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I am installing crown molding throughout a house and have to intersect a different profile crown at the kitchen cabinets. The 2 crowns are close to the same size and sit at a 45 degree angle in the ceiling/wall corner. Anyone have a good method of coping the joint?
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Why are you needing to intersect two different crown molds? Are you trying to match the wall/ceiling mold with the preexisting cabinet mold? If so, i would opt for replacing the cabinet mold with the same as the wall/ceiling mold.
I do not think you will have great success in gaining a nice looking intersection with dissimilarly profiled crown molds.
Pete
*Val, It may not be the best, but sometimes on a job ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Use a pair of scribes (compass) to trace the intersecting molding onto the other and follow the line with a coping saw, back cutting slightly. That's basically what a cope is - just imagine one molding being "pushed" thru the other on the wall. If there are some tricky shapes which line up between the two profiles, you may have trouble making the cut if it means very small or flimsy pieces in the profile. Leave the coped piece long - it may take a few tries to get it right, then cut off the opposite end, which is hopefully a simpler cut. Then again, there's always caulk. Hope this helps. Rich.
*Val, can you put a block in the corners, run the molding into it from both directions? It will hide what is surely going to be an eyecatcher. Joe H
*I use Joe's block idea even when it's not necessary, but because it's easier and prettier that a plain coped or mitered joint. Here's away to make it attractive: Glue up four pieces of wood of the size of the finished block plus length to turn a finial, with kraft paper between the blocks as a parting line, turn the finial, separate the pieces with a chisel, and have four parts in no time to finish the corners. You can relieve the back of the block to accomodate sheetrock mud build-up in the corners.
*SG,I disagree. Nothing is more attractive (in trimwork) than a nicely mitered joint. Blocks at every intersection of crown would appear to show more of the installers lack of ability than their creativity.Although, in a case such as this where tweo disimilar profiles intersect, Joe's idea is quite good and I'll have to keep it in mind, should I ever come across this situation. Thanks Joe.Pete
*I agree with you Pete. Nothing expresses fine craftsmanship like tightly mitered corners.I bid some crown a few months back where the customer thought I was too high and decided to do the block thing himself. I was installing some countertop drop edge at his home when his father-in-law came over and said to him "Whats a matter? Don't you know how to cut mitres"?
*Pete, Frank:Go for it. I usually like to see something a little different that everyone else is doing.
*Val My first reaction to your situation is that you should avoid it. But I don't like the block idea either. Whenever I get into a situation where like this "not very often" I take a piece of sandpaper with the sticky backing, I use them on my orbital sanders, and I stick the paper to a scrap peice of the molding that I am trying to cope to. I then cut the piece to join to it not as a cope cut (inside miter) but as an "outside miter set up to cope" It is the cut that most people make as a mistake when they are first learnig how to use the coping saw. In the case of crown molding on an inside corner you would make the top of the molding the short point with the face of the molding long. Cut the angle that the existing molding is sitting on the cab, past that sand paper down to the scrap piece and sand like crazy till it fits. This is one of those things that is hard to describe. I just read it back and it doesn't seem that clear I hope I've helped
*I once did all the upstairs rooms, hallways, and stairs of a doctors Spanish style house in 6" Oak crown molding. I told the guy I'd do it 'by the hour'. Spent the better part of a month there installing about 2000 linear feet, with all the inside corners coped and all the outside mitered. Used no wood filler anywhere (except nail holes). When finished I gave the guy my bill, including materials and he flipped out. I had him call two trim carpenters and ask for a bid estimate over the phone. He paid me the full amount 2 days later. I have no idea what the trim carpenters said to him. As much as I wanted to go back and revisit that job, I never have. That was the last job I did by the hour.Nothing looks finer with crown molding than a nicely coped corner. And a badly done one looks like a piece of crap.
*Thanks for all the ideas folks! I think I have thought of most of them in my sleep while thinking about this. The block idea seems to be the easiest, but I just don't like the look of it. Greg..your idea seems to be what I am looking for.....seems like it would actually work! have you ever really tried it?
*Once when I had to do this I cut a piece of the crown that would butt into the wall (let's call them the coped piece and the butt piece) at a 45 top to bottom so it could be held flat against the back side of the coped piece. I could then trace the coped piece's profile on to the back side of the butt piece. With my jig saw set at 90 degrees I carefully followed the line, leaving it for final fitting. After the "square cut", I used a 4" grinder to back bevel the coped piece. Then a bit of final fitting and.. Voila! Note i do find grinders with fine discs invaluable to the coping process.. I know it's not the cowboy way but it works..
*val...you have a tough situation on your hands...but i think youve received all the advice you need.chris...in the time you got your grinder out you could have used the "correct tool for the job"...a coping saw!
*Lying in bed thinking about the job I did a while back I now realize I failed to mention a critical thing- the crown I was coping to was an old one which had a flat back, which nailed tight to the wall. This technique wouldn't work with a typical crown, which has a 45 degree (or other) back.Shawn- I own a coping saw (and use it frequently) but find that the grinder offers MUCH more control and ability to remove small amounts of material in a controlled way without destroying the profile you're trying to achieve. Hats off if you can CLEANLY cut away 1/32 of material with a coping saw- I can't. This technique requires more fitting and finageling than a simple cope.
*Thanks guys for all of the advise. The job is done...It turned out great. One thing I forgot to mention is that the crown on the cabinets is stained oak and the main crown from the room is painted MDF. I ended up stopping the MDF with a return to the wall. This kept the 2 crowns seperated and turned out looking very nice. The owner is a decorator by profession and has been very hard to please. She too was very happy with the result. Thanks again for all the help.
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I am installing crown molding throughout a house and have to intersect a different profile crown at the kitchen cabinets. The 2 crowns are close to the same size and sit at a 45 degree angle in the ceiling/wall corner. Anyone have a good method of coping the joint?