As much as I appreciate the delicate craft of coping moldings by hand, I have to agree with Lucian Tatum (see Jigsaw coping) that a jigsaw makes the work go much more smoothly. It can be difficult, however, to hold the foot of the saw in plane with the 45° bevel on the end of the workpiece while following the lines of a complicated, narrow molding profile. The coping table shown in the drawing solves that problem for me.
The table is a pyramidal box with slots cut into both sides for the molding stock. After beveling a piece of molding on the miter saw, I slide the stock into the coping table. The box’s dimensions allow ample hand room for holding the work steady, while my fingers remain clear of the blade. During a cut, the saw rides on the angled side of the coping table. Because I made the table out of the sink cutout from a plastic laminate countertop, the saw glides easily over the plastic surface. I use a Bosch 1581 variable-speed jigsaw with their T119BO coping blade for this work, but any jigsaw with a roller guide and a fine-tooth scroll-cutting blade should work well. For intricate profiles, I use the blade as a power rasp.
—Grafton H. Cook, Dowagiac, MI
Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #71
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Yes, yes. It reminds me of the old joke, "Why are carpenters emotionally a mess? They can't cope." And for those of us that's true, you can recline on a therapist's couch, make a coping table, or buy an "Easycoper" at the link below. I had to. Needed the crutch. Works like a charm.
http://www.easycoper.com/crown_molding_coping_jig.htm
Looks nice. A couple of questions: Does it work for left copes? What's the notch in the RH side of the "floor" for?
I suspect it serves two purposes. To give free clearence for the blade to move as you move up and down on the cope, and to be a reminder for where your 'left' hand should NOT go!