Compound angles

[Dave Falkenstein]

I am working on a deck railing. The railing cap is angled - not my design, but I must live with it. There are two corners in the railing that are not at a right angle - the post is turned about 15 degrees - again, not my design, but... I'm struggling how to cut the post top so the two angled caps will meet on top of the post with a miter with a total angle of about 105 degrees. I'm baffled - help!!! Thanks.

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Dave:

Not 100% clear on what your asking but if you are attempting to miter two pieces that don't meet at 90 degress ( like almost all baseboard jobs) I find this gauge works well.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=49716&cat=1,43513

Greg

[Kermit Hodges]

Missing some in your description but a compound angle is nothing but two seperate angles cut at one time. Deal with each one and don't let it over whelm you.

For example, if your making a tapered four sided column you have two angles. The 45 degree where the corners meet then you have what ever angle is required to make the taper. Something like 3-4 degrees. So you cut a 45 on sides. Then you feed the peice at 4 degree angle relative the rip fence. Make sense? The angles are independent of each other, one does not change the other. Thats where most people get confussed. They try to combine them.

Just look at each angle seperately but cut them at the same time.

[Dave Falkenstein]

Missing some in your description but a compound angle is nothing but two seperate angles cut at one time. Deal with each one and don't let it over whelm you.

For example, if your making a tapered four sided column you have two angles. The 45 degree where the corners meet then you have what ever angle is required to make the taper. Something like 3-4 degrees. So you cut a 45 on sides. Then you feed the peice at 4 degree angle relative the rip fence. Make sense? The angles are independent of each other, one does not change the other. Thats where most people get confussed. They try to combine them.

Just look at each angle seperately but cut them at the same time.

Kermit - good advice, but the trouble I'm having is not with the two angles needed to make the mitered corner in the railing cap - I can handle that. The difficulty is in cutting the post top to mate with the mitered caps. I think what I need to do is cut two different compound angles in the post top, one for each of the cap pieces. The line across the diagonal of the post top is the dividing line for the two different angles in the post top. I think!!! Hmmm.

[Frank Chaffee]

Dave,
Is my understanding correct that the railing changes direction 15° from square, and the post has already been set to that angle rather than 7.5°?

Frank Chaffee

[Dave Falkenstein]

Dave,
Is my understanding correct that the railing changes direction 15° from square, and the post has already been set to that angle rather than 7.5°?

Frank Chaffee

Yes, the post at the corner is set about 15 degrees from square - i.e. the corner is about 105 degrees, not 90. This out of square post makes marking the angles on the post to accomodate the angled cap a mystery to me. I tried cutting a sample by marking the angles for the cap on the post, and I was way off. As I see the problem, the 105 degree corner makes this a triple compound angle, instead of the normal double compound. Triple hmmm.

[Frank Chaffee]

Dave,
This cut is easier to make than it is to visualize. I *think* I have a method that will work, but run it by others before committing to it. A development of the corner post on a drawing board would prove or disprove this concept.

If the orientation of the outside planes of the posts is not as I have depicted, shims could be used on both the inside and outside of the posts. The guides could be followed with a hand or chainsaw.
51507
Frank Chaffee

PS: Someone shared a really strong splined joint for posts if this doesn’t work out and Plan B becomes imperative.

[Ben Grunow]

Draw a level line (not square since the post is at 15degrees or whatever) around the post at the height of the bottom of the rail (this line will be the cut on the 2 faces on the outside of the corner and parallel to the rail pieces). Then hold the level under the rail and perpendicular to it and measure how much space there is on the side of the rail that is up off the level. Then using that info, draw the sloped line on the 2 faces that face the rail sections and there is your cut. Make the first cut through and the second will just yield a small wedge of waste. Use handsaw, circular saw or sawzall.

Hope this makes sense and I'm understanding your post right. Lots of people worry about what the angle is. Don't. Just lay it out and cut it.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I solved my problem by talking the client into railings on the landing and stairs that have a non-angled cap. I made angled cap to repair the existing railing on both sides of the landing, and used non-angled caps on the rest of the job. I tried to get those wierd angles right, but the fit was poor. It looks great now, and everything fits snugly onto the posts as well. Thanks.

[Ben Grunow]

As we say, "two wrongs don't make a right".

But three lefts does.