Can you cope?

[imamartian]

Today i've cut some skirting board to length (pre-primed mdf - lovely stuff). And had to deal with only one corner (thanks to trunking). But i used the technique of coping (where you scribe the shape of your skirting onto the other and cut that shape with a coping saw, slightly larger than 90degs so it fits the other skirting. It's an ingenious idea....

But one small issue is whenever i do it, the cut piece always seems to sit high on the non-cut piece.... any ideas how to correct this? I solve it with a sharp chisel, but i get a couple of unwanted gaps.. which i fill with caulk. But i feel i shouldn't need to .

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I normally start by sawing a 45 degree bevel face on the piece to be coped, marking theedge with a pencil then sawing this with a coping saw. It helps to undercut a few degrees and on curves, like the bull nose at the top og a torus skirting, yo need to cut slightly back from the entire curve to get a goo fit. If needs be wrap a length of dowel with some P60 sandpaper and saznd back to get the clearance required. It may take a few goes to perfect the process

 

[imamartian]

Thanks.. i suspect i need to practise on scraps of skirting.

Where i think i go wrong is the top of the cut piece obviously needs some substance in order to exist... whereas if the design was on a computer, the top bit would be the thickness of a layer of paint... or less !!

 

[big-all]

also remember the flat bit can be cut first with a normal saw to give you a strait edge again undercut by a couple off degrees

 

[joinerjohn]

Your probably cutting the skirting , but keeping the coping saw square to the timber. As others have pointed out, you have to undercut it at a slight angle. ( easy when you know how, but hard to put into words on a screen)

 

[imamartian]

also remember the flat bit can be cut first with a normal saw to give you a strait edge again undercut by a couple off degrees

Lol... i can't cut straight with a normal saw !!! although i did do what you suggested using my table saw.

Thanks

 

[imamartian]

Your probably cutting the skirting , but keeping the coping saw square to the timber. As others have pointed out, you have to undercut it at a slight angle. ( easy when you know how, but hard to put into words on a screen)

No, John, i'm fine with that bit thanks... the extra couple of degrees is what allows the wall to be out by a degree or two.

What i think i'm doing wrong is cutting the top bit so it sits on the uncut bit, instead of alongside it.... probably only half a mil difference, but noticable.

 

[imamartian]

one further question.... joining two long runs of skirting together.... is it best to cut them at an angle (45deg?)?

Or would you just butt the flat ends together?

 

[tinytom]

you should mitre them at 45", it gives you more glueing area and it helps keep them level for years to come, if you just but them up you sometimes see in old houses where they have moved

tom

 

[big-all]

yes 45 but face the angle away from the light or main area like the door or seating area

if you bought the skirting from a wood yard it would be without joints as it can often be bought over 5m long

 

[joinerjohn]

Sometimes the skirtings aren't machined exactly the same (on different lengths) and this can throw out any scribes. I did some skirting once (torus) where the top bit on one length was about 1mm different from the skirting it was butting up to.
When joining skirtings lengthwise, I always cut them at 45° , and as big all says, cut them so the 45° is facing away from the main light source in the room. Or (if there's more than one light source eg windows) facing away from line of sight when entering the room.

 

[imamartian]

Thanks all. Job finished today and looks pretty good.

 

[nicam49]

Hi All! Dunno if it's OK to piggyback onto here or start afresh.
I'm trying to fit some pencil top mdf skirting to a room, having never done coping/scribing before. I've watched loads of youtube vids, but they all scribe complicated shaped skirting, not this simple rounded top one. It has, a 6mm radius, how the heck do I do it? Either the scribed piece top buts against the unscribed piece preventing the 2 parts from meeting, or the curved top of the scribed part sits on top of the other piece!. Where am I going wrong....?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

An 11 year old thread? You really should have started a new thread. BtW "coping" is the American term - on the UK it is "scribing" (even though you use a "coping saw"...)

No real difference between a complex moulding and a simple one, other than the complexity - you still start by making a mitre cut across the skirting, thren highlighting the cut line by running the edge of a pencil against it. Set up the coping saw with the teeth pointing towards the handle, the saw gets used with the handle to the underside of the material making a down cut. This keeps the blade tensioned (like a Japanese saw blade) meaning thatvl it.will run straight and being a downward cut into the face of the naterial will result in minimal spelch on the face side. Remember to allow a few degrees of undercut - this helps deal with out of square corners
.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

...