How do I cut the moulding for this angle?

Question

I'm trying to run an extra piece of moulding going up a staircase. How do I cut the angle to do this? There is a framed doorway at the bottom of the stairs that the new moulding will need to fit up against.

I already have a miter box. It's the angle I need to figure out.

Answer 1

You'll get answers that say use two pieces of cardboard flush to the two opposing surfaces, or a paper template.

I happen to like the TOOL specific to this type of issue, and answered about it within the last day or two.

The tool looks similar to a folding knife. With a pivot point at one end, and attached there through the blade and handle, often with a wing nut.

The blade is slotted, allowing it to slide a certain distance. Flush the handle to one surface, the blade to the adjacent surface, tighten the wing nut, and Viola,,, you have your various angles.

Obviously if you will never use it again, you may not want to spend the $5 or less, that the tool costs, in which case use the cardboard, and tape the two pieces once you have the angle defined.

Steven Wolf

Answer 2

There is a way around having to find the angles of a slightly out of square joint in most common base mouldings. It's another story if the room is more than four sided, however. What we do is to run one side square to the wall without a miter/angle into the corner. To join, cut a reverse 45 degree cut (long point against the wall) on the joining piece. Take a coping saw, a necessary tool for trim installers, and back cut the angled end following the line along the outside of the cut. You have to hold the piece firmly and use the saw quickly but you'll find it a wonderful trick, and it's been done that way since Ante Bellum times, at least. The joint will close up to a hairs breadth if you're pretty handy but even a rookie can make a much better joint than trying to miter the two pieces together.

Answer 3

Oh for Pete's sake. Some people. Hello. Angle finder. Hello. All you need is a tool called an angle finder. Available anywhere. You will have absolutely, 100%, no way to determine that angle with any degree of accuracy. What happened to the trim that you are replacing? Use THAT to duplicate your angle. If you are not replacing any trim, use the angle finder. This will give you an approximation of the angle that you are shooting for. However, you will need to cut your material, check it for fit, and repeat until you have the correct angle. This is a carpentry technique in use for 3500 years.

Just take a piece of scrap material with the same dimensions as your trim. It is helpful if you have a piece long enough to span 3 or 4 steps, but getting too long is defeating the purpose of using a scrap. Once you have obtained the EXACT angle settings on your miter-box, secure those settings and viola! You are likely still going to have to make some small corrections for the actual installation. Be patient. You will eat up a lot of time doing this.

Answer 4

T-bevel. Looks like this:

http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=10736&cookietest=1

By the time you do the math you can measure it and cut it. Nothing against using math, I use trig and algebra while designing. But out in the field, a t-bevel is the way to go. Measure the angle with t-bevel, transfer the angle to miter saw by unplugging the miter saw, locking the saw blade down, and rotating the saw to the angle needed with handle of the t-bevel against the fence and the blade of the t-bevel against the blade of the saw. Make a mental note of the angle in case you need to use it again. And I just spent more time explaining it than actually doing it.

You can even make one, out of a yard stick, cut it in half, use a small bolt, washer, and a wingnut to bolt the ends together, then use a belt sander to round the ends where the bolt is. 18" long t-bevel for about a buck or two.

Answer 5

Forget getting one of those ' Contractor's Protractors" use math - it is more precise.
Take a strainght edge and come directly out from the angle - in other words extend the angle.
Take a piece of tape and tape it to the floor anywhere along the imaginary line drawn by the staight edge.
Mark a dot on it and measere from both walls to the dot.

suppose you measure height = 12 inches length=8
Rise = 12 .. .. Run = 8
Y = 12 .. X = 8

Now the slope is " m " so you have
m = 12/8 .. .. do the division
m = 1.5

Now with your scientific calculator you will use the function called " Arctangent", which may be called an inverse function of tangent, represented as Tan^-1, or other times as aTan

aTan ( 1.5) = 58.30° angle
If you situate yourself when doing all of this so the angle is to your right then this is all you need to do.
If you situate yourself so the angle is to your left then you need to add 90° to get the opposite angle,

(58.30 + 90)=148.30° (Left side angle) its opposite is 58.30° (right side angle).

1. Mark a point along the line.
2. Measure point to obtain the Slope Of The Line
3. Do the division of ( Rise / Run) =m
4. aTan ( m ) = angle in degrees


Remember: if you measure 12 3/4 inches on the ruler, for example, you will have to convert this mixed fraction to a decimal number only.
12 3/4 = (4*12)+3 = 51/4
[ denomerator. * whole num + numerator]
divide
51/4 = 12.75 inches

So 12 3/4 inches = 12.75 inches

Answer 6

There is a cheap tool called a bevel square(I think that's the name) It is simply a handle with an adjustable metal extension that you can adjust to any angle. Just place the handle on the existing skirt board, and adjust the metal part to the door trim. Transfer the angle to your miter saw. I always will make a test cut to make sure, but this is very easy to do.

Answer 7

There is one more relatively simple way. Lay your moulding in position so that the end that needs to be cut is overlapping the moulding on the door. Mark the top and bottom (of the moulding to be cut) with a dot where the edges of the mouldings meet. Draw a line between the two dots and cut on the line.

Answer 8

You can use this instrument from your school kids, to make a circle. One foot has a metal point, which stays fixed and the other has a lead to draw. You use the point on the bottom of the stairs and open to measure to where the molding should be. It'll give you the exact widh you need. Good luck!

Answer 9

just hold the piece of trim up to the wall and make a mark on it. just make sure that you cut it a little bit long. It's always better to be a little bit long than a little bit short

Answer 10

You will need a miter box.