How to Cut the Inside of Chair Rails With a Miter Saw

Proper planning will improve your miter saw use.

Adding a chair rail to a room can add a new level of architectural detail and style to the decor. One of the more difficult aspects of installing a chair rail is cutting the pieces of the chair rail so that they properly match in the corners. This is where a miter saw comes into the picture. Used in conjunction with a miter box, a miter saw lets you cut precise angles in your chair rail segments that will properly match each other.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Paper and pencil
• Miter box
• Carpenter's C-clamp
• Miter saw
• Sandpaper

Instructions

1. Measure the length of the walls where you'll be mounting the chair rail. Record the measurements and a sketch of the wall layout onto a piece of paper.

2. Determine whether you'll need to make inner or outer cuts for each of the pieces of chair rail you'll be installing. If you're completing an inner corner, the outside of the chair rail -- the part facing the room -- will be shorter than the back of the chair rail. If you're completing an outside corner, the opposite is true.

3. Place your piece of chair rail into a miter box and line up the board with the proper cutting angle. Sketch this out on your paper if necessary -- it's easy to get confused and waste a piece of wood. Clamp the chair rail to the miter box with a C-clamp.

4. Place the miter saw into the guide. Cut back and forth with an even sawing motion until you've cut through the chair rail. Release the clamp, remove the chair rail and sand the cut edge of the wood with a piece of sandpaper.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice making your planned cuts with pieces of scrap lumber before you cut into the more expensive chair rail.

References

• "Trim Carpentry (Build Like A Pro)"; Clayton DeKorne; 2008