Tom5151

Hello,

My neighbor asked me to taper some crown molding on a bedroom cabinet for him. They picked up a cabinet that has some crown molding attached to the top on the sides and front. They want this cabinet to sit back flush against the wall but it’s too tall. The ceiling slopes down to the wall where this cabinet will be and so the crown on both sides hits the ceiling. The idea is to taper it from front to back to match the slope of the ceiling so it can go back flush against the wall.

What is the best way to approach this? He has already removed the crown from the cabinet. I have a taper jig so I was thinking about just setting the crown on that and simply cutting the taper. Is it that easy? What am I missing? He isn’t too terribly concerned about it being perfect but I am. Any suggestions?

Thank you.

Gus Dering

Your idea would be fine so long as you keep the crown at the spring angle as you cut it.
Remember you will have a right and left to deal with too.

firehawkmph

Tom,
What Gus said. I run into this from time to time when installing kitchen cabinets that get crown and are going in a room with a vaulted or cathedral ceiling. I use a precise angle finder to get the angle of the ceiling and then transfer that to the crown. From there I figure out a setup on my miter saw to cut it. Just keep an eye on your orientation of the crown while cutting. Make sure you doublecheck yourself before pulling the trigger, it's easy to get confused if you are daydreaming a little.
Mike Hawkins

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Tom5151

Thank you gentlemen. Can you explain what a "spring" angle is? Never heard that one before.

Mike your picture is exactly what I am trying to do. The only difference is that the taper I am cuttng will be longer (probabaly spread over 12 inches or so. The other thing is that the nailer is still attached to the crown. As such, because of the way the crown will rest on the taper jig, the resulting cut will have a slight bevel sloping out to the outside face of the crown. I am begining to wonder if I should just use a coping saw or something more precise and then plane or sand down to the finished edge.

cabinetman

To get the transferring angle to the crown use a sliding bevel gauge like this.

"Spring Angle" is the angle the moulding sits off the wall:

Tom5151

ah hah...the spring angle !!!!...now I know......thank you....

firehawkmph

Tom,
You want to prop up the piece of crown to get the 'spring angle' (aha) so the cut it parallel to the ceiling, in other words, the cut should rest flush on the ceiling and not be sloping one way or the other.
When I do these cuts, the miter saw will not cut that angle if I lay the crown in against the fence like normal. I actually cut a piece of scrap to put under the piece of crown to prop it up and support it. But I actually have the piece 90 degrees to the fence (perpendicular). If it's a long piece, I have to use a stepladder behind me to support it. Now I can line up the cut on the saw and carefully cut it. Not necessarily recommended for anyone new on a miter saw.
You could to the same cut with a decent handsaw. You just need to support the piece so you can keep the saw cutting with a straight up and down motion. You can always touch it up a little with a sanding block. Take your time and think it through before you make the cut. Good luck,
Mike Hawkins

woodnthings

When I've gone to a remodel site I always take my circular saws, sliding miter saw, table saw and occasionally a 10" Craftsman bandsaw. Seems like that would be just the "ticket" for this cut. What do you think since you've done a million more of these than I? bill

__________________
Never stand directly in front of a horse or tablesaw that's running!
If you're not making dust, you're gathering it. After I reread my own posts, I agree with myself even more.

Tom5151

Thanks so much guys.

I thought about the miter saw but I don't have a slider unfortunately. The taper I need to cut is very shalllw and will be probabaly be close to about 12 inches or so long. It won't go through the entire width of the crown. My miter saw only has about a 6 inch capacity at 90 degrees.

The bandsaw is probabaly perfect. However I talked myself out of a bandsaw in lieu of a good jigsaw a few months back......"when will I ever need a bandsaw?".....LOL

So I am thinking a couple of good handsaws, a plane and some sandpaper should get me where i need to be....

Thanks again guys

firehawkmph

Tom,
I think the handsaw will be fine. It will be a lot easier to control than power equipment. Just make sure you support the crown well and it should be a simple job after that.
Woodenthings,
I think a bandsaw would work very well for this cut too. I don't take a bandsaw to the jobsites ever, so I end up with some crazy quick made jigs for some cuts.
Mike Hawkins

Gus Dering

If this crown still needs to be cut, and you want to do it with a handsaw, I have an idea.

rip a piece of ply and scribe it to the line of the ceiling while holding nice level. Make a reference mark at the bottom of the crown's elevation.

Take that back to the bench and place the crown on top of the ply in the same orientation it will be. You might want to back up the crown with some blocks cut to the spring angle.

Then use the ply as a guide as you cut the crown from above. You will need to eye the blade nice and plumb as you scrape past the ply.

That should get you close. A block plane could clean up from there.

I think that is how I did this cut.

Tom5151

Hey guys,

Thank you again very much......

These ideas are incredibly helpful. I feel much more confident of getting a nice cut now. Sometimes my first reaction is, "how can i do this with power tools?" I think in cases like this one good old fashioned hand tools can often give a better result....

Thanks again guys. Hopefully I can get some pictures of the finished work....

ihackwood

i did a kitchen display for our loacal lumber store, i had to do the same thing, but i had to drive home cut it on my tablesaw and drive back, they thought i was a god when it came out right. i was a little confused but thought it through