Replies

1. 
   user-83153 | May 01, 2007 05:51am | #1

   Paul,

     Cut the piece to be coped at a 45 degree angle so that the face of the board is the short point and the back of the board is the long point. Now cut the cope at a slight back bevel, all you need to do is make sure that the face is the longest point. The very top of the base board can be cut pretty much square if it is thick so that you cannot see the bevel. Just start on top with the saw square and begin to back bevel almost immediately.

     Does that make sense?

                              Rob

1. 
   ppimenta | May 01, 2007 06:49am | #4

   Wow that was quick!

   OK, I'll try as you said and will most-definitely keep you informed.

2. 
   [email protected] | May 01, 2007 06:41am | #2

   Paul, I'll second Rob's advice, and add that if you're really worried about a tight joint finish up the trimming with needle files and a sharp knife 

3. 
   Pondfish | May 01, 2007 06:45am | #3

   Ditto what Rob said.  As for the blade twisting, make sure (1) the blade is under good tension, and 92) it's a sharp blade.  You might also find that a light touch cuts better then bearing down hard on the blade.  Try cutting with the only the pressure from the weight of your hand (i.e., don't push against the work).

   You don't need a lot of back cut, just enough to give the work a slight edge; with the base cut a little long, you can have it snap into place, the tension foring the cope closed.

   Welcome to trim carpentry!

   Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
4. 
   nikkiwood | May 01, 2007 09:02am | #5

   Cutting copes by hand with a coping saw requires practice, and usually a fair amount of work with a file/rasp. Tight tension on a blade with fine teeth will help.

   There are a number of manufactured jigs that can make the job easier/faster, but a lot of high end trim carps use an angle grinder fitted with a coarse flexible sanding disc.

   ********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

5. 
   KeithNewton | May 01, 2007 03:47pm | #6

   Paul, If carpenters could cut a cope perfectly square to the face, that would work, unfortunately it is hard to do, so that is why we slant the cut away to the back.

   if your base has a long straight flat with a molding profile top, it is easier to cut the miter, then flip the board upside-down, and cut that with the miter saw also. Then you can finish coping just the top.

   It sounds like you are trying to back-cut too much. I normally don't tilt over 10º, and if there is a flat space on the top, I start the cut at 90º and change the tilt as I proceed into the cut.

   If you have a right angle-grinder, you can see a video clip over in breaktime at FHB. I have switched over to this method, and it is a lot faster.

1. 
   zolton | May 01, 2007 06:48pm | #7

   In my years as a carpenter, I don't think I once used the "45 degree angle cut first" approach to coping baseboard.

   Don't get me wrong: it's fine in theory. If the first piece you nail to the wall lies in a perfectly plumb plane, then using the 45 degree method and then coping to that line will work. However (and this may be a hidden indictment of the homes I worked on), I never ran into a piece of baseboard that was installed so perfectly plumb on the wall that I could reliably cut a 45 on another piece, cope it, and then install it with no gaps.

   Instead, I simply scribed the profile of the exiting piece onto the piece I was trying to fit to it.

   You nail the first piece into place and then butt the to-be-coped piece up to it, in place where it will eventually go on the wall. Open a cheap compass up to about 1/2 or 5/8 inch and scribe the exact profile (and angle) of the existing piece onto the new piece. Keep the compass level as you mark the line on the new piece. Now you've got a line that exactly mirrors what actually exists - not what you hope it will be.

   Another tip: I only used a coping saw to do the curved parts of the cut. For the straight parts I used a 12 point handsaw, and only back cut a few degrees. If you do it right your joints will look like they grew together.

   One thing I liked about this method of work is that I could do most of the job using only hand tools. No lugging the chop box from room to room, and no dust clouding the air. I had a short "bench" type stool, maybe 15 inches high and 20 inches long, that I could do all my cutting on. It was very efficient - and very precise.

   Zolton

1. 
   lwilliams | May 02, 2007 03:40am | #9

   Zolton describes a common problem. Sheetrock is hung horizontally and, in most rooms, that leaves the tapered edge at the floor. I always dealt with the problem differently.At the bottom of both sides of each corner and 12" back from the corner, I'd stack 1 1/4" roofing nails until I had that area to where it was plumb with the rest of the wall. Drive in one nail with the following right next to it so the heads overlap and are supported and add nails until the last nail head is plumb with the top of the baseboard. I usually used just a 12" adjustable square set on the floor (except for badly finished concrete floors). You can do the average bedroom this way in about five minutes--less time than scribing a single joint.This allows cutting baseboard by measurement, eliminates double handling of each piece for scribing and allows normal coping techniques.

6. 
   colebearanimals | May 01, 2007 10:22pm | #8

   Hi Paul,

   Also make sure your coping saw blade isn't too wide for the profile you're trying to cut. Try a narrower one, but without too fine a tooth.

                                          Paul