Easy as 1, 2, 3!

It's safe to say that almost everybody wants crown molding of some type in their home. They know that crown molding reflects their desire for beauty, class and prestige in every room. For most people, however, crown molding seems unattainable due to the high cost and complexity of installation. The Cut-N-Crown System solves both of these issues by eliminating error and breaking down the complex process into these three simple steps:

Step 1 - Find Your Spring Angle

Most people are unaware that crown molding comes in three different spring angles. The spring angle is the "tilt" at which the crown molding sits on the wall. Crown molding is made this way to show off detail better at different wall heights. For example, on a lower ceiling you would want the crown molding to tilt up towards your eye for better viewing. In the same way, crown molding set into a high ceiling looks best when it's tilted down.

Crown molding is usually made with one of three different spring angles: 38°, 45°, or 52°. Finding the spring angle of your crown molding is simple: cut a small section of molding and hold it up the way it will sit mounted on the wall and ceiling. Now measure from the ceiling down the wall to the point where the molding touches the wall. Take that measurement and compare it with the measurement from the wall across the ceiling to the point where the molding touches the ceiling. If the wall measurement is longer, you have a spring angle of 38°. If the ceiling measurement is longer, your spring angle is 52°. If both measurements are the same, the spring angle is 45°. Take a look at Diagram 1 to see a visual example:

Great! Now you have your spring angle. The Cut-N-Crown System uses three separate jigs A "jig" is any device used to hold material exactly in position. In this case, the Cut-N-Crown jigs hold crown molding at an exact angle in order to help eliminate error in the cutting process., one for each common spring angle. Each one of these jigs A "jig" is any device used to hold material exactly in position. In this case, the Cut-N-Crown jigs hold crown molding at an exact angle in order to help eliminate error in the cutting process. is available separately or together as a set at our online store.

Links to the products are available at the bottom of this page, or click here to go to our Products section now. Select the jig that corresponds to your spring angle, and you're ready for the next step.

Step 2 - Set Your Saw

Now you need to set your miter saw to half the exact angle of your corner. Whether you are cutting for an inside or outside corner, it's safe to say that you will never find a perfectly square corner in your home. So in order to quickly find the exact degree of your corner, we recommend using an angle finder. We also have angle finders available at our online store. We provide links to all our products at the end of this tutorial, but if you can't wait, click here to go to the online store now.

Use your degree finder (as shown in Diagram 2-A) to measure the degree of your corner, divide that degree in half, and that's the degree at which to set your saw. For example, say you have an inside corner you measure at 92°. Set your saw to half your corner degree, which would be 46°. Take a look at Diagrams 2-B and 2-C to get a better idea of what we're talking about.

From this point on, you won't have to move your saw again to cut for this corner. It's that simple!

Now that you have set your saw to the correct angle, you're ready to move on to step three.

Step 3 - Make Your Cut

You know what your spring angle is, you've set your saw, now the only thing left to do is cut your molding! To do this, follow the pictures on your jig to cut the appropriate side of the molding. For example, if you need to cut an inside right piece, you would place the molding like you see in Diagram 3.

Make sure that your jig is snug up against the saw guide, and make sure your molding is sitting correctly in the jig. Also, make sure that the jig never comes in contact with the saw blade.

Sometimes, long pieces of molding will cause the molding to not sit correctly in the jig. To fix this, we developed special roller guides that keep the molding in the correct position. These guides attach to most standard roller guide stands, and are available through our online store. Again, the links for these products are available at the bottom of this page, or you can click here to add them to your cart now.

Now remember: to make the cut for the adjacent piece of crown molding, you do not need to adjust your saw. Simply refer to the diagram on the Cut-N-Crown jig, rotate your crown molding and jig accordingly, and make your second cut. See Diagram 4 below for a visual description.

In the traditional method of cutting crown molding, almost all of the error comes when you adjust the saw from left to right. With the Cut-N-Crown System, you have eliminated that error by relying on the two things that never change: the saw guide and the jig. Since the saw blade never moves, you always have a perfectly mirrored cut.

Congratulations! You have now mastered the art of cutting crown molding. Following these simple steps will ensure an accurate cut every time.

So, are you ready to get started? Click the links below to add these great products to your cart:

Click here to see all products...

Still could use some help? We have a short demonstration video that shows all these steps. Click here for the link.

Do you have any other questions? Click here for our Frequently Asked Questions page.