Crown Molding Fundamentals: The Simple Key to Crown Molding Success 

Bosch Angle Finder: amzn.to/2J9pnA6 Dewalt Miter Saw: amzn.to/2KydUKC Miter Saw Blade: amzn.to/2V9pj5z 2P-10 CA Glue - amzn.to/37bb1qO

I am a rough carpenter of 18 years and feel you are as good at your trade as I am at mine. Eventually, every rough carpenter needs to learn some finish to improve his skill set... Very interesting to learn your secrets. I do a lot of trim work on the side, and you have saved me a lot of time. Specifically pre-assembling casing and trim with CA glue. Before, I nailed everything piece by piece.... By piece and by piece and by piece...until it was perfect. It took forever. Thank you for your no BS vids.

You and Finish Carpentry TV have saved my tail...and made my money! Thank you guys!

I recently retired from the industrial world and now do home remodeling, I have decent skills, but crown molding has been my biggest challenge! I am a very detailed craftsman, and your video is a great resource! I have painstakingly learned many of your techniques the hard way, through trial and error! You are spot on pointing out real world problems, no wall or ceiling is square and true, and 1 degree off causes gaps! Most videos don’t point this out! I have found cutting sample test pieces to calibrate your saw is very valuable. Popping a chalk line on the wall to line up the bottom edge is an absolute! Good information, well presented, wish I would have found you sooner!

HOLY SMOKES--that tip about manipulating the projection position (and twisting the crown a little on installation) blew my mind. Can't wait to try this out.

Thanks for the knowledge, I'm a young carpenter and hopefully one day I will be able to help other, just as you help me here! Happy holiday.

The calibration is absolutely paramount. It is an absolute, living nightmare to install crown with a wack saw, especially on painted cabinets where you cannot caulk. Great videos, wish it was posted back when I started 😀

As a finish carpenter myself I enjoy checking out your videos to see your methods/techniques. You always have very solid well thought out advice. I’m truly amazed that anyone with a room temperature IQ or higher would thumbs down your videos.

I had this problem the other day. Thank you for these videos. I cant even begin to tell you how much they have helped.

Great explanation. Cutting crown accounting for the upside down and backwards positioning on the saw always confused the hell out of me until I bought Gary Katz’ dvd on crown. Totally changed the way I thought about it and now it’s a breeze.

Changing the projection when you were talking about crown molding lining up with the doors was awesome! Thanks for sharing!

I love your attention to detail, Spencer. You are a true craftsman. I envy your passion for what you do. I was a sheet metal worker for 37 years and loved ( most) of the trade!

EXCELLENT!!! Do another video and go through the steps of the various corners in an average home, step by step from finding angle to nailing up.

Most people can grasp cutting crown nested easier than they can grasp the flat method. I have always cut crown flat, regardless of the size of the crown. I am an engineer and I have always been able to envision the corner that I'm cutting. My first compound miter saw was an 8-1/4" Hitachi slide, which was the very first large capacity miter saw. I had to cut all of my baseboard flat as well as my crown because of the limited depth of cut. I found that I continued to do so even after getting a larger capacity saw years later. It just seems funny to me that we pay extra for a compound miter saw and don't use the bevel settings. You make good videos.

You are a great resource for up and coming finish carpenters...hope they all watch and listen to you .... carefully!!

Thank you thank you! You are an amazing teacher you knowledge is priceless.

when you notice how much knowledge, practice, experience real craft men have, then you understand their prices.

Who gives a thumbs down, and if you’re that good, put your money where your mouth is, and post some videos. My god, hating just to hate.

Dude, you and Finish Carpentry TV were the no 1 lifesavers when I decided to renovate my home by myself. Now one year from not knowing anything about carpentry or woodworking I've started building my own woodshop. Having so much fun! So thank you and keep it up.

Best Trim Carpentry Videos on RU-vid Hands down!!! Thanks for all your hard work and awesome explanations Spencer!

Worked on homes where we didn’t make the crown fit the wall angle,we always cut true angles then shimmed out to make the wall/ceiling meet the true angle and back filled or skim coated when really bad. Most though only required less than an 1/8” fill maybe 6-12” long on either wall/ceiling. Same technique on tall 3 stage base molding. Best scenario is installing in a panelized room where everything has been shimmed out for true,level and square.

Awesome explanation, great video, carpenter and trim carpenter for 40 years and never heard it explained any better. I love that Bosch angle finder, I had to get one after watching Gary Katz on video. All the best my brother. Keep the videos coming!!!! Al from Maryland

What amazing teaching. I don't do this for a living but will help me when doing it for myself or friends. Thanks so much for taking the time I FC going the extra mile. 🙏

That was the most helpful breakdown of crown I've seen yet! All I wanna know is, have you done a video rundown for that fence across the bottom of your saw?! Cuz I was seeing that in my mind the last couple days and then saw it ON YOUR SAW and was like, OF COURSE he's already done it! Mad props for all the time you've taken to help the rest of us Spencer. Your acts of service go A LOOOOONG WAY!

Excellent advice. You’re very good at explaining things. Very few people are naturally skilled at teaching, and I’m sure apprentice carpenters are thrilled to get you as their mentor. One comment that is completely unrelated to your topic that I kept thinking about while watching this video is regarding your tool belt. And I hate to sound like the typical “old man” here, but I would strongly urge you to strip as much weight out of your tool belt as possible particularly when doing tasks like finish work. The best carpenters often have the best tools, and they also are often the most prepared which, when in their 20’s and 30’s, usually results in ultra-equipped tool belts. But even the best carpenters cannot build anything when the joints start going in their 40’s and 50’s. Besides the typical knee and shoulder issues, I ended up with hip pain that I attribute to years of wearing an overloaded tool belt. You’ll feel naked at first, but eventually you’ll come to appreciate the light weight agility and you’ll be surprised at how much energy you have at the end of an eight hour day. I now start every shift with an empty tool belt and then only add what I need for that day. And if it’s questionable, I leave it on the bench and just grab it as needed. No more 23 oz framing hammer hanging there all day practically unused while I’m using the finish nail gun; no more partial strips of framing nails that have been sitting in the pouch from three jobs ago; no more 35’ tape. Every ounce matters. The future you will thank you. And the other tip I always give younger carpenters: spend $75 on a high-quality kneeling pad. Because the worn-out hips hurt, but when the knees go, you’re screwed. Keep up the good work!

You're a man of your word! Thanks for sharing the fundamentals of crown and this great video. Thanks for sharing Spencer as always your setups are sick!!

Thank you. Thanks to you I made a perfect crown. I’m restoring an antique German wall clock. The part above the top crown was missing. I do not know what it looked like but I thought I could extend the top crown and make it look good. I followed instructions from other teachers and I messed up because I don’t have electric tools I just have one of those gizmos to cut frames for pictures. However, you did show a trick that allowed me to cut a crown that fits. I found you instructions logical, easy to follow and easy to modify and adapt to my situation. Again thanks

i have been watching your channel for a long time now and just wanna say thank you. i9 have took my own skill-set to a whole other level practicing these methods. i am most definitely going to tell viewers on my channel to watch this channel if they already don't. from seattle WA, thanks man and keep up the excellent work.

Spencer just ordered a new Mikita 12” Miter Saw & Stand I got a good ride out of my Bosh Axial Glide but i could never get it to cut consistently ? Who knows ? I watched your video and tried & tried? It would cut dead on then it was out? Then I found a cracked head in it and well that was that! I had two dewalt fixed that pulled some weight also! So I am excited to get this Saw up & running; & calibrated! Great video I saved it to my file for pull outs on the job when questions arise it’s like walking “With Spencer”! When I get jammed! Thanks buddy you hv no idea how much I truly appreciate that! Now I gotta get a price on that 2’ angle finder!

Wow amazing insight. This information is never easily given away. I truly appreciate your willingness to teach! 🙏👏🙌

Fantastic, as always! Thanks again for taking the time to make these!

Best crown molding video on RU-vid!

You are a total boss! Master carpenter and teacher. Thank you for all the awesome information.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills you will never know how much you have helped me

YOu do an awesome job explaining the important things . Thank you for taking the time to do this for novices like me. I've been in industrial maintenance all my life and did a lot of most everything but never enough with wood. Now that I'm retired I'm doing this as something to keep me bust yet make my house more attractive. I've always wanted to do this and I've started already. I did one small hallway with traditional MDF and another with Polystyrene. I live in SC where it gets humid so I'm staying away from MDF but I wanted wood. Wood is more pricey and a little harder to cope. I'm try9ing to stay away from coping. I'm in a brand new hose and so far Most of my corners and very close to 90`. Polystyrene is not as flexible as I thought bus so far so good.

Great content as always Spencer. Thank you for posting.

Thanks a million. Great video. I'll definitely make sure to fellow these guidelines for my future crown moulding and all finish work jobs. 👍👍👍

Years ago my cheap boss bought a miter saw from a pawn shop . Rusted circa 1492 . Built a jjig at the 31.8 and had to cut crown with a skilsaw . . Granted it was exterior but it. Worked fine .. I don't recommend but sometimes . You gotta solve the problem .It's a ballet of sorts . A knowing .magic .a dance . What the eye sees .. When running into squirrly framing that lies beneath .. . After 40 years .I am confident I can run crown around a twisted cypress tree lol and make it look like .. It was meant to be

Great video and very clear explanations. Keep up the good work!

Very good detailed video, thanks and keep up the great work. Love the table, im going to make one now.

Spencer great video. Keep up the awesome work, your a legend.

Spencer, Another great video! Keep up the good work.

Thank you Spencer. Another great video. Very helpful. For those struggling with Upside Down and Backwards. Try standing behind your saw to look at it. In my mind, i could see it better this way.

Love your content, please upload to other platforms so we can continue watching in peace. Thanks!

Great video, Spence! Enjoy that Sun Mountain bag!! Since kids, it’s been tough to get out and swing... I find myself living vicariously through you. Keep up the awesome solo work and the training! I’m not production (more along the lines of TRG), but your experience is priceless. On my way to grab the Bosch angle finder...

Guys who can cut nested are good. Some of us cannot visualize upside down and backwards, so we have to cut flat. Just the thought of walking backwards and upside down gives me a headache. Kudos to you guys who have the ability.

Best explanation I've seen

Spencer. For such a young guy you sure have your ducks in a row. You've evidently had some good men teaching you over the years and now you can pass this knowledge along. At 66, I haven't had much opportunity to do any trim work much anymore. I loved doing it and also in building furniture. When my wife passed away, in 05', I pretty much put my shop in mothballs and haven't done much since then. I would have loved to have found your channel years ago when I was more active in woodworking. You are a fine craftsman and a good teacher. You explain things in a way that people can understand and you do help others in that way. I could have learned a few things from you!! I look forward to your videos and I am still going through your old ones. Keep up the good work. Do you solely work in Indiana? I live north of Dayton. Who knows, maybe someday we might meet. Take care and continue to do quality work. Ron

Your 100% right the miter Saw needs to be perfect calibrated!

Amazing video, as usual ! Always learn some pretty big things from your videos, really amazing content man!!! Wish I knew the trick to cheat the projection a few years ago!

Advanced technique tip blew my mind!

You are a great teacher. Thank you.

*A lot of valuable information* Thanks Spencer PS next video Crown & bullnose trim around outside corners

Thank you so much for all you teaching us! I would like to make a mitter stand like yours!

Another great video and so far I can c is a very hot topic!!! For me the way I cut is flat only for kitchen cabinets cause I always have exact and can no make mistakes and the boxes usually are pretty square but when I do all the room have to be nested . Is faster and you can accommodate the angle according the corner...

Well done Spencer Great Video have a good weekend

Thanks Spencer for a very informative crown lesson. Next time you discuss crown, please consider showing how you deal with transitioning from a horizontal run to a tray ceiling. Thanks

As always, pure GOLD at #InsiderCarpentry! Thanks for sharing and happy holidays Spencer. 👽

My first time I installed it upside down🤣. Thanks for all the tips. Yesterday I struggled, bosch saw on a Bosch gravity stand with tiny factory crown stops.

I compound miter my crown so I can take some out the front or back of the cut. Which I do at every corner. I install like it's going to be left natural but I've never been on a job that wasn't going to be painted. 🤣 When you can wow everyone before paint even the painter you did it right 😉😎 most underrated channel on the tube brother 👍

I like the explanation of the crown on ceiling

Great info! Thanks.

Thanks for the tips! I ended up making one of those nesting jigs. The glue is still drying. I cant wait to try it out.

Awesome ! Thank you for sharing

Good job, Spencer.

I have never installed crown... thank you for the heads up!!!

Great video. Thank You

Great work 👏

I caulking your corners covered in the next video? LOL. Seriously, this was a great lesson.

1 more added element to good results.. Measuring accurately, Maybe you can do a video on that.

That is very good and useful content Spencer you explain very well thank you Happy Thanksgiving God bless to you and your family

Very knowledgeable the best on Utube I use a Bosch 12 inch with a Forrest chop master that just dedicated

Excellent Tutorial

Good job!

I use both methods of cutting crown and both have their advantages. With very large crown, you pretty much have to lay it flat. I find handling big heavy crown like 7" walnut much easier lying flat. You can slightly back cut outside corners without changing the projection, also known as spring angle. Also Spencer, did you know that the Bosch miter gauge can calculate the bevel and angle cuts for you when cutting crown laying flat? I use it often and it works perfectly.

Ordered some stuff thru your links, least we can do for all those lessons.

Will you touch base on how you hang long pieces of crown by yourself? I know you’re a one man show so how are you putting up 16’ pieces??!!

Nicely Done 👍🏽 Happy Thanksgiving Day To You And Your Family 🙏🏽💙🎄🦃🎁

I had that exact situation about a year ago. I had go chase out an inch from one side of the kitchen to the other, on the cabinet crown. Every corner was a different projection, 10 of them to be exact. It took some time but the reveal was consistent all the way through.

Awesome.

Great video and tips. I’m doing a room crown project on our 1928 bungalow. I’ve done rooms before however much newer homes we owned. In the past I’ve used the flat cut compound cut method in the craftsman miter manual. I like the method you show, molding is the same as no top or bottom. Can you describe the proper setup for inside R and L cuts? Thanks, Kevin

Thank you

Saw your instagram post of your unfinished home. Truly inspiring! Wonder what gems you've installed in your own home .

Can you explain please on what’s the best way to measur a crown moulding Cheers Dave.

The Bosch is a great tool, but an inexpensive angle finder is a Sawset Pro/ see Sawset.ca for a great tool. As a retired contractor you explain it well, with detail. THanks

great video.with your jig that holds your molding in place how do you read the angles, if you need 47 degrees how do you see it .also when you said you change angles if ceiling is out and adding crown to top of cabinet, do you still glue your crown and you have the flex in it to make it fit and the glue holds your miters.

TY Sir.

Great video!! I have been a finish carpenter for 18 years. I always do this with my crown..... Miter crown Cope baseboard It’s the right way to do it

I value your time and energy put into videos to help people, but I need some help with somethin I don’t kno if you can even make a video on. I’m a very versatile tradesman. What I struggle with the most is not physically doin the work but knowing, or deciding what trim to use and when to use it. I know there’s base, chair, crown, and all that but how do you decide the exact style for a house? What rooms get crown, does all the trim in a house have to match or can rooms with different styles have different base? Do I pick one and buy the contractor pack at Lowe’s and go to town on my whole remodel ? Base dies into door casings, do all windows get casing that matches doors?

Your corner angles of 1 end of a board will always total to 180 degrees. Set your miter saw to 0 degrees and cut a board - you produce two 90-degree corner angles (both total to 180 degrees). Set your miter saw to 7 degrees and cut a board. You produce two corner angles again except one angle became 90 degrees + 7 (97) and the other corner angle became 90 degrees - 7 (83) yet those 2 angles (97 & 83) still total to 180 degrees. You also produce a "long point" and "short point" when you cut on any angle other than 0 degrees. Long point angles will always be less than 90 degrees. Short point angles will always be more than 90 degrees - but the 2 corner angles will always add up to 180 degrees. I've heard a lot of people say "If I wanted to cut a 30-degree angle on a board, why don't they put that on the miter angle scale on the instead of having it marked with 60 degrees? The reason is b/c when you cut a board, you're going to produce 2 corner angles, not one. One corner angle may be 30 degrees but the other corner angle that the person is forgetting about is also going to be produced by the cut - which would be 150. If miter saw scales were marked in that fashion, then you would have to print 2 numbers on each degree mark instead of one.

Another great vid mate. my flex volt saw is perfect at 90 but out .2 too left and .1 too left have you ever had that? seems like it is pretty major ordeal to get in there and fix that. It pretty much forces me to cut my moldings flat.

A lesson it was great class

Your video is eye opening. Enjoyed it very much, however there is one question I'd like to ask you since you have more experience than I. I have worked with several skilled tradesmen and watched a multitude of videos and I have questioned one item that I feel is extremely important in installing crown molding. Many people say that you must nest the crown against the fence AND the table of the saw. I have found on several occasions the crown is NOT manufactured with a 90 degree surface on these two edges. The edge which rest upon the ceiling is angled slightly and only touches the ceiling at the very edge. This is done so as to cut down on the amount of surface the crown engages a crooked ceiling. I have been taught that the BOTTOM of the molding must be flush with the back fence of the saw and that the top edge should just make contact with the table of the miter saw. Using this information, I have never had a problem with the nesting process. To me, this makes sense, since the BOTTOM of the crown must rest flush against the wall and the top only needs to meet the ceiling. Granted many crown moldings will nest against both surfaces, however, some may only rest flat against the fence and barely touch the table of the saw because of this angled edge. I hope I have explained my concern accurately. Would appreciate your thoughts on the subject.

Very good content. I want to point out something if I may. I always glue my outside corners with CA (I know you use hipur) the reason being is if I'm installing a long piece and the ceiling is not level I can easily manipulate the crown without throwing off my corners!! Also if I have a 45 cut and the actual angle on the wall is 45 and 1/2 or even 46 because my corners are glued I can press it hard against the wall and nail it without opening up my corners. This trick only works when using some strong and fast set glue, like CA or Hipur, otherwise the corner will snap. Also I want to ask you the link on Amazon for the 12 blade you use. I want to try it out.

thanks

Nice 👍

Great videos Spencer. Really enjoy watching your channel. Quick question. 15G or 16G nails when hanging Crown and accent wall mouldings? Trying to decide which new Milwaukee cordless finish nailer.

I love crown molding. So many guys I know will not touch it. I do not know why they are scared of it.

Have big issue with bad framing and walls that are not straight. Would you happen to have a video addressing this? (Couldn’t find). Or do you have any recommendations on how to tackle? Thanks and great vids and information.

The angle finder measured a 90.8° corner, then calculated a 44.7° miter cut on the saw. Is this due to the calculator using the spring angle to adjust the actual miter cut? Is there a crown miter calculator app? I have a digital angle finder that does not calculate the miter cut. ps great videos!