March 11, 2015  Join Baseboards Perfectly with a Coping Saw

baseboard coped corner pic 2

If you are installing baseboards, crown moldings, or chair rail in your home, you may have wondered how to join the moldings in the corners of the room.  Making a straight (miter) cut will result in a gap in the corner that will be visible to the eye.

Enter the coping saw.  A coping saw consists of a thin, hardened steel blade, stretched between the ends of a square, c-shaped, springy-iron frame to which a handle is attached. The blade is easily removed from the frame so that the blade can be passed through a drilled hole in the middle of a piece of wood. The frame is then re-attached to the blade and the cut starts from the middle of the piece.1

As its name suggests, the coping saw is the ideal tool for creating “coped” corners in moldings such as baseboards, crown molding and chair rail.  Basically, it enables you to cut the moldings so that they fit perfectly together at the joint, creating professional-looking results.

Although the coping saw is a somewhat specialized tool, it is a relatively inexpensive one (it generally costs between $5 and $20). So if you planning on installing any kind of moldings in your home, it will be a very helpful addition to your toolbox!

by See Jane Drill, Copyright 2015, All Rights Reserved

1 Wikipedia, “Coping Saw”

Related See Jane Drill How-To Video:  “How to Install Baseboard Moulding with Tight Corners”