Expert: Jamie Yocono - 11/20/2006

Question
How do I set my miter saw to cut crown molding cove molding on a 60Degree
WALL angle like this slash (  ) so that the toe and heel will match.  do I need to
add and subtract from the 22.5 and the 45 and is it 1/2 the angle.  It is a bit of a
challenge for me.
Jim  

Answer
Hi Jim,

I wish a had a dollar for every time someone asked me how to install crown molding. Truth is- it's been so long since I did it, I barely remember how, so this isn't going to be an "off the top of my head" answer. But- I did look at some websites that I frequent, and these three different sites should be very helpful to you.

http://www.altereagle.com/How_to_install.html
http://www.josephfusco.org/Articles/Crown_Moulding/cuttingcrownpg2.htm
http://www.compoundmiter.com/crown.html

These tutorials should make this job easier, especially if you like visual aids. They cover a lot of different situations, like inside and outside corners, and a lot more. Frankly, it's a tough job. If I were doing it, the tools I would need include a compound mitersaw, nail gun & accessories, and probably my tablesaw, as I might need to rip some blocking for behind the molding.

I'm not sure if you have help for this job, but installing it alone is a challenge. Another tool you might want to consider buying is called a "Third Hand".  It's been useful to me in situations where you need...well.....a third hand. I bought two from Amazon for about $70 or so. I've used them for everything from cabinet installation to masking off temporary spray booths. They ratchet into place with one hand, and allow you to do stuff you could never do alone. So you might want to check these out for your job. Heck- you could buy them, use the for the molding job, and then sell them on eBay. I've done that with some tools that I wasn't sure I would need again. BTW- I purchased the larger pads (6" square) for these Third Hands; you'll see them mentioned on the Amazon website. The larger pads give you a little more stability, which helped me when installing kitchen cabinets. But for crown molding, you might be OK with the small pads that they come with as a stock item.

I hope these sites help. Sorry I can't give you specific help, but it's been so long that I've done this, you're better off looking at these tutorials. Feel free to write back if you have any other questions after reading this. And ... please be careful. Those mitersaws can be dangerous. Good luck!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com