Square up, and don’t let tight corners give you the big squeeze
How do you cut crown molding for inside corners? The corners might be tight and the angles imperfect, but you can create tight seams with careful measurements and some basic skills with a coping saw. Keep reading for the step-by-step breakdown on upgrading your home’s finishing touches.
Unfortunately, perfect angles rarely exist for wall corners, making fitting crown molding challenging. You can use a miter saw to create a mitered joint, but measurements and cuts with this method need the precision of an experienced pro.
For most people, using the miter saw for part of the process—and the coping saw and coping joint for the rest—is a better, more forgiving choice. You can use this simple handsaw to remove material from the back of one piece of molding and file or sand to make minor fit adjustments. Hire a crown molding professional if you’d rather leave this project to a pro.
This method uses both a coping saw and a miter saw, with the coping saw giving you a more forgiving way to adjust the fit. If you haven’t worked with crown molding before, buy more pieces than you need so you can practice and have enough material for a few mistakes.
Cut a butt joint on one piece of crown molding using a miter saw. A butt joint is the most basic (and weakest) of joints, with two pieces of wood placed against each other. In this case, the crown molding is one part of the joint, and it’s placed flush against the wall in the inside corner. The wall makes up the other side of the joint.
Set the miter saw to a 45-degree angle. Make an inside miter cut on the second piece of crown molding. Place the crown molding in the miter saw so the material is removed from the back of the piece.
Use a pencil to darken the leading edge (aka the top edge) on the mitered end of the second piece of crown molding. This line should follow the decorative edge of the crown molding, making it more visible and guiding the cut in the next step.
Hold the crown molding on a work table as a brace when cutting with the coping saw. You can also use the bracing system on the miter saw to hold the crown molding steady while using the coping saw.
Angle the coping saw so you remove material from the back of the crown molding without marking the facing. The facing is the front of the crown molding, and you want to avoid damaging or marking the face so the crown molding looks clean and elegant. Cut along the pencil line as you undercut the crown molding. You’ll be trimming and removing material from the backside of the molding.
Coping saws have thin blades that are easily manipulated to follow the curves and angles of different types of crown molding. Cut slowly and methodically, being conservative in how much material you remove. You can always cut away more material if necessary.
Hold the crown molding with the butt joint in the corner. Place the coping joint in the corner over the top of the first piece. You’re looking for a tight seam. You’ll likely need to adjust the fit by cutting away more material with the coping saw, filing, or sanding the cut for a tighter fit.
If there’s still a decent gap between the two pieces, use the coping saw to cut additional material from the back of the crown molding.
To fine-tune the coping joint, use a file or sandpaper to smooth the edge.
If you have the time and patience, you can install crown molding at the inside corners. However, you might need extra molding if you’ve never done this kind of project before. There’s a good chance you’ll have some waste due to mistakes as you fine-tune your coping saw skills.
While you can save money DIYing this project, it can be frustrating and time-consuming for a beginner. A local crown molding pro can finish the installation faster and get a more professional finish with tight seams.
If you use a miter saw for all the cutting, you need to find the angle of the inside corner to cut the crown molding. An angle finder is a tool that measures angles and has a digital display that shows the precise angle. Combination squares and adjustable protractors can also find corner angles if an angle finder isn’t available. However, you can skip measuring angles if you use a butt and coping joint, as described above.
You can use a miter saw to cut all the crown molding or use it for part of the process. Using it to cut the butt joint and first miter cut is the simpler method. You can use a miter saw to make all the cuts, but this method is challenging and time-consuming as you adjust angles on the miter saw, measure, cut, and remeasure corner angles. The coping saw method is more forgiving and better for beginners.
