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Posted: 6/3/2008 4:20:55 PM EDT

I need to put trim down in my bathroom

The rear wall comes down, makes a 45, goes a little bit and makes a 45 and then does the same thing on the other side
Basically it looks like an angular U

Since it was 45 degrees, I thought that a 22.5 degree cut on both pieces would miter up well. Well, its not even close. Short of trial and erro, is there an easy way to get close on approximating angels so I dont waste a ton of baseboard

Thanks

Posted: 6/3/2008 5:33:16 PM EDT

[#1]

Not very scientific, but I just use scrap to get it right via trial and error.

Posted: 6/3/2008 5:37:30 PM EDT

[#2]

The wall angles are probably not 45 degree. I use a hinged protractor from the home centers. If not then its trial and error on scrap wood.

Good luck

Posted: 6/3/2008 5:47:38 PM EDT

[#3]

As above, use scrap to get it right and then cut good stock.
I don't waste alot of time on it. I get it close and caulk it.
I will not do the trim in the house we are building. It's expensive to have done, but it's an earned skill.
Trim is hard to do and I've worked on very few square walls.
I cut near perfect left/right and in/out angles to keep and use them to set my miter when I work.
All the "upside down and backward" cutting gives me a head ache.

Posted: 6/3/2008 5:53:10 PM EDT

[#4]

What kind of tools do you have to work with? A compass, sliding t-bevel, straight edge, etc?

Remember when doing trim, outside corners get mitered, inside corners are coped.

Posted: 6/3/2008 7:15:59 PM EDT

[#5]

I was watching a "ask this old house" and the guy made alot of sense. He was doing alot of the same thing you are. Once it was time to go do, I had no clue.

Posted: 6/3/2008 7:26:33 PM EDT

[#6]

caulk is my best friend dont forget to compensate for the saw blade as well

Posted: 6/3/2008 8:40:11 PM EDT

[#7]

Go to your local big box home center and buy an angle finder. It's like a protractor and has a few different scales on it for measuring inside and outside corners. Whatever the angle of the wall is to the other wall , split it n half to get your miter. You can use a T-bevel too , but they do not have measurements on them. You can use the scale on your miter saw to measure what the t-bevel measures , then split that angle in half to get your miter.

Hope this helps.

Posted: 6/4/2008 5:54:52 AM EDT

[#8]

If you cope the inside corners you do not have to be as accurate.
Coping is a little more forgiving of slight errors than an inside miter.

Posted: 6/4/2008 10:02:58 AM EDT

[#9]

If the angles are all f'ed up, you can break down and get a digital protractor that tells you what angles to cut the pieces at.

Alternatively, get a section of cheap fiber baseboard at Home Depot and get the angles down before you cut it on your good piece of trim.

Caulk is definitely your friend.

Posted: 6/4/2008 10:27:05 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
If the angles are all f'ed up, you can break down and get a digital protractor that tells you what angles to cut the pieces at.

Alternatively, get a section of cheap fiber baseboard at Home Depot and get the angles down before you cut it on your good piece of trim.

Caulk is definitely your friend.

I just discovered last weekend how great caulk works for fixing cracks in trim. The only trim that will be painted in my cabin is in a closet, but I caulked ALL the joints and they simply cease to exist once it's painted. Amazing! That's a trick I learned here, BTW.

*Please don't berate me for trimming the inside of a closet--I'm obsessive about such things.

**You don't want to know how much time I spent getting the drywall mud "just right."

Posted: 6/4/2008 11:25:42 AM EDT

[#11]

Don't try to power cut scrap that is too small. You can easily lose a finger that way.

Posted: 6/5/2008 1:43:36 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
If you cope the inside corners you do not have to be as accurate.
Coping is a little more forgiving of slight errors than an inside miter.

Just looked that up
Will give that a try, looks much easier
See how it turns out

Posted: 6/5/2008 6:00:00 PM EDT

[#13]

putty and paint will make you what you aint.

Coping is the way to go on inside corners.

Posted: 6/5/2008 6:06:16 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
If you cope the inside corners you do not have to be as accurate.
Coping is a little more forgiving of slight errors than an inside miter.

Just looked that up
Will give that a try, looks much easier
See how it turns out

Cut as close as you can for an inside miter, then use a coping saw to remove the excess.
The line of the miter edge to the face of the trim is the cope line.

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