more surface area on the base?
I am putting up some 3-1/2" crown that came with my painted cabinets...it's more detailed (on the low side) than other crown I have seen. In addition, the material is maple and really hard to cut through when I try to cope it..any advice? I am coping because i have heard the joints come out better generally. Let me know if you have any thoughts to make this task easier. thanks a lot
If you’re slightly off on your meter is it possible to fix it without replacing the whole board give me a holler thanks Evan in Oregon
I bought the Milwaukee compound mitre saw with the digital angle read out.I like the saw,but it weighs a ton,not easy to move around.There are times I wish I had bought a smaller/lighter saw.
This guy is good. A big problem is crappy drywall installation. Bulging out at the bottom where metal studs are locked into track. Then the screws are never flush so its hard for a perfect mitre to look good. Caulk & paint will make it what it ain't! I do appreciate skilled craftsmen, very rare.
If I'm installing 5" base I take my measurements 5" above the floor. To get a miter closed usually means planing the back of the base or scraping or gently hammering the drywall or corner bead.
Is it a rule of thumb that u put your trim piece in the position on the saw just the way it will be on the wall? GOD BLESS
Dfw could you elaborate on measure length of mitered boards and cutting accurate lengths with miters
man you do quality work. one thing I particularly like is your professional attitude and humbleness. your about my son's age or younger. Keep up the great videos and just keep ignoring the losers. never alow your professionalism to make you haughty, it's a real deal breaker for fans.
What is the name of the digital angle finder an the laser tape measure you use
Since this video is about how to fix miters I want to tell you how to square your miter saw which is extremely important to good miters. I usually use white toe kick cover but anything straight will work. Cut to straight pieces of stock to about 18 inches each since you may have to make a number of experimental cuts before your saw is square. Put the two pieces together face to face. If you don't have a clear side mark one side as your face side. Now put the two pieces under your blade trim just enough so both pieces are fully trimmed front to back. Now open the pieces like a book so the two trimmed edges are butted together. Is there a gap at the front or the back? If there is the cut isn't square and you must adjust saw until the gap disappears. Now do the same against the back and adjust the saw until the gap is gone. Now the saw is cutting square. Using a square just isn't good enough due to variations off of true in blades. If you have excessive wobble in your blades replace the collar behind the blade. Now you have a square miter saw done the easy way. Check it for square when you put a new blade on.
Thanks for the well explained pro tip. I will try this before I use my miter saw again.
I was wondering if my explanation was clear enough. I found that if your saw wasn't cutting perfectly square all the fancy angle squares did little good if inaccuracy in your saw compounded a problem at a corner. Thanks for the reply
BaconNBeer: My problem is cutting baseboard corners when the wall corners are not square. What's a good angle finder to use for this?
rbbartho cheap: there are ton, Amazon has a tacklife digital protractor which there must be 1 Chinese company that makes then and puts different companies names on it. Then the company that I’ve seen him using is Starrett 505P-7 miter saw protractor but that’s analog & a pricier company, potentially makes a higher quality product though
Squares are notoriously inaccurate, use this method! Thanks for reminding me of this BnB!!
Tennman55
This video identified two things I had wrong while trying to cut miters. First, my saw was off by 1 degree vertically and my material supports didn't support the wood in perfect right angle to the saw, but once I corrected the problems, they are perfect!!
I just bought a mitre saw
Why do they have positive stops at 15 22.5 and 31.6 degree ?
When would you use them?
I always cut with the material flat on the table whether its base, crown or door casing. Plus use tester pieces cut at 45° if needed.
Thanks Richard, Glad your back with the videos. You have the best crown moulding videos out there.
I try to avoid cutting with the skirting (baseboard) standing upright like that..
I instead lay the material flat and bevel the saw to suit..
I find it much easier to hold the material square and flat this way.
i do mine that way too. yeah, my miters only suck because my saw cuts are square and straight. problem is my house is anything but. i end up fixing it with sandpaper to massage my work piece to fit the house, lol.
I've always done it this way too, more than one way to skin a cat 👍
ReverZe83 ,
.....but either way, the cats not going to like it.
vzgsxr lol tell that to a trim carpenter and he will laugh his face off.
Excellent advice. Would you also use coping saw with pine base?
U can use coping saw for wood & mdf products. Gives a nice tight look if done correctly. But there are easier quicker ways to cope. He actually has video's on it. You can use angle grinder with thick 40 grit sanding pad. Or they make a coping plate for a jig saw. You attach to your jig saw. And cut upside down and towards yourself. So need to be experienced with it. But it's much quicker. Can't remember who makes them. But its easy enough to Google..
Baseboards Inside corner when one wall slopes away? Doing a 350 year old house, east coast Canada.
Example: outside wall/floor/baseboard run is fairly level to the inside corner BUT the floor drops almost 2” over 12’ along the inside wall.
These are driving me mad! Obviously both pieces need a 45* cut to form the 90* inside corner BUT one piece needs a compound mitre to allow for the slop away in the floor. I can’t compound both pieces of and inside corner while maintaining a tight plumb fit against the wall.
This one really has me scratching my head. (3.5” colonial wood)
If you could help on this one I’m be grateful!
I’ve found when cutting from same side of saw all miters match. Once you move the saw from left side to right thats when there’s variation.
Your saw is not aligned right, check on your manual how to re aligned it
I found that sometimes if you are using a 12" saw, the blade can bend a bit when you're cutting your pieces. Usually it's a thin blade and the downward force can bend the blade and screw up your cuts.
The best part of this was you feeding those cows on that awesome track. Thumbs up.
In my case it was both...a bad fence casting on my POJ HF miter saw that was far from 90 degrees and newbie error in using the saw.
Good reminders. It's often the little things that cause the most problems. One note, its critical to know what your wall angle is, don't assume it is square.
I use finders/protractors and I rarely have to go back to the saw to fix the angle, I do sometimes need to shear off the short point against the wall on outside corners if the mud is not done well. Love the cow by the way...
How do you do that can we talk on whatsapp +2349038763236 having really big issues with this
Thing is most trim guys are measuring a whole floor of a house at a time and making a cutlist then going to the saw and cutting every piece at 45. Unless you check your corners while measuring and write it on your cutlist too I suppose.
I check angles as I go. And only do sections at a time. Like 4 or 5 pieces also assume each piece needs a 46* miter.
Cut most casing with a 1* back bevel helps also.
Hey Richard can you please make a video on installing a stair skirt prior to installing wainscoting if possible please
What kind of plywood should I use for my workbench top of all plywood!! Tnx
What is the best miter saw set up?
A Dewalt DWS780 and ten thousand hours of experience.
Thays a very loaded question. There is no such things really, eberyone will like something different.
Great insight most people only check there cuts not walls. So you can have the best miter and if your wall isnt 90 it will still not look good.
I'm an apprentice and watch your videos all the time. So helpful. Question... I'm doing baseboards with mitre corners and cut them with the timber upright like you do. Yesterday my boss said to cut with timber laid down. What do you think?
My check for square on a saw is to do a square cut on something with 2 parallel sides 4 or 5" wide. Then I'll flip one side over and but them back up with the sides hard up against the fence. Any out of square in the saw's fence gets doubled and easy to see.
What Milwaukee saw model is that one?
Nice I don't do trim but I'm with you when its the smallest things people don't look out for that will mess them up!
I agree with smokingcheeba - but that name! eesh.. Coping inside corners is fast and easy, no headaches and a very nice finish. Used to work for a trim guy that insisted on 47.5 degree cuts for all outside baseboard corners, since it was getting filled and caulked. Anyway, even if you don't have the best chop saw, the left 45 will almost always be a perfect 90 from the right 45. When you NEED a perfect 90, be sure to cut the opposite sides of the joint on opposite 45's on the saw. Should get you so close even your boss won't complain. Even on cabinetry, I'll cut outside corners at 45.5 just to give that little extra wiggle room.
My issue, when cutting oak, is that the saw seems to try to drag the board while cutting across. I usually cut an ever so slightly proud first cut, then recut exactly.
I like the tips on the angle finders they are inexpensive and can be pickup at most big box stores
Another issue i have seen with MDF is it can vary in Thickness H or Width which will throw off your joint.
Excellent reminders but Even with perfect miter cuts, if the walls are bowed or the ceiling or floor is not level, those can throw them out too. Coping the corners when possible help there.
Thats what shoe is for
No one mentioned calibrating the blade angle and the angle gauge on the table. of the saw with an angle finder / gauge.
wait wait. How do I measure the corner and how do I know where to mark the trim?
Love that angle finder. I nvr knew about them til i saw u use them. But they don't sell them around here, in East Tenn. And I've tried to order em twice. Got canceled both times. But I've got to get me 1for sure...
Oh I also nvr thought about using contact glue on my outside miter's. Until I saw u do it. Thats craftsmanship. I mean I've tried other methods. But there a pain in the ass. Do u sell that stuff? If so where at?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and taking pride in your work. I never been involved in the trades but have respect for people that do it and do it well.
the bottom edge of drywall is tapered if it was a full width piece and that will also cause an open miter. strips of cardboard to shim between the drywall and base can be used.
Great vid on the miters, nice lookin saw too cant wait to see how it holds up.
Just started with a finish Carpentry company.
Having trouble with tops of my copes being open on baseboard and door casing are open in the middle 😒
Cope a little shy of the line and finish it up with sand paper. Sometimes file the tight stuff with small rasps. A steep back cut is important too. A good tip from these vids is to apply sticky sand paper to the face of a scrap and run your cope on that sand paper to seat it to the exact profile.
Thanks for getting back . I will try that !
@@nickfantoni5576 sure thing. sometimes if the drywall is proud/recessed of the door or window jamb you may have to roll or close the miter on the saw fence to keep the face closed. There are some vids online demonstrating it.
What tune is that in the ending?
I find the best thing to do is take a brand new speed square and dedicate it as your tuning jig.
Set your verticle zero making sure the speed square is slowly briught into contact with the blade while watching the gap between them clise.
With the blade at zero and the speed square resting on the miter's table turned 90° from the blade. Check to see if the speed square touches the blade along it's body at the same time with no gap at top or bottom.
Also make sure you position the blade into the table kerf as to hide the teeth from contacting the speed square. Once it is touching perfectly perpendicularly to the blade. Lock that in as your zero.
Adjust any stops or degree markings accordingly.
Your table should read dead zero.
This will set your true zero for bevel cuts.
For angle and common cuts. Put the speed square lying flat on the miter bed perpendicular to the fence and blade with the teeth buried in the kerf.
Your table at zero should allow both planes of the speed square to rouch the blade and fence exactly at the same time along both edges completely.
Your table being set,you should make sure the back of your molding doesn't have a recess millied through the center back side of the body.
This may cause your molding to sit incorrectly against the miter fence.
One other reason a miter won't line up correctly is because the moldings,although purchased at the same time and store,may be a diffent lot number.
Been a bit. How you like the saw?
A little bit of sawdust on the table can also throw off your cuts, as will too much of a gap at the bottom of the drywall which allows the base to buckle under and open up. My favorite challenge is dealing with rounded inside 22 degree corners crafted by drywall hombres that get away with not using a corner bead.
Riptide 10x Only put a nail in the top of the baseboard that’s not being coped, if it gets shoe I don’t even put one in it either, the cope will hold it, I’m talking about only on inside corners of course.
Why don’t you have the handles installed on the saw?
Yes, and not all house corners are true 45 degree, so match the angles with the wall corner at the floor (using the angle finder), or ceiling whichever spot you're trying to cover.
so many pissy comments, get a grip his results speak for themselves
Capitalize. Punctuate.
@@qanononabong8491 It's a comment, not an essay, so how about you just STFU!
I found that cutting too fast through big stock (e.g. a 1X6) can cause my 12" blade to deflect a little.
how do you like this Milwaukee saw vs the Dewalt? great video!
Gear Barrel they . I havent used the milwaukee that long yet. So its hard to say. Give me like one month. The milwaukee is a 10 inch so by that alone the Dewar already has a little advantage
Gear Barrel ... I have a Milwaukee miter saw and love it.
I have a 10" Milwaukee saw, it's awesome
or if the floor isn't flat making the base float up and out of plane with the other side, or if the mud on either the inside or outside corner is thick enough that the corner is not 90 degrees that can make a 90-degree perfect cut won't close up nice. lots of possible things to compensate for in the angle of cut.
also a dumb thing someone might do is not notice that the base is plowed out on the back side and that it doesnt sit flat on the fence as a result, with the routed out part on the top corner of the fence.
Hey Richard thanks for the info , I don't know why I haven't picked up a miter gauge as yet , seeing you show it , it's so obvious that I should have/use one ..
As Jack of all trades Home Reno guy , I can go a couple months with worrying about cutting mitres , and as such keep forgetting to get that on my " to buy " list .
...It's on now ...
Oh and when your gauge reads something different than the normal 90 , I'm old school , so instead of breaking out the phone , I break out the brain :-) :-)
Thanks
Bob from Calgary
Thanks! Yes they do come in handy when cutting miters everyday. You won't regret getting one!
Saw Calibration is another possibility, which was the case for my Miter Saw.
So now you're a Milwaukee guy. What happened to your DeWalt? And how is Milwaukee working for you vs DeWalt? Can you explain a comparision?
Thank you for the tips