Cutting small miter pieces

Hi,

I have to cut a large number of small 22.5 degree beveled base board. Many of the pieces may be about 1" in length. I have a Makita miter saw but I have taken too many chances already cutting small pieces with that saw. I had a Jorgensen hand miter saw which is a piece of junk. The Nobex($150) hand miter saw is a quality hand miter saw but I was wondering how the pros make these small miter cuts efficiently? My baseboard is paint grade.

Second question I have is I bought some MDF baseboard and 5/8x5/8 pine quarter round shoe molding. I then realized that MDF does not take nails well. So I should probably shoot at least a 2" nail through the shoe molding/baseboard/drywall into the stud, right?

Also, probably a matter of preference but do most people paint the base molding before install (cut first of course) and then come back and touch up the nail holes? In the past whenever I have painted base some paint always leaked through my masking tape onto tile or hardwood.

As a final question, my hardwood is about 1" higher than the tiled area. Since my baseboard is fairly tall (5.5"), would the cleanest solution be to rip off 1" of all the baseboard over hardwood so the top edge is the same height throughout?


Thanks

PS. Sorry about all the empty posts, the board was fouled up

 

You just cut them one at a time. There is some unavoidable waste in installing trim. What is it that you are doing to make these cuts that makes them "taking too many chances"? You should be cutting them off of the end of a longer board.

Number 8 nail for shoe molding. Number 6 for baseboard.

I like to paint the basea and shoe first, too. Use a paint shield rather than tape. Slip it up under the molding. Pull it out after you pass the area to keep paint from wicking under. Clean the shield as you go.

It would look uniform, if the run of baseboard over the tile meets the run over the carpet. You won't lose much visually with baseboard that wide.

Hope this helps.

 

I use a Nobex for return pieces and very small cut offs. Cutting the small pieces from a longer helps, but try finding that 1/4 inch long pieces of 3/4 inch quarter round after the blade throws it. I found the chop saw often damaged the 'points' of return pieces when they went flying.

 

This has happened to me more times than I can remember and I'm just a DIY'er. Also, I'm not nearly good enough to get my cut right on the first try. I always cut slightly long then sneak up on it. Otherwise I have found I end up donating a lot of money to my local lumberyard. Eventually I know I'm going to lose a finger trying to trim a 1" piece. Even with the Nobex I should try to nail it on the first cut because it's always hard to hold a 1" piece. Or I should rig up a stop system if my pieces are all the same length.

By the way, the reason I have to make so many is my walls are slightly rounded and the current baseboard uses a small piece to get around the corner.

It wasn't clear to me that the Nobex will cut a bevel. In my experience you can't easily cut baseboard vertically in the fence because it's too hard to hold it but this could be because the Jorgensen saw was one of the worst saws I ever used. Can you cut a 45 bevel with the baseboard lying flat in the Nobex and is this how you do it?

Thanks

 

I use F-clamps (Jorgenson) and scrap wood pads to clamp the wood to the fence. Holding on miter cuts always shifts and produces a poor cut. The cuting force makes the board creep. For crown clamp guides on the bed and fence to hold the wood at the correct angle.
One of the problems with the Nobex is that you cannot trim less than 1/16 of an inch since the blade flexes out of the cut. A little wood is needed on both sides to help guide the blade. I like using a Lion brand miter trimmer for jobs with a ton of fitting. It can shave off a paper thin cut. Practice and you will be supporting the lumberyard less.

 

are the rounds of your walls large enough or long enough to make small curf cuts on a longer piece of molding alowing you to bend the whole board around the wall. if so make a small jig to set your molding in at an angle so you only make the curf cuts on the bottom edge of the boards and not the top as to hide the cuts.

 

That's not a bad idea although the radius is pretty small, about 1". This technique is described in one of my finish carpentry books so I'll read up on it.

Also, forgot to ask - is there any reason to cope MDF baseboard? It expands/contracts a lot less than wood right?

Thanks

 

Coped joints are more forgiving of errors in the angle of the walls.