# Compound Miter Cuts For Picture Frames



## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

I know that this is not a new subject so if someone can direct to a thread that covers how to calculate the angles for a compound miter for a picture frame or cares o enlighten me on the subject I will certainly appreciate either one. I would like to make the cuts on my TS using my Incra Miter Gauge and Express Sled. I have a Wixly angle setting device to help get the angle on the saw blade or at least close and the miter guage is only the V27 which allows setting in five degree increments, if I need to upgrade my miter gauge to be able se make cuts other than those at five degree increments I can do so. 

Jerry Bowen
Colorado City, where the biggest oil and gas find in the history of the country is taking place. We are, needless to say, very excited about the potential of this find, An Oil Company leased 366 acres from us last spring and of course we hope that they will drill on our land sometime in the near future.


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Jerry, 9 different people will give you at least 10 different answers. I was making a working model (miniaturized) for my sales people to utillize in their presentations to architects, engineers, etc. It included interchangable prismoids to give a transparent view of truncated concrete loss, which prevented; saves my customers tons of money on needless concrete waste. Me and my guys tried several methods and what worked best for us was just to make a back-support at the required bevel angle and then turn the mitersaw to the required angle. In this methodology, one is providing support to lift the back of the workpiece (the bevel) to receive the saw cut. If your setup is right, this cut could easily be made with even a handsaw!
Good luck my friend, I am sure you will get lots of answers on this question!

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

Hi Otis,
I have litterly a ton of crown molding to use to experiment with and I am looking forward to figuring out the angles for the compound miter. My brother from Alaska is here right now and he and I together like to figure these things out and so I'm pretty sure that we will. I might end up using the chop saw but would prefer to use the TS. 

Wish I had the mental ability as you do to deal with these challenges, but since my ability to figure things out is not as advanced as yours is, what I have just will take me a little longer, or at least this is my present thinking about the matter. I'll let you know how it goes and/or turns out. Sure hope you are doing well and that your lastest endeavoer is coming along as well as you would like for it to.

Jerry


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Crown Molding Angle Chart 52/38 | House Projects Online


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## Tagwatts (Apr 11, 2012)

I went on line to Amazon and bought a 45 degree - 90 degree sled for TB Saw. it cost 14 dollars and works well. It solved my miter problems. Brand is Rockler I think.


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

I wrote to Mark Mueller of Incra Tools and ask his advise on the subject of this thread and what he wrote back can be read below.
Jerry




Hi, Jerry-

Your miter gauge will work fine for compound miters if you approach it the
right way. I would recommend not tilting the saw blade - as you've noticed,
the angles get strange, it's all trial and error, and setups are difficult
to repeat later.

The easiest way to approach this is to keep the blade vertical but angle the
lumber off the sled (your Miter Express). If you want a 4-sided frame with
a 10 degree compounding angle, the miter gauge would be set for the normal
45 degrees and the lumber would be angled up 10 degrees. Trim carpenters
always use a variation on method on miter saws when installing crown
moulding and absolutely never tilt their saw's blade.

There are a variety of ways to angle the lumber off the sled, but for the
couple of times I've done this, I think the safest bet is to tilt the table
on a band saw 10 degrees and rip a wedge off of a straight 2x4" or other
scrap (the wedge should be slightly wider than the width of the moulding).
After the miter angle is set, the wedge is stuck onto the sled platform with
double side tape (cloth-based carpet tape or paper-based lathe mounting
tape, not the thick foamy stuff). Putting the thick edge of the wedge
against the fence allows cutting the moulding good-side-up to eliminate
splintering.

To do all of this without switching the miter gauge to the opposite side of
the blade, you'll need to cut in both open and closed positions on the gauge
- one end of the moulding cut with the outboard end of the fence pulled 45
degrees toward the front of the saw ("opening" the miter angle), and the
other end of the moulding cut in the more common "closed" position with the
outboard end of the fence pushed toward the rear of the saw.

This isn't more dangerous than other mitering work, but it has a different
feel so work carefully.

Best regards,


Mark


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Jerry, Thanks for your (typical) complementary and kind comments. After reading the letter from Mark, "I think I hear an echo". That method is what I was talking about, and "YES" it works fine on a tablesaw. Both of my tablesaws are identical 10" Hitachi's, and for "big crown molding" the miter saw (in my case) is a better choice. Also, If I am cutting long boards, my sliding compound miter saw can support boards 14' long in either direction quite easily. NO WAY I would attempt to cantilever a long workpiece off a tablesaw for that type of cut!

I have to go and visit one of my best customers, but after my return I will send you a photo of mine made for 45/45. Cost was about $2.00 and made in just a few minutes!

Otis


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## Willway (Aug 16, 2012)

Howdy Jerry, from another West Texan not very far from you. I think I understand what you are trying to do. We just redid our kitchen and the crown molding can be a real bear. I purchased a simple Milescraft jig that takes all the guesswork out of the job. It looks like you could use something like this with your Incra. You might grab some ideas from this video. Hope this helps.


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