I just ran into some crown I couldn't cope and I thought I was an idiot or something was wrong with me. Then I remembered this video. I had to readjust. I haven't mitered everything since I learned about coping.
If you ain't learning something new everyday you're simply not paying attention, thanks for the knowledge dude, always worth having all the tricks handy
I’ve always coped by hand and kept my coping saw blade perpendicular to the curves at all points as cutting with a back cut. I’m so anxious to try your method out. And those of your mentors who’s channel I have recently discovered. Thanks Spencer.
Another great video and once again I learned a few new tricks. I'm "that guy" you mentioned that copes using a coping saw and with the crown laying flat on its back. A carpenter showed me how to do it about 30 years ago and I never gave it much thought after. I wasn't aware of a more accurate way to do it or a better tool to do it with. I also now know why I've had some issues coping some crowns. I always thought the reason some joints didn't fit as tight as others was due to my coping skills. In retrospect, it wasn't me, it was the crown I was using. I never realized some crowns can't be coped.
Spencer you're the man! I've been doing this a long time, and I love that I can learn something from a guy 20 years younger than me. I met Dave Collins close to 20 years ago at a JLC convention. Bought his coping foot on the spot when I saw how easy he made it look. Held a piece of trim in the air with one hand, and jigsaw in the other hand and flew through it like butter ending up with a perfect coped joint. From watching your videos I learned years later how much better it is to cope in the nested position than on flat. Everything you stated is absolutely true, especially about keeping an open mind. While some things are just wrong, so many things are open to more than one approach. Katz is also the man.. I've met him in person as well. Keep up the good work!
Painters are, are best friends when doing crown as such. I usually will take the time to make corrections rather then hope the painter will... keep up the great work. And yes,, got to think out of the box!
Nice shout out to Gary Katz. I’ve gone to a couple of his in person all day workshops and it completely super charged my finish skills. From tool set up and jigs to time savers aka money makers. After the first one I took my crew so they could learn as well. Once I used the Collins coping foot I never looked back. And that magic shim trick for doors is amazing.
For me I only miter my crown for two reasons. One it’s faster and second it’s stronger by gluing the joint. I also only cut in the nested position. I also only cut in the mitre position too. By only changing the miter on the saw instead of Changing the mitre and the bevel. It saves a lot of time and way more efficient. Great video great topic!!
I don't do crown often but there have been times I have run into something like this but didn't know why they wouldn't fit. Very frustrating. Now I know what to look for. Thanks
Im mostly a tile guy but find myself getting stuck doing some finish carpentry as well. Your channel has made me so much better at a lot of that stuff. Luckily my buddy is a carpenter that doesn’t like doing side work anymore so I barrow a lot of his stuff lol. Cheers to the well explained videos mate.
Great one, two punch. Gary Katz 's video is course 101, and this video is the 201 class. I use the same technique and have gotten very good results. I still use the Bosch barrel trip but I am close to pulling the trigger on the 20v Dewalt barrel grip. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for the video. I haven't come across this issue yet but now when I do I'll be thankful. Great advice in your closing comments to keep an open mind to learning new thing. My best days are when I learn something new. I'm 51 and learning all the time.
Wish I knew this years ago when I was installing crown for the first time and couldn’t figure out why I was having so much trouble. A couple of corners somehow worked out ok, I guess because it’s an old house and everything is out of square but there is one corner that required a lot of wood filler and caulk. We’re about to do another room using the same crown molding. I’ll probably still cope it and do a liquid cope for the piece that gets cut off.
I had some profiles I think, is it me? the cope? my saw set up? what the heck is going on. Awesome video Spence, especially the angle on the bench to site down and cope, thumbs up...
Great words of wisdom to widen your skill set and don’t pigeon hole yourself. I found my most comfortable format on coping was a Makita 9031 belt sander 1-1/4x21” I preferred the smooth tooling as opposed to the bumping effect of a jigsaw and the exposed front pulley allows for a variety of profile sand offs, they also have a Model 9032 which is 3/8”x21” even tighter. Some horizontal cuts require a very slight corner detail I manage with a 4 way file rasp and rat tail for rounds if needed.
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT BY VISITING THESE AFFILIATE LINKS!!! Dewalt 20v Barrel Grip Jigsaw - geni.us/Uv00Y (Amazon) Collins Coping Foot for Jigsaw Coping - amzn.to/3aEa4cv (Amazon)
I've been a carpenter for almost 20 years and I love learning new things, I'm always looking over the other trades shoulders watching what they are doing and asking questions. The other guys onsite call me the sponge. 😂 Cos I'm sucking up all their knowledge.
I often cope base with beads in the profile using a trim router with a router bit that fits inside the profile of the bead. Why couldn’t you do the same for the beaded crown in your demonstration? It’s 10:38pm now so I’ll have to try it tomorrow. I’ll let you know what I find.
Thanks again for a great, informative video. I'm 58 years now, I've been a carpenter since I was 23, and I'm always looking to improve. Meaning I know there are many ways to execute a particular job and I know how to do it, but I like to see other ways to do that job if that makes sense. Thanks for your videos
coping may take longer and seem harder but when you go and but that piece in and fits perfect its very rewarding and doesnt come with the frustration of maneuvering 2 pieces of material to get them lined up just right and nail em
Not sure if I've ever seen this topic explained in such detail. Excellent instruction and detail! Thank you (and no dad jokes for me) I've met my quota for the year already lol
I need to try this to physically see "uncopable" crown. But why do miters work? Because youre removing material from both pieces. Theyre going to go together if the angles are correct. So for problem profiles a fix would presumably be to file/notch the through piece at the problem point(s) and it should go together.
Another well done video! I couldn't agree more with your comments about being open minded and not thinking your way is the best/only way. I have worked as a carpenter for 30+ years, the first 25 years almost exclusively as a framing contaractor. I can think of quite a few small tips I picked up from other people, that after I was shown them were "Oh Duh!" Moments when the small tip was so simple that it should have been obvious. Then after applying what I learned I could quite literally save days of cumulative time on a typical new const framing project. I have even been hired by other companies to come work on a temporary basis to see how they are doing things and show them areas where they can work more efficiently. People who aren't willing to learn and adapt are only hurting themselves. BTW, I have only ever cut crown upside-down/backwards as you demonstrated. Are you going to make a video showing any tips on how to cut taller crown profile by laying it flat in the saw?
Hey Spencer! Great format! Great video tool I can place in my saved files. No I did not know why some crowns were not copable! I just thought it was beyond my skills! Isn’t Katz the man! I actually did some DM back & forth with him not many guys older than me still loving the game! I even tried to get him into Church! He declined he likes his Yoga?????? Anyway thank you so much for forking down this road! Us serious carpenters hv no “University” so we look to others such as you !
Never have cut crown on the flat. Been lucky. Can you put one out on how you do that. My understanding is I need to carry around a bunch of charts and angle calculations in order to do it. Help!
Good morning Spencer, if I'm installing crown should I go around the room from left to right. When I get to the last piece does it have to be coped on both ends. I can't find any videos that show a complete installation
I used to cope all my crown when I started out 35 years ago doing stain grade and even paint grade until I saw that painters were still caulking my super tight joints. Now I 45 all my crown except when I run wood crown into flex crown then I cope the wood crown
Hi Spence thank you for all you do , you have helped me to be a better carpenter. can you help me to decide if I buy the jamb master 🙏, there is many different comments, some said the takes alot time to set up. also we're do you buy it. THANKS AGAIN.
I miter my crown and I change the compound miter to cut a lil more out the back of the cut to make the face of the joint a lil tighter and I add a 1/16 to every board that has 2 inside corner it makes it look like furniture grade work before paint 👍
Good stuff Spencer. I made a set of wings and crown stop very similar to your setup. Tried the coping set up and like it. Seems to work better for left end copes and wonder if would be better to do right hand copes on left end of wings? Maybe I'm missing some minor detail? Also i wish you'd go just a little more into how you designed and made your crown stop. I love mine and really helps with the support being all the way across but have trouble seeing the scale in between detents. I notice you have holes to see through but do they work for different size molding? I do 3 1/4 to 6" primarily. Thanks for all the good info. DB
Spencer a question off topic, I have a huge amount of base board to install. They are all bull nosed corner beads, how do you set up to cut multiple 5/8 22.5 pieces accurately. I apricate all info that you can give, keep up the great videos, they are very helpful.
Check out Finish Carpentry TV's channel; he's in the Dallas - Fort Worth area where bullnose corners are common. I just moved to Phoenix last year from the midwest, his channel helped me out a ton. There's a couple tools you need; bullnose trim gauge and CA glue for sure. Richard and Spencer are buddies via youtube, very respectable craftsmen.
Cut one of the 5/8 pieces then measure what the long points are. Now you can work on the face of the baseboard. You’ll want to make a pencil mark on the base of your mitersaw as a location for the long point of the 22.5. Once you cut that, slide your base to that mark and cut the other side 22.5. It’s like using a stop block without a stop block. Your just using a pencil mark as the reference point
Thanks Gary for all the knowledge. I took your workshops back in the day in the Bay Area in nor cal, then the next time brought my crew. It upped my finish work, made me more efficient and allowed me to stay well paid. Doors went faster, crown was easier, and all my clients sing my praises and gave referrals. Gratitude for you sir.
Spencer, can you do a story time video of how you started out on your own? You’re an absolute champ of a Carpenter but it seems you are pro on the business end too! I’m looking to branch out from my job and go on my own ( Carpenter Superintindent here) and would like to follow in your footsteps. Give us the map! I know one size doesn’t fit all but I’m sure you have some good info for us on that front. Thanks again, great videos!
Well, your "not great" cope joint looks like most of mine! No matter what I do, the line never fully "disappears." If nothing else because the coped side has *some" thickness to it even if its filed to a knife edge.
EDIT: At 14:11 Use a utility knife to miter the bead on the left. Just thinking aloud here... is it possible to cope like normal and simply notch out the other piece with a utility knife? I'm having trouble juggling the pieces in my head, and don't have a suitable piece to try it, but I think the notch, if done precisely, will be hidden inside the joint. Hope that makes sense.
So there are spots that mitering must be used, but are there times coping is the only option? Never done this before, but working on doing some home upgrades.
I all way cope with a coping saw.Then cope strong and use a rat tail to fit But i read one Gentlemens comment on using a drill in those spots sounds like a good idea I’m 68 years old and doing this a long time listen to anybody’s ideas keep the good ideas and kick out the bad ones is my philosophy
In fact, if you cope TOO MUCH of an angle you're going to leave too LITTLE meat on the angle and it may become brittle or fragile. But in all fairness you need filing and sanding to complete a "tight fit" (or fine tuning) as you say. Nice channel.
I believe he uses the T244D blades. They are listed in his Amazon store. Also, when I bought my Collins Foot, those blades are highly recommended in their instructions as the best blade to use. Hope this helps.
@@InsiderCarpentry Thanks for the reply! Your content is fantastic and your work all looks great! By the way, where the heck can I find a Jamb Master for sale? I can't seem to locate it on any sites.
I quit coping 30 years ago, never had a joint fail since. Number one you can glue it, number two if your wood is unstable and it moves you can fill it and you have something behind there to hold it and three you never have to fight that Crown cope again. And by the way it was because of that same identical profile you are showing that caused me to switch forever.
Hey Spencer, I'm making a set of wings for my saw, could you tell me the distance between the two t-tracks that hold your crown stop? Also, any chance you saved the design of the crown stop? Maybe in Sketchup ?
OK... I hate to break it to you guys - There is no such a thing as uncopeable crown molding, cornice or ceilling moulding. Every geometric 3D figure is able to interpenetrting one another. And before you start posting hate comments for my statement here, know this: It is a 3D geaometry principle. Second, we just have to have right tools for it. Without right tools obviously we ain't able to do it. Third, if you do not believe me get yourself any software capable of 3D drawing and you will see that any profile can be cope. With all due respect to Spencer (although, he is somewhat right about certain issues), I love your videos and you're highly respected tradie I'm sure, but I respectfully disagree. I have been in industry for more than 40 years. And yes, I am still using a relic coping saw, but now I also use a grinder and DREMEL tool. Please, check the above points before you hate me for it!
