How to Cut Angles With a Coping Saw

Simply placing two pieces of wood into the corner almost always looks lousy. The only tries and true foolproof method for great looking corners is cutting a coped joint or angle. This age old carpenter’s trick involves cutting the profile on the end of one wood piece and fitting it against another like piece, sort of like a puzzle. The resulting joint is easy to file or sand for a perfect fit, even on out-of-square corners. It may look difficult, but don’t worry. With a few special techniques and a little practice, you will be cutting perfect angles in no time at all.
There are few carpentry skills more rewarding than cutting and fitting a cope, but you’ll never know until you give it a try. So grab a coping saw and a chunk of wood, then follow the step by step directions on how to cope perfect angles.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Coping Saw
• Various Blades For Coping Saw
• Sharp Pencil
• Sawhorse (Optional)
• 100 Grit Sandpaper
• Rattail Wood File (Optional)

1. Copes are sawed with, as you might already expect, a coping saw. You do not need to spend a lot of money to get perfect angles on your wood projects. An $8.00 coping saw available at a local hardware store will work. Remember to pick up a variety of blades too. Use fine-tooth blades for thin material and intricate cuts. A blade with 20-teeth per inch works well for most copes.
   
   TIP: A coping saw is designed to cut on the pull stroke (with the blade’s teeth facing the handle). But some carpenters prefer to mount the blade with the teeth facing away from the handle so the saw cuts on the push stroke. Try it both ways and decide for yourself which works best for you.

2. 

   The first step in coping is to establish the cutting line. Cutting a 45-degree bevel is the easiest method if the two pieces of wood you are joining have the same profile. The wood shown in this photo has a complex and difficult profile, making for a challenging job. Bevel the end of the wood to be coped at a 45-degree angle to reveal the profile.

3. 

   This photo shows you how to start the cope. The technique varies slightly depending on the profile of the wood you are working with. The wood pictured here has some flat spots on the top which will require a square starting cut. If you start angling the cut too soon, you will notice a little triangular gap on the top of the wood when you so to connect them together. .
   Guide the blade with your thumbnail to start the cut accurately. If your wood has a little flat spot on top like pictured, start the cut with the blade of the coping saw held perpendicular to the molding to make a square starting cut.
   
   TIP: Practice a cut cope on a scrap to get comfortable with your starting angle

4. 

   Clamp your wood to a sawhorse or hold it in place with your knee while you saw. Remember, do not force the blade as you are cutting. If the blade starts to leave the cutting line, back up a little and restart the cut. On steep curves, the frame of the saw may hit the molding. If this happens, back the saw out of the cut and saw in from the opposite direction. You may be able to complete some simple copes with one long cut, but in most cases you’ll have to approach them from two or three different angles to finish the job.
   
   Angle the coping saw about 30 degrees to remove more wood from the back of the wood than the front. Then slowly and carefully saw along the your profile. Concentrate on staying just outside the line. You can always file or sand away extra material later on to give it a professional look.

5. 

   Restart the cut to saw around sharp curves or to cut out notches. Complex shapes may require you to take three or four cuts at different angles.

6. 

   Continue to check the fit of the coped joint, using a sharp pencil to mark spots that have to be filed or sanded.

7. 

   After a few minutes of sawing, the cut will be finished. Next, it will be time to test fit the cope on a matching piece of wood. Some copes fit perfectly on the first try, however some may require several more minutes of filing and sanding before you get a good fit. If the joint is close to fitting, you will only need to touch up the high spots with 100 grit sandpaper. Use files to remove larger amounts of excess material.
   
   File or sand off high spots. Use rolled-up sandpaper or a rattail file to fine-tune any curved sections. Check the fit repeatedly until the joint fits tight, filing or sanding away excess wood.
   
   TIP: Remember to use your pencil to mark spots that have to be filed or sanded.

8. 

   Switch to a blade with fewer teeth for cutting thick materials like crown moldings. Then expect to spend ten to fifteen minutes on each joint to get a perfect fit. Cope crowns at a sharper angle. Re-cut areas that are hitting in the back of your wood. You may have to remove large amounts of excess wood in some areas to get a tighter fit.

9. 

   Before you tackle harder and more comples angles, practice on smaller pieces of wood such as simple baseboards to gain confidence and master your coping.

Resources

• Coping Saw Video