A framer in Boise told me my crown cuts were all wrong

He said I was using the wrong spring angle for the room, which explained why my joints never looked tight. I was using 38/52 for everything, but this old house needed a 45/45. I switched my miter saw setting and the next piece fit like a glove. Anyone else run into weird spring angles in older builds?

4 comments

4 Comments

casey3421mo ago

Maybe it's just me but I've never really trusted the spring angle numbers stamped on the back of trim. Those old houses were built by hand, not calculators. I've had way better luck just holding a scrap piece up to the corner and tweaking the saw until it fits. The stamped angle is a good starting point, but it's rarely perfect in practice. I'd bet your original cuts were closer than you think, and the framer's advice just got you to adjust a tiny bit.

wendyd261mo ago

Yeah, the part about old houses being built by hand is so true. I had the same thing happen with my crown molding. @casey342 is right, you just have to test it. I used the number on the back once and it was off by almost two degrees. Now I always cut a few scraps first and adjust the saw by eye until it sits flush in the corner. The stamped number gets you in the ballpark, but the wall is the final judge.

oliviajenkins1mo ago

What if the stamped numbers are actually right and your walls are just out of square? I've seen guys chase a perfect fit for hours when the problem was the corner, not the cut.

the_amy15d ago

Ngl, I've definitely been that guy before. Spent a whole afternoon recutting the same piece of crown, convinced my saw was wrong. Turns out my whole house is a little drunk. The corner was so out of whack I had to cut one end at 38 degrees and the other at 34 just to make it look okay. You live and you learn, I guess. Now I just assume every wall is lying to me.