Back cut joints for quarter round?

[kmbanes]

I just put in laminate flooring in a bed room, and I'm doing the quarter round trim in the morning. I did a quick, and there isn't a 90 degree corner anywhere in the room.

As opposed to miter in the corners, I was wondering if I might be able to easily back cut them. Is there any router bit made that would easily do this?

[Tom Slick]

Do you mean "cope"? it's a great way to do corners. I do it with a coping saw or a jig saw.

[kmbanes]

I suspect that its the same thing...

I've actually only seen it done on crown moulding.

I just wondered if a standard 5/8 inch coping router bit has the same profile as standard quarter round. If it takes more than one quick trip on the router table, it is probably just as easy to measure for the 45 cut (or 44 -46 cut required in my corners).

[iceman61]

Coping will give you alot better fitting corners & tighter fitting also. Cope the inside corners, miter the outside corners, same as crown molding. But, you can always miter all corners. Just make sure you measure for the correct corner angles.

[Shep]

When I did my laminate floor, I also coped the qtr round trim with jig saw. Wasn't the quickest, easiest cust with a jig saw, but my corners are clean. I think a router bit would be easier to do quickly. It's worth a shot, but if your room is simply 4 corners, I would do what ever would be quickest to setup and get right.

[pelligrini]

A 5/8" radius cove bit will run around $40, a 5/8" core box bit is cheaper. You'd also want to cut the coves at a slight angle for 90degree and obtuse angled corners. I'm not sure how much success you'd have with doing the coves in endgrain either, depends a lot of the wood.

I'm thinking a coping saw would be the easier than multiple passes on the router.

[August86]

Routing the end grain on relatively thin wood like 1/4 round is risking the wood splintering. If you're going to install trim, learn the skills. Either miter cut the interior angles-figure the odd cuts- or learn coping. It's not that hard.

Mike D.

A 5/8" radius cove bit will run around $40, a 5/8" core box bit is cheaper. You'd also want to cut the coves at a slight angle for 90degree and obtuse angled corners. I'm not sure how much success you'd have with doing the coves in endgrain either, depends a lot of the wood.

I'm thinking a coping saw would be the easier than multiple passes on the router.

[chopnhack]

I prefer to cope as well. If I remember correctly, with quarter round there was a way to cope quicker using a drill press and appropriate sized drill bit, took out the mass of wood quicker. I dont recall where I saw it.

[Tom Slick]

Just FYI, when quarter round is used on baseboard / flooring it's called shoe molding.

[August86]

The easiest, quickest way to cope 1/4 round is to miter the end you want to cut and use a coping saw to remove the rest at the cut line to get the profile. I do this for a living and taking stuff back and forth to router tables and drill presses adds more time than necessary (although the aerobics may be beneficial). 1/4 round would be a good thing to practice skills on for either figuring miters or coping.

Mike D.

I prefer to cope as well. If I remember correctly, with quarter round there was a way to cope quicker using a drill press and appropriate sized drill bit, took out the mass of wood quicker. I dont recall where I saw it.

[Mr__Bill]

Just FYI, when quarter round is used on baseboard / flooring it's called shoe molding.

Actually shoe molding has a different shape that qt round, it's more like a flattened O-G, shaped like a true shoe, sort of the kind the old lady lived in, and it's hard to find now.

If you start at an inside corner, first piece is cut square and buts the wall. Connecting piece is coped to fit. First cut a 45 and that will show you the shape to cope. (I always did it by hand with a coping saw and found it to be neater and faster than trying to do it with power tools. Normally if it doesn't plug in I don't use it but in this case by hand was easier for me.) Keep working long, after the inside is coped then cut to length, try to never have two coped ended to any one piece.

For the outside corners you should have a Stanly Angle Divider to transfer the corner to the Miter Saw. They are hard to find now but a bevel gauge will work. Just compare it to a square and guess at how much it's off and set half that offset to the 45 cut. Practice first and make test pieces till they fit. If you are real lucky none of the laminate is further from the wall than the width of the molding.

Bill

[chopnhack]

Good to know, I have never used that technique but remember seeing it in a magazine somewhere. I guess I'll just stick with my cheese slicer

The easiest, quickest way to cope 1/4 round is to miter the end you want to cut and use a coping saw to remove the rest at the cut line to get the profile. I do this for a living and taking stuff back and forth to router tables and drill presses adds more time than necessary (although the aerobics may be beneficial). 1/4 round would be a good thing to practice skills on for either figuring miters or coping.

Mike D.

[Tom Slick]

Either of the 1/4 round shape or shoe molding shape is used as a "shoe molding".

[cabinetman]

The moulding could be called "base shoe" or "shoe", and have a 1/4 round detail to it, but it is usually taller than it is thick. Common sizes are 1/2" x 3/4" or 5/8" x 3/4". Inside corners work out best when they are coped with a coping saw.

The moulding, when machined coped has the tendency to tear and splinter. It's a small moulding that takes very little time to do it by hand, IMO.
.

[natausch]

Also rememebr that you're not going to be able to flex it much because of the quarter round shape. I've always kept a rotozip or dremmel around to cope cut. Its an easy switch to go from sabre bit to sander. Cut the was away and use the sander for a curved inside shape.