I wanted to do a little piece on coping base trim. When installing base, if you try to do a miter in the corners, they can sometimes open up over time due to expansion and contraction. The answer is to cope one piece into the other, and here's how I do it:
After installing the first piece on the wall and butting it into the corner, I'm ready to deal with the piece I'm going to cope.
At the miter saw, I first cut a 45 on the end to be coped. This is called "exposing the profile"...
Leaving the saw on the same setting, I simply flip the piece over, and make a back cut. But, I only cut down to where the scrolled pattern begins...
Like this...
This means I only have to hand cut a small piece! I usually leave a little meat on the scrolled area, and then use sandpaper to knock it down smooth.
So I get this...
Sometimes the floor might be bumpy or wavy, which will push the two pieces out of square, but usually this method will result in a pretty good cope. When I fill the nail holes, I generally use lightweight spackling because it doesn't shrink, and if I need to hit the corners I can, but usually they're good from the start!
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