Ok, I must just be getting old, or maybe I was never really quite as sharp
as I once thought.

I am putting a simple oak cap on an iron hand rail. Does not seem to be too
intricate, but it is currently kickin my butt! I cannot get the pieces to
match up after I cut them to fit the return on each end.

When I have the angle just right, the thickness of the wood itself no longer
mates up. It's like I would have to trim down the sides of the returns, as
they appear thicker than the center piece. The center piece has both ends
cut at 90 degrees, and the returns are angled to mate. Should I angle the
center piece to half the return angles? Will that make the pieces actually
match?

I know, w/o pictures this probably makes no sense, but I am a worse artist
than I am a woodworker...

Maybe I would be better off gardening or something sigh

"Markndawoods" wrote in message
...
Ok, I must just be getting old, or maybe I was never really quite as sharp
as I once thought.

I am putting a simple oak cap on an iron hand rail. Does not seem to be
too intricate, but it is currently kickin my butt! I cannot get the pieces
to match up after I cut them to fit the return on each end.

When I have the angle just right, the thickness of the wood itself no
longer mates up. It's like I would have to trim down the sides of the
returns, as they appear thicker than the center piece. The center piece
has both ends cut at 90 degrees, and the returns are angled to mate.
Should I angle the center piece to half the return angles? Will that make
the pieces actually match?

I know, w/o pictures this probably makes no sense, but I am a worse artist
than I am a woodworker...

Maybe I would be better off gardening or something sigh


If the returns are 90 degrees to the run then miter both at 45 degrees. If
the returns are at some angle other than 90 cut the miter angle of both
pieces to half the return angle. To do otherwise will result in what you
have encountered.

John

The center piece has both ends
cut at 90 degrees, and the returns are angled to mate. Should I angle the
center piece to half the return angles? Maybe I would be better off
gardening or something sigh


So are you trying to mate a piece with a straight cut to a piece with a
mitre cut?

SteveP.

"Markndawoods" wrote in message
...
Ok, I must just be getting old, or maybe I was never really quite as sharp
as I once thought.

I am putting a simple oak cap on an iron hand rail. Does not seem to be
too
intricate, but it is currently kickin my butt! I cannot get the pieces to
match up after I cut them to fit the return on each end.

When I have the angle just right, the thickness of the wood itself no
longer
mates up. It's like I would have to trim down the sides of the returns, as
they appear thicker than the center piece. The center piece has both ends
cut at 90 degrees, and the returns are angled to mate. Should I angle the
center piece to half the return angles? Will that make the pieces actually
match?

If I am understanding your description correctly - yes. Simple angles
running to meet a vertical will not mate properly. Two angles summing to
the desired vertical (both the center piece and the angled run) angle will
work. But - you have an alternative choice. Take a scrap of the angled
pieces you've been trying to make work and cut off some of the bottom of the
piece so that it runs true to the base of the center piece. In other words
it will create a plane even with the base of the center piece. Make this
cut such that the top of the sloped piece properly mates with the top
surface of the center piece. Below I've attempted an ascii art depiction of
this. Does this even come close to what you're trying to describe?

/
_____________________/ -------------- Sloped Piece
| Center Piece | /
________________________/

^-------------------- The
bottom of the miter cut on the

sloped piece is cut off to match

the plane of the bottom of the center
--

-Mike-