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Warnings
Make sure you're in a secure environment before we move on to the actual measuring and cutting.
Keep in mind, folks, that a miter saw is a powerful saw with a sharp circular blade that can cause serious injury if used carelessly. Before putting any wood on the saw, make sure the saw is off, and the electricity is cut off to it.
Don't wear baggy clothes or allow your hair to hang loose. Put on safety glasses in case any wood chips or splinters fly up into the air.
Step-by-step of how to cut baseboards with a miter saw
Image: Amazon
The First Step Is to Take Measures
Taking accurate measurements with a measuring tape is the next stage in cutting baseboards with a miter saw. Remember the ancient saying, "measure twice, cut once," since if you make a cut with incorrect measurements, you will have wasted a valuable piece of wood.
To do this, just use a measuring tape to determine the length of your walls from one side to the other at their foundation.
Ensure that you measure each and every wall, beginning at one corner and ending at the opposite one. The length of the baseboards should be cut to this dimension. While you're at it, locate the wall studs you'll be fastening the freshly cut baseboards to.
A stud finder, if you have one, could come in handy right about now. In order to measure and label the studs, you must first find them.
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Make the inside-corner cuts.
Keep in mind that you'll need to use your miter saw to create four inside corner cuts while working with four walls. In this case, you should adjust the miter saw's bevel to 45 degrees and the miter to zero degrees.
Mark the back of your baseboard with a pencil or comparable so that you can simply follow the pencil line while cutting. After adjusting the miter and bevel angles and placing the baseboard on the miter saw's cutting table, the saw can be activated.
Using one hand on the saw's handle and the other on the baseboard, make your cut by slowly lowering the blade into the wood. Do not apply excessive force when you push the blade all the way through. A moderate amount of force should be enough.
This is when tools like the "best-sliding miter saws" come in handy. Even with just a little bit of gliding, the "sliding miter saws" produce flawless results.
Exterior corner substances
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In this situation, the miter saw's default settings of 0 degrees miter and 45 degrees bevel will continue to work. You should re-mark the floor with your pencil.
Now that you know how long each piece of baseboard needs to be, you may cut it so that the front is slightly longer than the back. This will make it much easier to join the corners later.
Take your time and cut a few scraps before tackling a longer board. If not, the cost will rise rapidly.
The fourth step is to make the square cuts.
Okay, so when you're putting together your baseboards, you can decide to do it the square way. In other words, some people prefer to cut straight and then join them to produce a perpendicular joint rather than angling the cuts to create angled baseboard corners.
Using a miter saw, you can achieve this as well. The bevel should be zero, and the miter should be at a ninety-degree angle.
In other words, a simple crosscut will do for this situation, as it is the simplest possible cut.
Mounting the Baseboards
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Putting in the baseboards might be the simplest part of this project. All that remains is to set them in their final resting place and double-check that they are a perfect fit. This must be verified before any nailing or screwing of molding can begin.
Attach the baseboards to the studs with the appropriate length brad/finish nails or screws.
Nails used to secure baseboard molding shouldn't exceed 2 inches in length, whether they're finished nails or brads. You should avoid driving your nails or screws any deeper than 1 1/2 inches since there could be power or data connections hiding below the board.
FAQs
The question now is, what is the best instrument for cutting baseboards?
Typically, baseboards are cut with a motorized miter saw. With little to no splintering or grain blowout, it makes clean miters and straight 90-degree crosscuts.
Which saw is best for cutting trim?
T-Saw, or Miter Saw. When reducing the length of thin or narrow lumber such as 2x4s, trim pieces, furring strips, or shiplap, a miter saw (also known as a chop saw) is the tool of choice.
If I don't have a miter saw, can I use a circular saw instead?
Similar to a miter saw a circular saw can be used to perform cross cuts, miter cuts, and bevel cuts. Plywood is versatile and can be ripped or sawn to any size.
Last word
Now you know how to cut baseboards with a miter saw and how to put them in, too. Installing baseboards, whether you're building from scratch or giving an old house a facelift, won't be a challenge if you follow the advice in this article for measuring and cutting your molding.
