Cutting A Corner Baseboard

Lead Image for Cutting A Corner Baseboard

Cutting two baseboards to form a corner baseboard can be tricky work, especially for the novice handyman or carpenter. If you were to simply cut two boards at 45-degree angles on their ends, you will almost certainly fail every time to get the right cut.

Part of the problem is in the fact that very rarely is any corner in a building made to be perfectly square, and while those small changes in angle might not be noticeable on their own, they become all too obvious to the naked eye when a corner baseboard is applied inappropriately. Usually, it becomes evident by the obtrusive gap between either the inner or outer edges. Here, we will look at the proper way to attach those corner baseboards to get a flush finish every time.

Cut The First Board

The first board is the easiest cut. Mark in pencil a guiding line 45 degrees from the backside corner of the wood. Then, simply bring your miter saw down to cut at as close to a 45-degree angle on the end as you possibly can.

If any sanding is necessary, be sure to do that before measuring and cutting the next baseboard.

The reason to use a miter saw or coping saw is that it is the saw used for true precision work. No professional carpenter would ever use a regular handheld power saw or even a regular table saw to cut baseboards, as they are not precise enough. A good, basic miter saw can often be found for as little as $15 at your local hardware store.

Measure For Your Next Cut

Place 2 uncut baseboards firmly into the corner you are cutting for. One will be the baseboard you actually use, the other is just used as a guide. Take the piece that you already cut, and set it on top of the guiding baseboard firmly into the corner. With the guiding baseboard there, it should make sure that the board you already cut stays level.

With your pencil, trace a cutting line on your second baseboard, using the baseboard you just cut as a guide.

Cutting

If you are feeling gutsy, you can try cutting right down the line you’ve drawn; if your baseboards were all pressed tightly enough into place, and you got a tight enough trace line from the other board, you may get just the right cut the first time. However, it is better to err slightly on the side of safety when cutting, leaving a millimeter or so extra on your second baseboard, then test both cut boards to see how they fit.

Sanding

If the second board doesn’t fit perfectly flush with the first board, don’t panic. Simply sand it down where necessary until they fit as flush as possible when pressed tight into the corner.

And there you go, cutting your corner baseboards is as simple as that!