Cutting crown molding with good miter box and saw

Cutting crown molding properly requires a carpenter's square, miter box and a decent saw. Patience and precise measurements help crown molding installation immensely.

Here are the easy steps to get that crown up.

Measure the crown on a carpenter's square. See the included professional sketch. The measurement you need is the distance from the ceiling to the bottom of the crown. The crown in the sketch is 1 13/16-inch from the ceiling. This measurement is all you need to install crown like a professional. Your crown molding will measure different, but that will be your number for everything.

Mark all the corners of the room 1 13/16" down from the ceiling; use the square to reduce fluctuations in the drywall or plaster. To keep the crown true, snap a chalk-line from corner to corner so the bottom is perfectly straight.

If you are using a non-compound miter box, old style, measure from the base up the back fence and mark both sides at 1 13/16".

Cut the crown molding upside down keeping the bottom of the crown at your marks on the back fence. This will keep all your miters the same.

If you have extra molding, make a short piece cut right and a short piece cut left so you can pre-check each corner. Sometimes 43 or 44-degrees fit better in the inside corners and 46-degrees fits better on the outside corners. A little experience goes a long way and so does coping the corners, but that is another column.