Having removed a Victorian fireplace from a bedroom in my son's house, I
need to replace a length of skirting board across the front of the chimney
breast.

Being an old house, the skirting board is typical of the age - being very
'tall'. I haven't measured it - but I would estimate around 7". This is
much higher than the sides of any of the three mitre-blocks that I own. I
don't own a mitreing chop saw - and cannot justify the expense as it would
receive such little use in the future.

Any suggestions for how to cut an accurate mitre in a situation such as
this?

--
Kev

On 17/05/2011 08:30, Ret. wrote:
Having removed a Victorian fireplace from a bedroom in my son's house, I
need to replace a length of skirting board across the front of the
chimney breast.

Being an old house, the skirting board is typical of the age - being
very 'tall'. I haven't measured it - but I would estimate around 7".
This is much higher than the sides of any of the three mitre-blocks that
I own. I don't own a mitreing chop saw - and cannot justify the expense
as it would receive such little use in the future.

Any suggestions for how to cut an accurate mitre in a situation such as
this?


You probably don't want a mitre cut with a mitre block anyway. They
assume the corner needs to be square and that is very rare in any house,
but particularly in Victorian houses IME.

If you feel you really need a router, you can get mitre cutting routing
tools for them, but they will suffer from the same problem as a mitre
block.

The best answer is careful mesurement, marking and cutting with a hand saw.

Colin Bignell

On May 17, 8:30*am, "Ret." wrote:
Having removed a Victorian fireplace from a bedroom in my son's house, I
need to replace a length of skirting board across the front of the chimney
breast.

Being an old house, the skirting board is typical of the age - being very
'tall'. I haven't measured it - but I would estimate around 7". *This is
much higher than the sides of any of the three mitre-blocks that I own. I
don't own a mitreing chop saw - and cannot justify the expense as it would
receive such little use in the future.

Any suggestions for how to cut an accurate mitre in a situation such as
this?

--
Kev

No suitable power tools?

Can you saw accurately to the line, if you mark out the mitre cut?
Are you skilled with a hand plane?

Or failing either of those - the best saw job you can, and a lot of
work with a sanding block!

On May 17, 8:30*am, "Ret." wrote:

Any suggestions for how to cut an accurate mitre in a situation such as
this?

You need the right tool, which is a "board mitre". They're made by
Emir (and have been since Noah bought his) and are about a tenner.
http://www.toolshopdirect.co.uk/item...ogle/sn/EMI284

With this you'll also want to use a simple back saw. Tenon saws are a
bit on the small side, so you might be better with a smallish and fine-
toothed panel saw.

Despite being a form of mitre box, they're not a mitre box in the
usual sense and a mitre box can't be used for wide boards. You need to
saw the board from its back, not from one edge. Sawing down from the
edge, even with a big bandsaw, tends to give an uneven edge.

Most corners are square enough that you can use a standard board
mitre, unless you live in the Pentagon or one of Bath's crescents. A
slight adjustment can be made by shimming underneath the board. It's
usually best to cut the board fractionally sharper than the wall, as a
little filler on the top edge isn't noticed, so long as there's no gap
on the outer edge. If the wall isn't vertical, the board mitre can be
clamped on the board so as to not be quite square, following the wall
angle.

Some Victorian skirtings need an extra-wide board mitre and you might
have to make your own. They're not hard. Mine is just 3/4" MDF with
clamp screws from Pound Shop G clamps. If you make your own board
mitre or mitre box, it's worth plastic-facing the saw's rubbing
surfaces to avoid wear. Formica strips are good, PTFE rolls sold for
the purpose are poor (Work well, but really hard to attach smoothly)

On 17/05/2011 10:01, Andy Dingley wrote:
On May 17, 8:30 am, wrote:

Any suggestions for how to cut an accurate mitre in a situation such as
this?

You need the right tool, which is a "board mitre". They're made by
Emir (and have been since Noah bought his) and are about a tenner.
http://www.toolshopdirect.co.uk/item...ogle/sn/EMI284

With this you'll also want to use a simple back saw. Tenon saws are a
bit on the small side, so you might be better with a smallish and fine-
toothed panel saw.

Despite being a form of mitre box, they're not a mitre box in the
usual sense and a mitre box can't be used for wide boards. You need to
saw the board from its back, not from one edge. Sawing down from the
edge, even with a big bandsaw, tends to give an uneven edge.

Most corners are square enough that you can use a standard board
mitre, unless you live in the Pentagon or one of Bath's crescents. A
slight adjustment can be made by shimming underneath the board. It's
usually best to cut the board fractionally sharper than the wall, as a
little filler on the top edge isn't noticed, so long as there's no gap
on the outer edge. If the wall isn't vertical, the board mitre can be
clamped on the board so as to not be quite square, following the wall
angle.

Some Victorian skirtings need an extra-wide board mitre and you might
have to make your own. They're not hard. Mine is just 3/4" MDF with
clamp screws from Pound Shop G clamps. If you make your own board
mitre or mitre box, it's worth plastic-facing the saw's rubbing
surfaces to avoid wear. Formica strips are good, PTFE rolls sold for
the purpose are poor (Work well, but really hard to attach smoothly)


I did a load of 12" skirting recently with a cheapo circular saw set to
45 degs. Knocked up a jig and clamped it to a workmate



or this if the link somehow gets deleted



I always work to the inside length (i.e. the wall), and allow the
outside measurement to set itself. Can't think of any job where cockups
are easier (RH mitre instead of LH etc), so I always give that second
cut a lot of thought. It can be a very expensive mistake.

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. All very helpful!

--
Kev

"Ret." wrote in message
...
Having removed a Victorian fireplace from a bedroom in my son's house, I
need to replace a length of skirting board across the front of the chimney
breast.

Being an old house, the skirting board is typical of the age - being very
'tall'. I haven't measured it - but I would estimate around 7". This is
much higher than the sides of any of the three mitre-blocks that I own. I
don't own a mitreing chop saw - and cannot justify the expense as it would
receive such little use in the future.

Any suggestions for how to cut an accurate mitre in a situation such as
this?

--
Kev

Mark it out checking angle with bevel gauge, and cut with a tennon saw.
If you have a lot of mitres then you could make a mitre block ... but cut
with board horizontal not vertical

On 17/05/2011 10:01, Andy Dingley wrote:
....
Most corners are square enough that you can use a standard board
mitre, unless you live in the Pentagon or one of Bath's crescents. A
slight adjustment can be made by shimming underneath the board. It's
usually best to cut the board fractionally sharper than the wall, as a
little filler on the top edge isn't noticed, so long as there's no gap
on the outer edge....

But you will always know the gap is there and you could have made it a
perfect fit.

Colin Bignell

On 17/05/2011 19:54, Ret. wrote:
Ret. wrote:
Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. All very helpful!

Now the only problem is obtaining a length of matching skirting board...
Been around all the local builders and timber merchants today - none of
them have any skirting that is a good match for the piece I took in. I
found a joiner who would router a length for me - but he would need to
grind a 'bit' to make a good match and wanted £30 for a metre length!
(He said the expense was in setting-up, and he'd charge the same price
for 4 metres).


That sounds a fair, even cheap, price, given that he has to make a
special cutter. I suspect he will be using a spindle moulder, rather
than a router, as the cutters for those are relatively easy to make.

Colin Bignell

On 18/05/2011 09:25, Nightjar "cpb"@ insertmysurnamehere wrote:
On 17/05/2011 19:54, Ret. wrote:
Ret. wrote:
Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. All very helpful!

Now the only problem is obtaining a length of matching skirting board...
Been around all the local builders and timber merchants today - none of
them have any skirting that is a good match for the piece I took in. I
found a joiner who would router a length for me - but he would need to
grind a 'bit' to make a good match and wanted £30 for a metre length!
(He said the expense was in setting-up, and he'd charge the same price
for 4 metres).


That sounds a fair, even cheap, price, given that he has to make a
special cutter. I suspect he will be using a spindle moulder, rather
than a router, as the cutters for those are relatively easy to make.

Colin Bignell

Sometimes sticking a stock moulding on top of a 6" x 1" gives a good
enough match.

Nightjar "cpb"@" wrote:
On 17/05/2011 19:54, Ret. wrote:
Ret. wrote:
Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. All very helpful!

Now the only problem is obtaining a length of matching skirting
board... Been around all the local builders and timber merchants
today - none of them have any skirting that is a good match for the
piece I took in. I found a joiner who would router a length for me -
but he would need to grind a 'bit' to make a good match and wanted
£30 for a metre length! (He said the expense was in setting-up, and
he'd charge the same price for 4 metres).


That sounds a fair, even cheap, price, given that he has to make a
special cutter. I suspect he will be using a spindle moulder, rather
than a router, as the cutters for those are relatively easy to make.

I've decided to buy a length of the closest match and wrap it completely
around the chimney breast. The join between the existing Victorian skirting
and the new skirting will therefore be inside the alcove where they intend
to put a chest of drawers on one side, and a wardrobe on the other, so the
'join' will be hidden!

--
Kev

On May 18, 3:58*pm, "Ret." wrote:
Nightjar "cpb"@" wrote:
On 17/05/2011 19:54, Ret. wrote:
Ret. wrote:
Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. All very helpful!

Now the only problem is obtaining a length of matching skirting
board... Been around all the local builders and timber merchants
today - none of them have any skirting that is a good match for the
piece I took in. I found a joiner who would router a length for me -
but he would need to grind a 'bit' to make a good match and wanted
£30 for a metre length! (He said the expense was in setting-up, and
he'd charge the same price for 4 metres).

That sounds a fair, even cheap, price, given that he has to make a
special cutter. I suspect he will be using a spindle moulder, rather
than a router, as the cutters for those are relatively easy to make.

I've decided to buy a length of the closest match and wrap it completely
around the chimney breast. The join between the existing Victorian skirting
and the new skirting will therefore be inside the alcove where they intend
to put a chest of drawers on one side, and a wardrobe on the other, so the
'join' will be hidden!

Just make yourself a bigger mitre box, they're simple devices. Have
the skirting lie flat down in it.

Re the board, you should find a match at a reclaim yard, and its
cheap.


NT

Tabby wrote:
On May 18, 3:58 pm, "Ret." wrote:
Nightjar "cpb"@" wrote:
On 17/05/2011 19:54, Ret. wrote:
Ret. wrote:
Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. All very
helpful!

Now the only problem is obtaining a length of matching skirting
board... Been around all the local builders and timber merchants
today - none of them have any skirting that is a good match for the
piece I took in. I found a joiner who would router a length for me
- but he would need to grind a 'bit' to make a good match and
wanted £30 for a metre length! (He said the expense was in
setting-up, and he'd charge the same price for 4 metres).

That sounds a fair, even cheap, price, given that he has to make a
special cutter. I suspect he will be using a spindle moulder, rather
than a router, as the cutters for those are relatively easy to make.

I've decided to buy a length of the closest match and wrap it
completely around the chimney breast. The join between the existing
Victorian skirting and the new skirting will therefore be inside the
alcove where they intend to put a chest of drawers on one side, and
a wardrobe on the other, so the 'join' will be hidden!

Just make yourself a bigger mitre box, they're simple devices. Have
the skirting lie flat down in it.

Re the board, you should find a match at a reclaim yard, and its
cheap.

That's an idea.

--
Kev

On May 18, 5:08*pm, "Ret." wrote:
Tabby wrote:
On May 18, 3:58 pm, "Ret." wrote:
Nightjar "cpb"@" wrote:
On 17/05/2011 19:54, Ret. wrote:
Ret. wrote:
Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. All very
helpful!

Now the only problem is obtaining a length of matching skirting
board... Been around all the local builders and timber merchants
today - none of them have any skirting that is a good match for the
piece I took in. I found a joiner who would router a length for me
- but he would need to grind a 'bit' to make a good match and
wanted £30 for a metre length! (He said the expense was in
setting-up, and he'd charge the same price for 4 metres).

That sounds a fair, even cheap, price, given that he has to make a
special cutter. I suspect he will be using a spindle moulder, rather
than a router, as the cutters for those are relatively easy to make.

I've decided to buy a length of the closest match and wrap it
completely around the chimney breast. The join between the existing
Victorian skirting and the new skirting will therefore be inside the
alcove where they intend to put a chest of drawers on one side, and
a wardrobe on the other, so the 'join' will be hidden!

Just make yourself a bigger mitre box, they're simple devices. Have
the skirting lie flat down in it.

Re the board, you should find a match at a reclaim yard, and its
cheap.

That's an idea.

and if you line the slots with bits of steel tape measure, it stops
the saw widening the slots. The steel bits can be replaced eventually.


NT

In message , Ret.
writes

I've decided to buy a length of the closest match and wrap it
completely around the chimney breast. The join between the existing
Victorian skirting and the new skirting will therefore be inside the
alcove

Good idea. That is exactly what was done in this house, and it was
years before I noticed. The joint is nicely done, presumably with
filler, and, when painted, just isn't obvious.

--
Graeme