Mitering Out of Square Corners

Check the corner for square.

Mouldings that are mitered together at an out-of-square corner will have gaps between them unless you cut the miters at something other than 45 degrees. Check the corner with a framing square before you start. This corner is out of square by 1/4 inch in a little more than a foot.

Draw a line parallel to each wall.

The first step in finding the proper miter angle is to draw a line parallel to each wall. Trace along a piece of scrap to draw the line.

Connect the corners.

Put the handle of a T-bevel against the wall. Set the arm so it runs from the corner of the wall to the corner created by the lines. This is the angle at which you want to miter the mouldings.

Set the saw to match the T-bevel.

If the baseboard were narrower, you could just set the back against the fence to make the cut. The baseboard on this project is too tall for this saw to cut, however, unless you lay the baseboard flat on the bed. Clamp the saw to the fence, and temporarily hold the guard out of the way with a pencil while you set the saw to the proper angle.

Miter the moulding.

Put the moulding in the box face down, with the bottom edge against the fence, and make the cut. Miter the second moulding face down with the top edge against the fence. If you can make the cut with the moulding standing up, make the first cut with the saw set to one side, then reset the saw to the other side to miter the second piece.