I’m going to install 4 1/4″ MDF crown in the recessed kitchen light box that’s been converted from fluorescents to can lights. So, I have all inside corners with 4′ and 8′ lengths; a perfect first crown project.
I have a cutting jig and a coping jig that I get good results with.
The wife selected a 45° spring angle stock that looks nice, but the flat surfaces of top and bottom edge are not distinct and the vertical surfaces are out of plumb by as much as 3°, so finding the spring angle while installing will not be as easy as I might have hoped. I’m thinking of nailing together a couple of my 8 inch-long coping practice pieces and using them as a template to mark the bottom edges in each of the 4 the corners. Does that sound like it would work?
I’ll be cutting the left cope on each of the four pieces, leaving the right end square cut, maybe 1/8″ short to allow a little slop as I install, then using a small scrap for the first cope to work to, and shoot a nail in the center of each piece until I have worked around and slid the 4th piece under the cope of the first. Then I would nail them all up tight.
I’ll be working alone, so supporting one end while fitting and nailing the other presents a problem. I’d thought of using a Zipwall spring-rod or sticking an awl into the wall to support the bottom edge on one end while securing the other. What is your trick for a guy working alone to hold a piece in place while positioning it and shooting that first nail?
Thanks,
Replies
Using a srap of crown and marking the wall will help finding the correct angle for the crown.
Instead of using a spring pole use one of these.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=62045cat=1,43456
Edited 7/15/2009 4:34 pm ET by natedaw
Bruce, you cannot make chicken soup out of chicken $#@*, take the crappy crown back. Buy the crown from a lumer yard,look each piece over.
You'll go nuts trying to cut crown that is not shaped correctly to begin with.
mike
you cannot make chicken soup out of chicken $#@*,
I thought it was chicken salad you couldn't make out of chicken ####. Thanks for clearing that up.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
I have never actually seen 45° crown. Bed molding or cove molding yes, but not crown. Not that it actually matters that much. As long as all pieces are cut and installed the same and you don't wind up with too big of a gap to caulk at the wall or ceiling, it will work. Just double-check on that spring angle.
Your idea of pre-marking where the crown hits the wall/ceiling is a good idea, but I would use a tape measure instead of a template piece. It will be more accurate.
I cut all pieces snug even when coping only one ends (which is what I typically do). It's easier to get the coped end to fit snug against the adjacent crown when the wall at the other end is helping to push. If you do cut it short, you can always stick a temporary shim in there to help snug it up.
Using a helper is the easiest way to hold up the other end. I've used a roller extension pole and even just a stick of the right length when working alone. The next time I install crown alone, I going to get one of these. I think that's the same link that natedaw posted, but his link didn't work for me.