base shoe molding: miter or cope?

[DaveS]

I'll be installing some base shoe molding as soon as I get the wood floors in this weekend.

Do I cope the inside corners like the base molding? or do they get a miter?

Also, I have a 15 gauge nailer, a 16 gauge nailer, and a brad nailer. Which one would work the best for attaching it to the base molding?

Thanks...

[greencat]

I like to cope since it will still hide if it shrinks. I would use a 1 1/2 nail. So either your 16 gauge or the brad nailer if you have 1 1/2 nails.

A contractor showed me an easy way to cope. I'm not sure if I remember all of the steps. You first make the 45 like a miter then flip it over and cut the back side??? Maybe someone else will remember.

[lkazista]

A contractor showed me an easy way to cope. I'm not sure if I remember all of the steps. You first make the 45 like a miter then flip it over and cut the back side??? Maybe someone else will remember.

Exactly right, just follow the edge of the 'finished' edge with your saw blade.

[crokett]

I cope all my mouldings. To clarify the previous posts - cut one piece straight (do not mitre) and install. Cut the other piece with an inside miter. Flip it over and follow the mitre profile with your coping saw to cut the back out.

[thestinker]

I dono...I never have mastered the art of coping. Also all my molding is painted white, so I miter and calk and paint. All mine looks good and I haven't had any problems with shrinking or what not. As far as the nails go, I wold go 1.5in and brads. Mine is 18 ga I believe.

[JimD]

I cope base and crown moulding but I think miters on shoe moulding are fine. It is so small, there is not much to cope or to shrink and open up a gap. If you want to cope it, it wouldn't hurt anything.

If it will be painted, the size of the nail hole doesn't matter much and I would use whatever I had 1 1/2 inch nails for. If I had 18 gauge, I would use them. Shoe moulding is small so the nails can also be small. If it is clear finished, the size of the hole does matter which makes the 18 gauge the best.

Jim

[DaveS]

well... the flooring guys left a couple hours ago. Man, those guys really move. Two guys did 500 square feet (3 bedrooms, 2 closets, and a hallway) in one day.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I tried a quick cope - snapped the little hook part on top right off. I can see this takes a gentler touch, or a smaller saw.

It is good to know that I *can* miter if this coping takes too long.

[cgallery]

I like to cope since it will still hide if it shrinks. I would use a 1 1/2 nail. So either your 16 gauge or the brad nailer if you have 1 1/2 nails.

A contractor showed me an easy way to cope. I'm not sure if I remember all of the steps. You first make the 45 like a miter then flip it over and cut the back side??? Maybe someone else will remember.

On Ask This Old House (I think), Tommy did the coping by first using a miter box to cut the 45-degrees, then he used a hand-held grinder instead of a coping saw to follow the profile. Man, it went fast, and it was ultra accurate. Worked great on the larger pieces he was doing. I remember thinking to myself "I hope I can remember that trick when the time comes..."

[billwmeyer]

Cgalley

Thanks for that tip. That grinding idea sounds like it would work pretty well. I will have to try that one.
Bill

[scorrpio]

There are two ways to handle a cope:
1. At the top, don't cope to a point, but leave about 1/8" lip. Then, use an utility knife to make a notch on top of the mating piece to accomodate that lip. Worked for me when I was doing baseboard installations.

2. Use a gentler tool. I have a variable-speed Dremel with a whole army of attchments for when I need to do precision work.