I am trying to put down baseboards. The corners aren’t square and I’m having trouble making the joints fit. What is the best way to figure the angle and cut the board?
Simon Watts: Make full-size, cardboard templates of each corner. Miter the cardboard with a sharp knife, then use the two halves as patterns for cutting the molding.
Rob Johnstone: The simple trick here is not to miter the joints, but to cope the shape of the molding into one of the mating pieces. I keep a small section (trimmed square) of the molding that I’m working with in my shirt pocket and use it to trace the profile (in either the left- or right-hand orientation) onto the back of the molding as required. Then I use either an old fashioned hand-powered coping saw (my preference) or a hand held jig saw to make the cut. A few practice cuts will get you on the right path in no time.
