WOOD TRIM IS SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE A FINISHING touch to a room. But it doesn't always work out so neatly. And if you've ever tried to install trim and been frustrated by a poor fit where two pieces meet, say in an open miter or open cope, you're not alone. With 40-plus years of experience cutting trim, I can name at least a couple dozen reasons why those pieces won't join up so nicely. And I've developed these solutions-for joints that are mitered and coped to solve most of your problems.
You need to get your head and your eye into the job first. A warmup cut is always a good idea. Cut the trim a little long and see if the piece fits, and then recut to get it dialed in for a perfect joint.
OPEN MITERS
A miter is an angled cut on the ends of the two pieces of trim you're joining. The cut angle is half of the total number of degrees in the angle they'll form (as you look at them head-on) once they meet. So if you have two pieces of trim meeting at a 90-degree corner, each miter is cut at 45 degrees.
There are three types of open miters. A miter can be open at the bottom of the joint, across its face, or at the top of the joint. Before assuming the problem is with the saw, the saw's adjustment, or the blade, always check the surface (or surfaces) where the trim is being installed. Bumps and hollows there could cause the trim to not fit properly.
Here are what the three problem miters look like:
THE SOLUTIONS
First, check the simple and most obvious things. Does the miter saw have a new, sharp blade on it, or is it dull? Is it the correct blade? For example, a 10-inch miter saw will need a blade with at least 60 teeth. A 24-tooth blade for cutting framing lumber is ridiculously rough for this work. Next, check the saw and whether it's truly cutting at the angle that its pointer indicates.
This story is from the November - December 2022 edition of Popular Mechanics US.
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This story is from the November - December 2022 edition of Popular Mechanics US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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