Mass Wood working

Coping base trim

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 heres how I do it:

After installing the first piece on the wall and butting it into the corner, Im ready to deal with the piece Im 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 doesnt shrink, and if I need to hit the corners I can, but usually theyre good from the start!