Handyman Wednesday #5: Miter Crown Molding with an Outside Corner

Hi again everyone, Kevin is back with another “Handyman Wednesday”.  Today, I’m going to talk a little about Crown Molding.  If you’ve ever tried crown molding, chances are you hate it as much as I do.  The corners never seem to line up perfectly, the angle is never a perfect 90 Degrees, and you have to make multiple trips to the hardware store to get more crown molding to fix your mistakes.  Well, Jess and I recently did every one of those things (you may remember this post).  We struggled and struggled until we found a little tutorial I’ll share with you.  We are creating crown molding for the top of a bookcase, to give it a more built in vibe.  (The product reveal is coming soon!)  Here was a piece of our inspiration from IKEA Hackers:

Tools Needed:

First, lets talk about what tools you will need.  I really mean need here.  If you want to do it the old fashioned way, good luck. It is not easy.

Compound Miter Saw:  This is imperative.  You can change all of your angles easily and make precise cuts.  However, DO NOT buy a 10″ Miter Saw!  Jess and I quickly found out it only cuts 90% of the way through crown molding and your stuck with a hacksaw and sandpaper for the other 10%.  I recommend either a 12″ Miter Saw, or a sliding miter saw.  The sliding is nice because it can cut huge pieces of wood, but you’ll pay more too, so be careful.  Oh, and check Sears Outlet!

12″ Sliding Compound Miter Saw

Air Compressor and Finish/Brad Nailer:  Again, you can get by without this, but hammering in tiny nails while not dinging your crown molding is nearly impossible.  It’s an investment, but you’ll be able to use this in a ton of projects.

Air Compressor and Brad Nailer Kit

Crown Molding:  Ok, this one’s a “duh”.  How can you do crown molding without crown molding?  Jess and I chose this piece from Home Depot.

Primed Pine from Home Depot

Caulk, Wood Filler, and Sand Paper:  These are for the mistakes.  Yes, you will make some.  When you do, you “fake it” with these ingredients.  Make sure you get painter’s caulk.  We like Elmer’s Wood Filler too!

Painter’s Caulk

Wood Filler

Cutting your Crown Molding:  This is the hard part.  The really hard part.  However, that’s what YouTube is for!  Horray for YouTube!

After this, you need to use your Brad Nailer to securely fasten the crown molding to the bookcase.  Then fill in the holes with wood filler, any cracks with caulk, and paint.  You’ll end up with a beautiful outside corner on your bookcase, or ceiling, or whatever else you’re doing.  Hope this helps!

Have you ever sucessfully tried crown molding on your first try?  Jess and I bought about 2X what we needed.  Can you beat us?  What other finishes have you done to a bookcase?