I am building a bookcase that has a headcasing composed of a cap, an angled cleat and a piece of Crown molding. The bookcase is segmented into 5 different sections, consisting of a 20″ wide center case which is flanked on each side by two 30″ wide cases. The 30″ wide cases have a 12″ wide corner case that is beveled back at a 45 degree angle to the back wall.
As stated above there is a headcasing on each section. I am having difficulty in making the correct angled cuts on the cap, angled cleat and most importantly the crown molding. The 30″ section has a cap that is 4 1/4″ wide, an angled cleat that is 2 3/4″ wide. The adjoining 12″ corner has a cap that I mitered at 45 degrees back to the wall and is 4 1/2″ wide. The mating angled cleat is also mitered back at 45 degrees and is 2″ wide. Everything fits at this point. When I try to fit the crown molding, I not getting the exact cut. I orient the molding upside down against the angled cleat and clamp a straight edge into place on my power miter saw, in order to duplicate the exact conditions at the bookcase. I still fail to get the exact fit.
I need some professional advice!!
Thanks and Work safely!
Replies
I try to have a block plane for any little boo boos...works great with a light touch.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
HOW ABOUT THAT REZ GUY? UH HUH? ...He ain't Silesien I bet....wimp
" Nie dajê siê olœniæ statkami parowymi i kolej¹ ¿elazn¹. Wszystko to nie jest cywilizacj¹. - Francois Chateaubriand (1768 - 1848) "
Well hey, welcome to BT. Sounds to me like you don't have the crown bedded exactly right in the saw. The bottom should be laying flat against the fence, and the top should be flat against the table...and both at the same time<G>
Obviously, the fence needs to be square to the saw table. Check that out.
Do you have the angled cleat fastened to the fence? I'm not getting that with upside down and backwards, but maybe that's not ripped exactly right?
I also clamp a straight edge to the saw, it's a piece of 3/4" ply that's about 8 " wide. Something I can't cut completely through, so it stays straight.
What kind of saw are you using, and, how is the crown not exactly fitting?...and wanna share some of that dorado?
My saw is a DeWalt power miter saw. I do not clamp the angled cleat however it is placed upside down against the back fence of the saw. I am basically duplicating the exact conditions on the work project at the saw, only upside down. My fence that I clamp to the saw's bed needs to be wider cause I am cutting through the width.
A friend of mine, who has been a carpenter for years, stopped by on Saturday and gave me a couple of suggestions. First and foremost is to fit the Crown molding first by clamping a couple pieces of scrap across the face of the casing that the molding will attach to. Then slide in two pieces of molding from each end that is mitered at 45 degrees that is cut long in length until they meet and align with each other. I'm not certain that the miter is a 45 or 22.5 degrees at this point and will need to experiment for accuracy.
The fit at this point, without trying the above suggestion, is lousy. The tops and bottoms of both pieces of molding are at two different levels. I think the 30" section needs to be slid across to the point where there is an exact fit.
The story on the Dorado is I had to donate my two fish to the Mexican Captain and first mate cause I did not have a Sports Fishing License (sounded fishy) and the manager of the resort hotel refused to let me store my fish in his pool overnite!!
Work Safely!!
Senor Dorado