There is a bang-up deal of misunderstanding about how cope work : for many carpenters, pressured by the indigence to ‘ get the job done, ’ cope joints are cryptic puzzles they haven ’ t the fourth dimension or the solitaire to solve. But if we understand what makes a hook roast work then every cope can fit perfectly on the first sample .
I ’ ve listen all kinds of reasons why cope joints won ’ triiodothyronine close up tight : The frame sucked ; the walls were out of squarely, the build up was 200 years old, or most often, the sheetrocker was a slob. certain, those are fairly points to make, but cope joints solve about all those problems ! To prove my point, I built a mockup corner with a movable wall, which demonstrates conclusively that a technical trim carpenter can overcome a draw of jobsite chaos.
Cope joints are fast and flexible
The mockup I designed in the former video recording that Gary used proves that—with a rebuff adjustment—a header articulation will accommodate a corner that is 2 degrees out of square, and 2 degrees over a 12-ft. wall is 5 in. out of square .
A cope joint can still close tightly, even if the ceiling is out, excessively. This is why progressive carpenters who care about craft, vitamin a well as output finish carpentry crews, cope all inside corners. The cabinetmaking is tighter, and cope is faster than mitering. Cut a cope a little long and snap it in place—it will close up even tighter. And if you cut that square end a 1/16-in. short ? No trouble ! A header will cover all of it but the identical bottom edge .
If you do cut miters for inside corners, each slice must be cut precisely the right angle and length. If a miter mold is besides long, the long point will bury itself in the wallboard, making it impossible to mate the miter joint. Cut a miter excessively short—well, you all know what that means—cut a trade name new piece .
Why copes work better
When we cut a 45-degree miter joint on baseboard and discover it doesn ’ t close because the walls aren ’ metric ton straight, there ’ s no choice but to re-cut the miter. however, that ’ s not the font with a cope joint .
If you look at the bottom of the base with a miter joint cut, you can easily visualize a 45-degree right triangulum. Remember binding to high school mathematics : in a 45-degree right triangle, both sides are equal. so if the cast is 3/4-in. dense, then the base of the triangle must be 3/4-in. long. That means the miter cut is 3/4-in. deep from the hanker point at the back of the molding, to the brusque item at the front of the mold .
now imagine a cope cut following that miter : the header will be precisely 3/4-in. bass, precisely the thickness of the shape, and the joint will fit perfectly every time. At this bespeak, I think it is crucial to stress what the son “ cope ” actually means : this international relations and security network ’ t a psychology course or a self-help book ; in carpentry ( and in biography, excessively ! ) we don ’ metric ton cope with mold, we cope to molding—we cut mold, shelving, countertops, decking, casing, and cabinets indeed that they fit to other surfaces or features. And that is a task of skill and beauty .
Sprung crown
now let ’ s go rear to the beginning conviction in this article : How many of us have cut a form crown miter joint and noticed that the cut was off ? I mean, from precisely looking at the miter, not the joint. On baseboard, it ’ s easily to notice a ill cut miter ; on form crown, it ’ second hard to see if the cut is adjust .
At presentations and carpentry clinics, I call this a shell bet on : can you spot the adjust cut ? hera we have three miter cuts all done at 45 degrees. To find out which mown is right we need to measure each piece. With solid pate and baseboard, it ’ sulfur easy to measure the right length of the miter—it needs to equal the thickness ; with spring crown, you need to know the ceiling projection in order to be able to measure the distance of the miter cut. Remember to think of the ceiling projection as the thickness of the crown if it were solid .
Miter saw setup
then how do we make certain that our preparatory miter joint for a header cut is perfect ?
When I first started installing crown determine, I was taught to place the mold in position, “ upside down and backwards, ” in my miter go steady, then rock it until it was bedded two-dimensional against the basis of the see and the wall, excessively ! then draw a line across the bed of the crown ( that ’ s the top when it ’ sulfur top down in your proverb ) marking the miter saw fence, and try to hold the crown at that note while cutting it. But there are two problems with that approach .
first, you shouldn ’ metric ton attack to put the crown so that it ’ randomness categoric against the fence and the base of the see. Focus only on the fence ! If the pate determine is directly against the argue, you ’ ll be cutting it at the intended jump angle—the bounce angle is the angle the modeling ‘ springs ’ from the wall, and the fence represents the wall ! You ’ ll besides notice that with the crown flat against the wall or your miter saw wall, the shoulder at the ceiling should touch lone on the very out edge of the crown. That is the way well-designed crown should land—so that irregularities in the ceiling won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate forbid the crown from contacting the ceiling .
Check out this television Gary did with still photos for his original Conquering Crown DVD :
The second trouble with that antique set about is the pencil argumentation. It ’ s truly unmanageable to hold the mold right on the pencil credit line, and if you do, you have to lock your hand perilously on the crown. And even then, if your learn blade is a fiddling dull, or the material is dense hardwood, the molding will resist the blade, the blade will push down on the fabric, and the spring angle will change as you ’ re cutting the crown .
Holding the pennant in position by hand does not work. And it ’ second dangerous .
Cutting on the flat international relations and security network ’ t the best solution either and introduces a server of other problems. If the pennant is cupped—and most coved crown has at least a little cup because that ’ s the nature of wood—it is about impossible to get consistent cuts because the mold won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate lie flat on the free-base of the see, which changes the position for each cut. Further, when I have to cut on the flat, I much have to use a peak chart or an angle finder, like the Bosch angle finder that provides miter and bevel settings for crown molding with any bounce fish. For those reasons, I cut on the flat only when the crown is excessively large to cut in put. Plus, who wants to set miter and bevel angles to a tenth of a degree .
A simple crown stop
I like to use a crown break for all my cuts, both for copes and outside miters. One setup covers everything. And I use a peak holder, besides. here ’ s a video that explains the learn frame-up, crown arrest, and how to make a crown holder. Don ’ thymine just use the crown holder for the header joints, it ’ south bang-up for outside miters as well !
Like many coating carpenters, Gary Katz prefers to use a peak holder—a lesson he learned from David Collins, which works just fine for the majority of jobs. But if you ’ ra working in a home with ceilings that aren ’ triiodothyronine anywhere near flat—bows and bellies and waves, then cut a 24-in. piece of crown with a cope on one end. Use that cope objet d’art, along with a straight cut slice, to mark the shed of the pennant in each corner—when those two pieces fit in concert tightly, you ’ ll know the drop is spot on !
•••
AUTHOR BIO
Bill Shaw studied mechanical engineer and spent a year in the corporate worldly concern before deciding it was not for him. During the future ten years Bill started and co-owned an car repair shop and then worked as a cabinetmaker .
The cabinet shop manufactured flooring on cabinet-making equipment, which seemed very inefficient. Thinking there was a better room, Bill opened his own business, with a leased Weinig decompose, knife grinder, and a use straight-line rake attend. The future 20 years were spend manufacture custom-made mold. While delivering the cast to the job sites, Bill would check in with the customers asking if there was anything else he could do. More than one customer answered by saying, “ Yeah, why don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate you cope this stuff before you deliver it. ”
Read more: Mochi Ice Cream
With that finish in mind, Bill collaborated with his father-in-law, Martin Scott, a put out engineer/machinist, which led to the development of the Copemaster. Two years of field testing produced the first version, which won the prestigious Challenger ’ s Award at the 2002 International Woodworking Fair .
When not producing Version 2 of the Copemaster, Bill can be found with the love of his life—his wife Loure, and in the machine shop, wood patronize, or out on his dirt bicycle ( a 50-year love, which started at senesce 18 ) .
