jigs for cutting crown moulding

[Tim Wagner]

does anyone have an idea on how to make a jig for cutting crown moulding (for mitering them easy) on a Compound miter saw.

TIA, Tim.

[sean m. titmas]

the best method i found is to cut the crown upside down and in position. i attach an 8" wide rip of plywood to the table to support the crown than place the crown against the fence and table the same as if its on the wall, but upside down. than add a narrow rip screwed to the table to hold the crown against the fence. since the crown is held in the actual position so that all you need to adjust is the miter setting.

[Lee Schierer]

Pardon my question if I missed something, but isn't the purpose of a compound miter saw is to cut compound angles with the work laying flat. There should be a chart in the manual for the angle and tilt to get a 45 on a piece of crown. Here's a link to show how it is done.....Compound miter angle (http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?Site=woodworking&ID=2)

[Jeff Monson]

I use this one http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10565&filter=crown%20molding it works well for me.

[sean m. titmas]

Pardon my question if I missed something, but isn't the purpose of a compound miter saw is to cut compound angles with the work laying flat. There should be a chart in the manual for the angle and tilt to get a 45 on a piece of crown. Here's a link to show how it is done.....Compound miter angle (http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?Site=woodworking&ID=2)

just because the saw can make compound cuts doesn't mean that its the only way to use it. as with everything, there is more than one way to cut crown. when time and simplicity are key, this simple jig it makes the cutting process faster because only one adjustment is needed, even for wall angle other than 90#.

[Paul Atkins]

I cut one upside down in place and then lay it flat and set the saw to those angles. No complicated math. Or uncomplicted math either.

[Bill Arnold]

This is yet another process that people try to make complicated. Like has been said already, flip the crown upside down and cut ONE angle. I learned this in a commercial shop where they don't have time to mess around. It's the old KISS principle!!!!!

[Brian W Evans]

I recently re-crowned my kitchen and dining room. I found the following DVD very useful, since I had never done any trim work before:

Mastering Finish Carpentry with Gary Katz (http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/158347/Mastering-Finish-Carpentry-with-Gary-Katz-DVD--The-Miter-Saw-Programs-1-2)

I cut all the crown upside down and in place using this jig from benchdog (http://www.amazon.com/Bench-Dog-10-010-Crown-Cut-Molding/dp/B0006FKGGC).

Using Katz's method for keeping track of the different lengths/corners I needed to cut and the pictures on the jig for keeping things pointed the right way, I made no mistakes in either room. Well worth the money spent on these two items, IMO.

Good luck.

[Tom Godley]

A few years ago I did a room with expensive crown moulding. The room had a couple of strange cuts and I had put it off not knowing the best way to proceed. At a trade show I saw the Cut n Crown system and while it cost me about $150.00 dollars I know I saved that much by not messing up the crown.

Its a very good system and it allows you to do it in a safe manner with no expensive screw ups.

[Richard McComas]

And then there's CUT-N-Crown.

Check out the Video.

http://www.cutncrown.com/

[Don Morris]

I saw the same demo of the Cut N Crown system and bought it too, to do a whole home. While it isn't perfect and I needed a little caulk in a couple spots, I got perfect outside corners on walls that weren't 90's. Outside corners were the toughtest prior to this system for me. You don't have to move the saw from the left side, just measure the angle the wall makes (not all walls are 90...LOL). You need to support long runs against your device so there's no twist in 16' sections, as any twist will end up giving less than an absolutely perfect cut. But shorter runs can be right on. I've seen him at several other wwing shows so he must be a regular at them. Some of my problem I felt was the runs weren't exact matches. To demonstrate to LOML why some sections didn't join as nicely as others I cut a Butt joint on one run and another on a separate run and joined them. You could see the difference. No matter how well you did your technique, they weren't going to look good together.

[David DeCristoforo]

I am also an advocate of the "upside down technique". The "cut n crown system" is just an expensive way to do the same thing. The thing is, walls and ceilings are never perfectly square or plumb or flat and crown cuts almost always have to be "tweaked" to get the fit right. If you are cutting with the crown flat, you have to tweak both the swing and the pitch. It can get to be a real PITA. Cutting with the crown in the same position as it will be installed (but upside down of course) just makes it easier.

[johnny means]

Pardon my question if I missed something, but isn't the purpose of a compound miter saw is to cut compound angles with the work laying flat. There should be a chart in the manual for the angle and tilt to get a 45 on a piece of crown. Here's a link to show how it is done.....Compound miter angle (http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?Site=woodworking&ID=2)

I believe you missed the word, "Easy".

[Karl Brogger]

Smaller crowns, if they can be cut standing up, do so. Bigger stuff needs to be cut flat simply because you can not fit a 8-1/2" piece of crown in the saw.

The two tools that are a must for coping crown, beyond a mitre saw, are a belt sander and a jig saw. Some of the spots have to be paper thin to get a good fit in an inside corner, the beltsander is the easiest and fastest way to do this and still be able to follow the profiles.

If you're nailing crown to a rock/plaster wall and ceiling you need to put a backer in, 2x4s ripped with a bevel to fit works awsome, screw it into the top plate with wood screws. Also long finish screws are the bomb for getting the crown tight to the backer.

I almost alway cut crown flat now. Way easier in my opinion. It is a little daunting untill you get used to it, but it only has to be tilted the bevel once, then its flipping the mitre, and whether the top or the bottom of the crown is against the fence.

[Steve Clardy]

This is yet another process that people try to make complicated. Like has been said already, flip the crown upside down and cut ONE angle. I learned this in a commercial shop where they don't have time to mess around. It's the old KISS principle!!!!!



Ditto. I stand it up upside down also. I also quit using a board clamped to the table.