Attaching crown molding...

[Dan Hahr]

I'm looking for some advice on how to go about attaching some crown molding to a china hutch top. I actually already did, but I am not happy with the results, as the bottom of the miters opened up about a 1/100th. I think my angles were slightly off. I made up glue blocks and the angles were all 45 degrees. I attached one piece at a time and glued and brad nailed the glue blocks while pocket screwing the molding to the blocks.

So, what's the proper way to do this glue up? Should I have glued the crown together first and then mounted it all at once? I'm not sure how I could have done that, but I was thinking of using biscuits at the miters (if I could figure out the angles.)

Thanks, Dan

[Chip Lindley]

Hi Dan! For a free-standing piece like your hutch, it is easy to dry-fit the pieces to the top and check for alignment. It is a basic trueism that no corner on any piece is exactly 45 degrees! There is some slight variation somewhere. Measure the angle of each corner with an adjustable protractor and halve that angle for perfect miter joints.

I find it best to tweak the final joints of mouldings on my 12" disc sander using an adjustable miter gauge. You can end up with a hairline fit this way. The face piece of crown must be cut exactly to length. But, the side pieces can be left a little long and trimmed at the rear after the right angle is found. Room for trial and error!

Before you cut up your expensive crown, use some scrap wood in it's place to test the fit of the joints. Once your angle is set up perfectly, commit your crown!

When attaching the corners, I put just a spot of Gorilla Glue on the inside faces, then draw the joint together with strips of blue painter's masking tape. The joint can be touched up with sandpaper if there is slight mismatch. Blend the joint so it is pleasing to the eye although perhaps not geometrically perfect.