"Vam" wrote in message
om...
I am installing Laminate floors and having hard time in getting a nice
perfect finish at the corner joints of the quarter rounds. Using a
mitter saw with 45 degree cut but always leaves a gap at the corners.
Appreciate your input on perfecting the corner cut. Thanks
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I'm sorry this got a little lengthy, but this advise comes with years of
experience of stopping in glass and panels.

If you are painting the quarter round then just prime it, cut it, caulk the
open mitres and smooth with a wet finger, and then paint it. You will be
happy with the results.

If you are dealing with stain grade hardwoods then that is a different
story. You can still buy wax sticks at your local home center and apply to
the open joints with great results, but if that is not enough then you will
need to spend a little more time on each mitre.

The mitre saw:
If there is runout on the shaft then the bearings are bad and you have a
wobble in the blade. You will always get a lousy cut with this.

You need a quality carbide tipped blade that has alternating teeth, half
with the point to the left and the other half to the right. This will give a
clean cut.

When I want extremely clean cuts I make auxilary wooden fences by screwing a
back piece to a bottom piece to form an "L". I then c-clamp this fence to
the mitre saw. I also apply sticky sandpaper like the ones used on orbital
sanders to the fence at the spot where I hold the wood with my fingers to
keep the wood from sliding when you cut it. A fresh cut into this fence will
also help you to line up any registration marks on your trim with the saw
blade. Make a fence for left hand cuts and a fence for right hand cuts. I
just glue and screw together an entire length of 8' AC ply and cut it into
pieces for future use.

With most chopsaws it will be very difficult to get a perfect 90 by
continually moving the blade to the left and right. If you really want to be
anal then cut all your stock a little longer than the peices you need with
90 degree cuts (dont forget to add for the outside mitres). Set up the saw
for either a left or a right cut and cut one end of each peice of trim. Now
set up the saw with the opposite hand cut and adjust it so the new cut plus
the previous cut will equal 90 degrees. Now measure and cut the remaining
end. Always leave the trim slightly long, you can force it down when you
nail it.

The trim:
If the outside of the outside mitres are open then you may be able to fold
the edges over with a sanding block or gently tap them closed with a hammer
and then sand the trim at the joint. You can also "back out" the inside of
one piece of trim with a sanding block. Backing out means to remove wood
from the part of the joint that is against the floor and wall that you dont
see. This will allow the joint to close.

The backing out method also works well for inside mitres that are open to
the outside. For miteres that are open to the inside you may have to use a
sanding block to take a little off the outside.
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