I have to cut and install 5″ crown moulding to a set of kitchen cabinets. This will be a first time experience for me. The crown moulding came with a 2″X3/4″ strip attached to it which will hold the moulding at 45 degrees when mounted on top of the cabinet.The mounting strip isn’t really solidly attached to the crown , and I am concerned about making a cut with the mounting strip against the fence of my saw. Should I be using some type of jig for this? Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Skim-coating with joint compound covers texture, renews old drywall and plaster, and leaves smooth surfaces ready to paint.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
I've made a jig that holds it upside down, at the proper cutting angle, and allowing for the mounting leg. I've glued up several pcs where they didn't interfere with fitting, and mounted that glued up pc as one. I've kept coping to a minimum because in this application, it's to me not the best method to make that joint.
Watch for the fasteners in that mounting leg, they put them at the most inopportune places.
It is possible you'll have to drill and refasten that leg to either side of your cut so you have more than one fastener holding it on the crown.
Best of luck.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Annoying stuff, that is. Just did 24 l.f. last week. Maple crown T&G'd to a basswood nailer w/ a staple every 8" or so. No glue. Short returns had to be cut very carefully. Some short sections had only one or no staples and would fall apart (requiring me to glue and nail or staple them).
I cut very carefully, w/o a jig. mounting rail against the fence of a 10" SCMS. This was not with crown as tall as yours. For short pieces I put a piece of 1x2 along the fence to prevent launching the small pieces.
What is the cabinet brand?
This stuff is made by Mills Pride. It's a cherry wood veneer wrapped over mdf . $120 (Cdn.) per length. I reeeely don't want to make a mistake with this !
The best way is to cut the crown upside down and backwards on your miter saw. Then you only need to swivel the table for a miter. After determining the height of your crown rip a piece of 3/4" plywood that height and fasten it to the back stop on your saw. Just place the bottom of the crown flush with the top of the rip, that will give you perfect placement and repeatability when you make your cut.
sounds like the stuff i work with everyday, mine is usually from kitchen craft and is usually solid maple, cherry or oak
it usually has a mounting cleat as you describe that is just fastened with a little hotmelt glue and some plastic nails
i always start by removing the cleat, extracting the nails and regluing the cleat with wood glue, clamping it for about an hour. i do this before hanging the cabinets so that all is ready when i am
i then use a 5/8 spacer on the fence of my chopsaw to hold the crown at the correct ht and cut it upside down and backwards, for my crown the correct height is 2 7/8 inches, the idea is to cut the crown at the same "spring angle" as it will be when installed, although the the ht isnt critical as long as pieces are cut at the same ht
i'll try and draw a sketch of my set up and post it
caulking is not a piece of trim
So far, I haven't used crown with a nailer already attached. That has to throw a curve into trying to get a nice fit on the molding. With staples attaching the strip, I'd be tempted to remove it. You don't want your blade hitting the staples and they will always be right where you want to cut, Murphys law. One of the more important issues, in getting a good fit, is making sure that the cut is square in relation to the flat section that sits against the cabinet. If your saw doesn't have a crown stop, I'd add one. I usually make up a carriage for my saw. Five inches is a wide crown so this may reduce your capacity too much. The alternative would be, just a mark on the table. Hopefully the crown will fit under the blade, otherwise you have to cut it flat with compound angles. I would definitely remove the strip in that case. The crown in the picture below had a dentin strip that was pinned on in places, not very well either. Danged, if there wasn't a pin right where I didn't want it.
Attaching crown to cabinets has been challenging. There isn't much room on the faceframes and nailing them on can result in splitting either the molding or the frame. If the walls aren't high enough, you can't get room for a drill on top. When possible, I attach the crown while the cabinet is on the floor. This doesn't always work for a long run. Since I haven't seen any with the nailers, I've been making my own. The ones I make, help to hold the molding at a consistent angle and I use a construction adhesive to glue the molding in place. I had to glue on a nailer, for the nailers, on these particle board cabinet sides. It makes for extra work but I'm confident the crowns will stay there. I always make a couple of test cuts on the crown before I commit to the final cut. 5" can have a belly, so, your best tests may not come out the way you expected, just don't cut it too short. You can always fit a little with a block plane. Good luck, Ed and go slow.
Does your carriage attach to your saw? I've been kicking around a new design, but haven't figured a way to attach it to my Bosch.
View Image
There are some screw holes in the saw fence that I use for attaching the jig. I just use some short panheads. I consider the jig to be disposable. It's just some scraps of plywood and after a job it may be cut up quite a bit. Because of the saw kerfs in the jig, you know exactly where the blade will cut. There are times when I need a taller back fence or a bottom that is less thick. I adjust the depth of the blade so I don't cut the jig in half on the first use. I am careful, that I make the jig square.The nature of making crown molding takes a lot of stock off one face. Sometimes the pieces will warp slightly and one length will be different than another. I try to wrap corners with consecutive pieces from the same length of molding. The stop on the table is a handy reference but the fit to the back fence is what controls the accuracy of the cut. I make sure the molding fits there, regardless of how it fits the table stop. In some cases, I will glue some sandpaper to the fence to make sure the work doesn't slip. In other work, I will attach a long fence to the saw so that I can clamp a stop for repetitive cuts. Many of the jigs I make are for specific or short time use. They can be destroyed in use, so, I don't get too fancy making them.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
a quick sketch of my setup
this is a good technique for any trim that doesnt sit flat as long as the saw is big enough, the crown i use can just barely fit under a 10 inch saw, so i use a 12
nicest thing about this setup is that the bevel stays at o degrees and any tweaking of the cut only requires changing the miter angle
caulking is not a piece of trim
Edited 8/10/2005 8:02 am ET by steve