Watching guys try to cut crown flat on a miter saw makes me want to scream

I was helping my buddy finish a basement in Akron last month, and his new helper kept laying crown molding flat on the saw table to cut it. He was using a basic 12-inch DeWalt miter saw, no jig, just trying to guess the angles. Every piece was off, and he went through about 15 feet of material before I stepped in. The spring angle matters, right? You have to set it upside down and against the fence like it sits on the wall. I showed him the trick with the marks on the saw bed, and he got it on the next cut. How do people get hired for trim work without knowing this basic thing? What's the worst trim mistake you've had to fix for someone else?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugoc975d ago

My buddy's dad paid a handyman to do his living room. Guy cut all the crown flat like @piper_burns said, same mess. Had to tear out a whole wall's worth. The worst part was he used nails that were way too big, split the molding everywhere. Left holes in the drywall too. Took us a whole weekend to fix it for free.

piper_burns5d ago

Yeah the spring angle thing is real. My friend's contractor tried to cut crown laying flat and ruined a whole box. They had to reorder everything and push the job back a week.

drewsullivan5d ago

Honestly that "cutting crown flat" thing is a classic. Tbh I did the exact same thing in my own bathroom years ago. Measured it all nice and straight, made the cuts, and then nothing lined up at all. Had a pile of weird angled scraps that looked like modern art. My wife still brings it up when we talk about home projects.