I'm putting 1/4 round molding up (down?) in between my baseboard and floor, and I always
seem to wind up cutting the miters incorrectly the first time. In other words, if I'm
making a cut at the left hand end for an inside corner, I'll invariably wind up cutting it
the wrong way and have to redo it. Same thing for the other end of the piece, and same
thing for inside or outside corners.

Maybe I'm just thick-headed, but it seems there's got to be a trick / tip for remembering
whether the saw should be angled to the left or the right ... is there?

And I feel like I'm constantly shifting the saw from 45 degrees left to 45 degrees right.
Isn't there a method to let me keep it set one way or the other and just put the piece in
differently?

Thanks ... Phil

"Phil" wrote in message
...
I'm putting 1/4 round molding up (down?) in between my baseboard and
floor, and I always
seem to wind up cutting the miters incorrectly the first time. In other
words, if I'm
making a cut at the left hand end for an inside corner, I'll invariably
wind up cutting it
the wrong way and have to redo it. Same thing for the other end of the
piece, and same
thing for inside or outside corners.

Maybe I'm just thick-headed, but it seems there's got to be a trick / tip
for remembering
whether the saw should be angled to the left or the right ... is there?

And I feel like I'm constantly shifting the saw from 45 degrees left to 45
degrees right.
Isn't there a method to let me keep it set one way or the other and just
put the piece in
differently?

Thanks ... Phil

One frustrated amateur to the other.

With some trim ( but not with q-round) you can use a piece of the trim to
create a shim allowing you to cut them upside down and backwards to avoid
the left/right switching. Most times I find it easier to just move the saw.
I do try to do cut several rights or lefts and then do the reverse cut when
doing more than a very small job. You can actually measure and write down
an entire room before you start to cut. Just record your measure on paper
with a \ or / to indicate the direction of the cut.

One thing that helps me a lot is to draw the line I want to cut on the stock
before I place it in the saw. Just a rough slash to the left or right when
looking down on the top of the piece of wood I plan to cut.

I also always measure the piece from the long point of the cut to the long
point. I usually add about 1/8" to the measurement. Sometimes I have to
cut off a saw blade width but most times I don't. I also keep a quantity of
high quality latex caulk on hand (BG).

Colbyt

I have the same problem.
I usually make a small diagonal pencil mark showing the proper angle.
Be sure to do it on the top surface that the mitre blade will cut in to.
This helps reduce the confusion.
Nothing worse than botching a cut on an expensive piece of moulding.
(It's also useful when cutting intricate moulding to do some tests cuts on
small pieces.)
And, on the theory that you can always cut more but not add any more, I
always cut a wee bit long and then make a second cut if necessary.
ds


"Colbyt" wrote in message
...

"Phil" wrote in message
...
I'm putting 1/4 round molding up (down?) in between my baseboard and
floor, and I always
seem to wind up cutting the miters incorrectly the first time. In other
words, if I'm
making a cut at the left hand end for an inside corner, I'll invariably
wind up cutting it
the wrong way and have to redo it. Same thing for the other end of the
piece, and same
thing for inside or outside corners.

Maybe I'm just thick-headed, but it seems there's got to be a trick / tip
for remembering
whether the saw should be angled to the left or the right ... is there?

And I feel like I'm constantly shifting the saw from 45 degrees left to
45
degrees right.
Isn't there a method to let me keep it set one way or the other and just
put the piece in
differently?

Thanks ... Phil

One frustrated amateur to the other.

With some trim ( but not with q-round) you can use a piece of the trim to
create a shim allowing you to cut them upside down and backwards to avoid
the left/right switching. Most times I find it easier to just move the
saw.
I do try to do cut several rights or lefts and then do the reverse cut
when
doing more than a very small job. You can actually measure and write down
an entire room before you start to cut. Just record your measure on paper
with a \ or / to indicate the direction of the cut.

One thing that helps me a lot is to draw the line I want to cut on the
stock
before I place it in the saw. Just a rough slash to the left or right
when
looking down on the top of the piece of wood I plan to cut.

I also always measure the piece from the long point of the cut to the long
point. I usually add about 1/8" to the measurement. Sometimes I have to
cut off a saw blade width but most times I don't. I also keep a quantity
of
high quality latex caulk on hand (BG).

Colbyt

Phil wrote:
I'm putting 1/4 round molding up (down?) in between my baseboard
and floor, and I always seem to wind up cutting the miters
incorrectly the first time. In other words, if I'm making a cut
at the left hand end for an inside corner, I'll invariably wind up
cutting it the wrong way and have to redo it.

The easiest way to solve the problem is not to use miters...inside
corners should be coped. Miter outside corners, cope inside ones.

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.05...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On 11/26/2004 11:01 AM US(ET), dadiOH took fingers to keys, and typed
the following:

Phil wrote:


I'm putting 1/4 round molding up (down?) in between my baseboard
and floor, and I always seem to wind up cutting the miters
incorrectly the first time. In other words, if I'm making a cut
at the left hand end for an inside corner, I'll invariably wind up
cutting it the wrong way and have to redo it.



The easiest way to solve the problem is not to use miters...inside
corners should be coped. Miter outside corners, cope inside ones.



Coped corners are mitered first. Besides, we are talking about 1/4 round
moulding. They usually don't get coped (the top tapers off to a sliver).

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.05...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

From: philz

In other words, if I'm
making a cut at the left hand end for an inside corner, I'll invariably wind
up cutting it
the wrong way and have to redo it. Same thing for the other end of the
piece, and same
thing for inside or outside corners.

very simple for a newbie...just mark the point of the furthest wall...then an
inside corner is a backcut(meaning it cuts back into the material) and an
outside corner is cut so the miter is "outward" from the corner....(sorry for
wording, trying to keep it simple)

On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 02:32:04 GMT, (Phil) wrote:

I'm putting 1/4 round molding up (down?) in between my baseboard and floor, and I always
seem to wind up cutting the miters incorrectly the first time. In other words, if I'm
making a cut at the left hand end for an inside corner, I'll invariably wind up cutting it
the wrong way and have to redo it. Same thing for the other end of the piece, and same
thing for inside or outside corners.

Maybe I'm just thick-headed, but it seems there's got to be a trick / tip for remembering
whether the saw should be angled to the left or the right ... is there?

And I feel like I'm constantly shifting the saw from 45 degrees left to 45 degrees right.
Isn't there a method to let me keep it set one way or the other and just put the piece in
differently?

Thanks ... Phil

Just strike it with a pencil at the approximate correct angle. When
you go to cut the molding you'll know the proper orientation. It's
easy to mistake the angle, even for experienced trim carpenters.