how to cut moldings/trim

Mouldings: An Easy How To

Mouldings can take furniture, cabinets, walls, etc. from boring & plain to being custom & beautiful. I was a little intimidated the first time I cut mouldings...but I knew I would get the hang of it. Now, I am cutting mouldings all of the time!

First, I will quickly show you how to cut mouldings to create a frame...framing out a door/window, picture framing, etc.


1
Set the miter angle at 45 degrees to the left

2
Place your moulding face up and flush with the fence of your saw.

3
Make your cut.

4
Reposition your miter angle to 45 degrees to the right

5
Cut the opposite end of the same moulding that you just cut.

6
Repeat 4 times to make a full square.


I cut mouldings to frame out the beadboard on my bathroom
cabinet that I recently updated.
For full tutorial on this cabinet, check out my tutorial page at the top of my blog.


~~~~~~~~Next, how to cut mouldings such as baseboards, chair rail, etc.


1
Set the miter angle at 45 degrees to the left.
2
Place the moulding top up, face out and tight against the fence of the saw
3
Make your cut with the waste side to the left of the saw blade.

5
Reposition the miter angle to 45 degrees to the right.

6
Make your next cut with the waste side to the right of the saw blade.

7
Nail into place and admire your work.

**This will cut an outside corner. To cut the inside of a corner you would follow the same instructions, only you would be using the other side of your cut. For example, in the above picture I have cut an outside corner (left piece) and have discarded the right piece of my moulding & for an inside corner you would use the right piece and discard the left piece. ***

~~~~~~~

Crown Moulding

Crown Moulding is a little more complicated to cut but is definitely worth the time.

How To Cut Inside Corners
1Set the bevel angle of your miter saw at 33.85 degrees.

2Set the miter angle of your saw at 31.62 degrees to the right side of the saw table.

3Place the crown moulding face up with the top of the moulding against the fence of the saw table and the waste end facing to the right.

4
Make the cut. Keep the left side of the cut. Waste the right side of the cut. This is inside corner piece "A."

5Turn the miter angle to 31.62 degrees to the left side of the saw table. Leave the bevel set at 33.85 degrees.

6Place the crown moulding with the bottom of the moulding against the table fence and with the waste side to the right of the saw blade.

7Make the cut. Save the left side of the cut. Waste the right side of the cut. This is inside corner piece "B."

8Nail it into place and admire.

How To Cut Outside Corners

1
Set the bevel angle of the compound miter saw at 33.85 degrees.

2Set the saw miter at 31.62 degrees left of the saw table.

3
Place the crown moulding face up with the bottom of the moulding against the fence of the saw table and the waste end facing to the left.

4Make the cut. Keep the right side of the cut. Waste the left side of the cut. This is outside corner piece "A."

5Move the miter angle to 31.62 degrees to the right side of the saw table. Leave the bevel set at 33.85 degrees.

6
Position the crown moulding with the top of the moulding against the table fence and with the waste side to the left of the saw blade.

7Make the cut. Save the right side of the cut. Waste the left side of the cut. This is outside corner piece "B."

8Next, fit and nail into place.


~~~~~~~


Layering Mouldings


For a beefier and more impressive moulding, I like to layer mouldings.
For my kitchen cabinets I layered crown moulding, baseboard, and a piece of decorative moulding.
First, I built up the top of my cabinet with a 1x4. I screwed it directly to the top of my cabinet and made sure it was flush with the cabinet front. I did this so that I would have a strong surface to nail my mouldings to.
Then I cut and nailed (using a finish nail gun) the (upside down) baseboard, cut and nailed the crown moulding onto the baseboard, and finished it out with the decorative moulding.

modge podge on canvas

I made this canvas art myself using some very inexpensive items.

Here's what I used...

1. A canvas picture from the dollar store

2. Napkins from the Marshall's store 

3. Mod Podge 

4. Gel glaze

5. White paint 

Here's what I started with - a canvas art from the dollar store.

I painted the canvas white first one direction, and then the opposite direction after the first coat dried to give it a canvas-like texture.

After the painted dried completely, I gave the entire surface a coat of glaze.  You can see how it adds texture.

I then took one of the napkins 

and separated the layers....leaving only the outside layer.

The next step was to apply Mod Podge to the canvas.

I then applied the napkin to the canvas, (I left a few wrinkles in the napkin to give it a more aged look) allowing it to dry completely.  After it was dry, I then applied 2 more coats of mod podge, brushing in different directions to give a canvas like look. 

After the final coat of mod podge was dry,
I applied another layer of glaze giving it an aged look.

antique finished corbels

I am going to give you the steps of how I created this chippy timeworn patina to these cheap corbels from Home Goods.

Let's start at the beginning. This is how they looked before I got started.

First thing I did was clean them good with Krud Kutter or you can use another brand like TSP. This gets all the grime off and cuts the shine. Then I brushed on white paint using Sherwin Williams creamy.

Next I used Alexandria Beige by Benjamin Moore mixed in Sherwin Williams paint. I dry brushed this on to give the look of wood. I originally was just going to make these look like wood, but I kept on going.

Third paint color is silvermist by Sherwin Williams and I just dry brushed this on in several spots. It is the gray looking color.

Fourth color is a by Decor Art. I used Elegant Finish metallic glaze in Renaissance Brown just dabbed on in spots that you can see here. Fifth color is Valspar Glaze in Mocha brushed all over this and then I wiped a lot of it back off. 

Here is where I didn't leave it alone. It was fine, but I wanted it to really look like a French antique piece from many years ago. I dabbed globs of spackling paste all over and let it dry over night. I got this idea from my friend Sherry at No Minimalist Here blog when she did this to a pair of candlesticks and I loved the look.

After the spackling was dry I mixed the color Seal(black) by SW with glaze and brushed it all over to age this and then dabbed some back off not to rub the spackle off.

Next was some rub in buff in Patina added with my finger in a few spots. Patina is the aqua colored spots. Then I decided to put a few spots of gold back to make it look like it used to be that color long time ago and was showing through the aged layers. I used  some gold metallic paint in a little tiny model paint bottle and a little brush and brushed it on in a few places.

vintage style postcard pillows

This is how you do it.  There are a few variations in how you can do these {I've tried them all} and each variation has is benefits and drawbacks.  This time I used Variation One so the images you will see will be of pillows made using Variation One.


Variation One:  Fast and Easy but still SUPER cute.
            Supply List:  Osenburg fabric, all purpose spray glue, Fabri Tac fabric glue, instant coffee,
                                tea bags, clothes pins, poly-fiber stuffing, computer images of your choice
                                {all of my images I got from The Graphics Fairy and Land of Nod Studios}
                                 and an inkjet printer


First get yourself some lovely Osenburg fabric.  It's one of my favorites.  It's cheap but has the beauty and texture of linen.  If you are only going to make a few, a 1/3 of a yard will be plenty!  Dye your fabric if you would like to.  I use a combination of tea and instant coffee.  Allow to hang dry.  I usually dye the night before so I can work first thing the next morning.

1. Cover your workspace with cardboard and lay out your fabric.  Spray the fabric generously with the spray glue.  {I recommend opening a window because you might get a little loopy from the fumes if you don't}  Lay out regular computer paper across your fabric.  One sheet for each pillow you're going to make.

2.  Cut out fabric being very careful that no fabric extends beyond the paper.  {You don't want the fabric to get caught in your printer!}  Wait a few minutes so the glue dries. Then load one sheet of paper/fabric combo into your printer.

3.  Select the image.  Using Word enlarge/shrink or rotate the image so that it take up 1/2 of the paper.  Print baby, print.  Gently peel the paper away from the fabric.

4.  GLUE!  {you can do right sides together for a more finished look or wrong sides together for a more rustic look}  Run a thin bead of Fabri Tac along 3 of the sides, fold over and press.  I use clothes pins to secure the pillow.

5.  Wait about 3-4 hours to allow the glue to dry.  Remove clothes pins {you might have to pry them off if glue get on them but I've never had a problem with one getting really stuck}.  Stuff your pillow with Poly-Fiber stuffing.  Again run a thin bead of Fabri Tac along the unsealed edge and use your clothes pins to clamp shut that edge.  Again, allow to dry 3-4 hours.  TaDa!  Mini pillow.  Great for mantels, bookshelves, grouping in a bowl or basket or on furniture.

Variation Two:  Longer but more vintage and rustic looking

1.  Follow all the instruction above, skipping the dying of the fabric and you will stop after you print out your image.   This is the HARD part....allow your fabric with images printed on it to sit and rest for at least a week.  I know, it's so HARD to do this but definitely worth it for the effect it gives.* I also highly recommend using only very clear black and white images or very vibrant color images for this variation because there will be significant fading.*

2.  Dye your fabric in tea or coffee or both.  Turn oven to 225 and bake the fabric on cookie sheets.  Flip fabric over every 10 minutes until completely dry.  The fabric will be stiff and have brown marks all over.

3.  Continue following the instructions in Variation One.  Your pillows will look aged to perfection.

Variation Three:  Sewing your pillows {A softer more "pillow like" pillow}

1.  I recommend dying your fabric first like in Variation One. 
2.  Instead of using spray glue.  Get yourself some Freezer Paper.  Lay out Freezer paper {wax side up} and place fabric on top.  Iron fabric until it is secured to the Freezer Paper.  Flip paper/fabric combo over and trace the outline of a sheet a computer paper onto the Paper side of the Freezer Paper.  Cut out, again being very careful that no fabric extends beyond  the outline.
3.  Insert the Freezer Paper/fabric combo into your printer and print image.  Gently peel off Freezer Paper.
4.  Fold fabric with right sides together and pin 3sides.  Sew the three sides shut and stuff you pillow.  Then pin and sew your final edge shut.

Window trim

Supplies used:

1x4 piece mdf (for top of window) 

1 x 2 piece mdf (sides and bottom)

1 inch piece rounded edge mdf ( I couldn't find this at Home Depot, but local lumber store had it. Also for top of window  ) 

Here is the 1 inch rounded piece

First measure and cut your 1 x 2 inch pieces to fit along the side of your windows like this. Verify that each side is the same. They should be, but my first window my measurements were off by 1/8 inch. 

Pay no attention to the window clingy's :-)

I built the top piece before attaching any of it. 

Measure the across the top of your window, including the width of the two side 1 x 2 pieces you already attached. Cut your 1 x 4 piece according to that measurement. Then, cut two pieces of your 1 inch rounded edge pieces to the same size. 

Apply wood glue and sandwich the 1 x 4 piece in between the two 1 inch pieces like this. 

I left it clamped for a few hours before attaching it. 

Once dry, attach it to the wall above the window. 

I used the existing ledge. I sanded, primed and painted it. 

Measure from each side below the ledge and cut another 1 x 2 for the bottom below the ledge. 

Apply a small amount of caulking around the window in the seems where the mdf meets the wall, and where the pieces of mdf join. 

Finish with paint, and your done. 

Ready for the before and after?

Before

After

One last side by side comparison.