| By Derrell Day, a carpenter from Panama City,
Florida who contributes frequently to the JLC Finish Carpentry Forum. |
| If you ever have that problem where the base is
thicker than the casing, and--like me--you hate to see
back-cut joints, try this little trick. A little nip on a 22
1/2° wall return can turn a problem into a pretty neat-looking
joint. And while you're at it, remember, 22 1/2° returns--rather
than plain old 45 degree miters--work on chair rail, too. |
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| Always start by cutting the return 'cap'--that's the little
piece that caps the end of the molding. Whenever I work with
stain-grade material, I cut the cap first so the grain will run
perfectly around the miter. I guess it's a habit, because
I cut paint-grade material the same way. The first cut is
a 45° angle. |
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| The 45° miter will kiss the wall, but the other corner will
meet the baseboard, so cut it at 22 1/2°.
This is Gary's saw...too bad he can't afford zero clearance kerf
plates. I always keep a fresh kerf plate in my saw. They are
only about $7. More on that subject in a minute. |
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| Cut the baseboard at 22 1/2°, too. |
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| Then glue up the joint. I like using Fast
Cap's new 2P-10 glue because I don't have to carry or plug in
the gun for my HiPerformer outfit, I don't have to worry if my CB
900 gun has a butane charge, and I don't have to wait for anything
to heat up, either (check
out my review of this new glue). Gary shot these pictures (which he did okay at), but it's not
how I apply the glue. I run a small bead about 3/16"
inside the perimeter completely around the cut. Believe it or not,
I have found that it makes for a mechanically stronger joint. |
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| After spreading the glue on one piece of the miter, the manufacturer
recommends spraying activator on the other piece. I don't
have the patience to wait even 30 seconds, so I spray the activator
right on the glue. |
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| Then squeeze the pieces together. Now this is where the
learning curve comes in: Keep your fingers away from the wet glue
and keep them moving, or you'll leave more than sweat behind on
your woodwork. |
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| Now the corner is ready to be nipped. Gary say's he'd
lay the return up against the wall and the casing, like this, then
scribe a line on the cap, just back from the face of the casing.
But I've done this enough so that I can judge the nip by eye. |
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| Gary has to nip to that measurement mark every time, which is
tedious and time consuming. If he had a zero clearance kerf
plate in his saw (only $7.00), he could have made a mark on the
kerf plate and lined up the base with the mark, like I do, then
nipped off the end of the cap. I'm not sure I could afford
Gary on one of my jobs. |
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| Either way, you'll have a perfect return that looks like it
grows out of the wall AND the casing. And there's no little
hole against the casing like you always get with a plain, old, everyday,
45° return. |
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