Shoe Molding & Miter Saw

[Carroll Courtney]

This is more of a curiosity question about installing shoe molding. Shoe molding is 1/2 x 1" that I am installing around my base molding. I wasn't going to do it at first but I can see areas that base board is more riding on high spots of floor so shoe molding is needed. Well I have lot of short pieces to cut, some outside corners and for inside which I am coping with grinder that has flap wheel on it. Some pieces are 4" long and some are shorter, etc. I am using my 12" miter saw and I am up and down, up and down going to miter saw which on some just to cut off maybe 32rd. Which at my age is killing my back, so glad that I don't do this for a living. If so I would starve to death, plus back issues. So I am wondering what you guys that do this for a living how would you go about cutting all shoe mold for a kitchen that has a lot of inside/outside corners along the base of kitchen cabinets? Yea it kinda just making conversation plus curiosity what others do. Happy New Years SMC

[Rob Sack]

For small jobs or jobs some distance from my main miter saw, I use a DeWalt battery miter saw with a 7 1/4 inch blade. It is extremely lighytweight, portable, can be set up anywhere, and can be hooked up to a vacuum for dust collection. It is suprisingly accurate for a small, inexpensive saw, especially when using a high quality blade. For really small pieces that are too dangerous to cut on any miter saw, I will rough cut the piece on the miter saw as an off cut so I don't have to try to hold on to the small piece when cutting. I then pare the piece down to size using a Pootaluck(sp?) miter trimmer, which is no longer being made. However, knock offs are still available. I believe Rockler carries them. They are basically a miter guillotine and are extremely accurate and can shave off paper thing slices for a perfect fit.

[Cameron Wood]

Cut & install any wall to wall pieces with square ends. Rough cut longer pieces and cope ends as needed. Use ~12" test pieces to mark outside miters. Prep small pieces with miter cuts on both ends so either can be placed against installed piece or test piece. Mark all that can be reached from one kneeling position. Cut as many pieces in one trip as you can keep track of.
I would cope with 40 grit sanding disc in grinder. 30˚ bevel at butt splices.

Scribing the base to the floor might have been a good choice.

[Tom M King]

For this specific purpose, I made three little miter boxes that work with a dovetail saw. I sit on a moving dolly with a solid top to scoot around on. The tools lay on another such dolly to be moved along as needed. All the ones from left to right on any wall are cut first, then I get up and pin them. Next all the others in the room are cut to work with the first set. I had to put down a Lot in a rental house after changing carpet to LVP.

This only requires up and down a couple of times in a room.

When I was building new spec houses, I just fit the baseboard to the floor. Not really much more, if any, work on good new work.

[Carroll Courtney]

If there was a like button I would be hitting it. Lots of good ideas here, my knees are killing me after all that kneeling down. Going to tough it out for about 30' of shoe mold but on my next go round I will be applying these ideas. Thanks

[Jim Becker]

Carroll, not pertinent to the cutting, but very pointed at the installation task...make sure you're using a kneeling pad or knee pads for this work. It really makes a "yuge" difference. I now have multiples of the pads plus a set of the knee pads for when it's less convenient to be moving a separate kneeling pad around. The kneeling pads I'm now using are from Harbor Freight and are dense, but cushiony...so are the knee pads, which while not good for hard pro use, are more than adequate for "work around the house".

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Good ideas already, but I'll still opine. Base shoe is so forgiving, the little profile springs easily so a 1/16 or so long is actually preferable on inside corners. So start on the outside corners and work to the inside. Being able to not have to take half a blade off save a pile of calisthenics. Because it's springy and small, you can also get by with a little less precision on the angles. Just assume all are 45. I don't cope the stuff, it takes too long for no reward. Miters only will save you half the time. Your base is up already, so you can make accurate measurements of the room to, draw a map cutlist and do all your cuts at once, laying them in the rough place as you cut. That way you can come back and nail all off at once, without the ups and downs. We usually trim out with a crew of two, you can do a normal kitchen with cabinets in under 30 mins or so. I single guy is not a lot slower.

Oh, forgot to mention that you should use a zero clearance sub-fence with base shoe or the little pieces will fly everywhere. I just clamp a 1x on the table and don't cut all the way through it.