How to Cut Trim With a Coping Saw

Exterior angles are the most difficult to cut.

Cutting trim to a precise fit on the wall or baseboards requires practice. The best tools to use for cutting trim are a miter saw and coping saw. Professional finishes on trim work require delicate cuts, which call for the coping saw. The key to a professional finish on trim is to undercut the material so that the exposed edge sits flush with the exposed edge of the connecting piece. A coping saw, which is a thin blade stretched between a C-shaped arm connected to a handle, may be slower than a miter saw but is capable of much more intricate and precise curves.

Things You'll Need

• Carpenter's square

Instructions

Interior Corners

1. Mark a 45-degree angle on the end of the trim for an interior corner. Use a carpenter's square, which is a small, triangular tool used for measuring angles.

2. Cut the 45-degree angle out with the coping saw. The cut creates a line on the surface of the trim that follows the 45-degree angle. The line is the separation between the visible part of the trim and the inside material of the trim. Trace that line with a pencil.

3. Cut the inside material out of the trim following the line made in Step 2. Hold the coping saw so that it is perpendicular to the trim allowing you to cut a 90-degree cut while following the line from the 45-degree cut. The visible edge of the trim will appear to be a 45-degree cut but the 90-degree cut, called undercutting, allows you to install the trim flush with another piece in an inside corner without a gap between the two pieces.

Exterior Corners

1. Mark a line going straight out from an exterior corner on the ground. The line represents the point where the edges of the corner meet. The line will be 45 degrees from each wall if the corner is a perfect 90-degree angle.

2. Place a strip of trim along the wall and transfer the mark from Step 1 onto the trim. The mark should follow the same path as the mark from Step 1.

3. Cut the trim with a coping saw, following the mark.

4. Repeat the process for the second piece of trim for the corner. The angled ends will meet along the line on the ground removing potential gaps between the two pieces.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice on scrap pieces. Cutting angled joints requires careful measurements. After a little practice, the exterior and interior angles will be simple to cut using a coping saw. Cutting with a coping saw follows the same methods as a normal saw but the blade can follow more intricate curves because it is so thin. The C-shaped arm holding the blade allows you to angle the handle as you push or pull the saw to create an arc or follow a design. Position the blade along the line you wish to cut and pull slowly, adjusting the angle of the blade as you do to create intricate curves.

References

• "Lowe's: Complete Home Improvement and Repair"; Don Vandervort; 2005
• Kelleher Corporation: How to Cope Mouldings