How to cut a ceiling plinth with a miter box

Internal elements

How to neatly cut the innermost corner that is on the skirting board? After completing the markup, work according to the following algorithm:

ceiling, plinth, miter
  • Place the bar in the bottom of the miter box so as to repeat the position on the surface.
  • Press the plinth against the far wall of the miter box.
  • Holding the product, clamp it with your free hand.
  • Place the hacksaw at a 45 ° angle into the recess and cut.
  • Trim an adjacent element in a similar manner.

On a note! The inner corner made of PVC or expanded polystyrene can be processed with a stationery knife or a hacksaw for metal.

Outside corner

To cut baguettes to the outer corner, wind them into the miter box from different sides and press them against the wall farthest from you. Make a cut in two different cuts of the tool at an angle of 45 °.

Ceiling plinth, how to cut corners. Using a miter box

The tool allows you to cut the corners of the molding, located on the outside or inside. The swivel mechanism will help to form parts with a bend of 90 or 45 degrees.

Ceiling plinth

A ceiling molding, aka molding, fillet, curb or just a plinth, is most often used to finish the joint between the wall and the ceiling. Although sometimes it is used to cover internal corners, make decorative frames or panels, decorate niches and architectural elements. There are several of the most popular materials for making ceiling moldings:

Plastic (polyvinyl chloride). It is more convenient to cut wide and rigid moldings with a hacksaw for metal. If you need a more gentle tool, use a jigsaw.

Foam (expanded polystyrene). A very lightweight and porous material that is best cut with a sharp utility or utility knife.

Wooden baguettes. Suitable for cutting are helical saws specially designed for baguettes. You can also use hand or jigsaws.

Inner corner

Press the fillet in the near wall to correctly form the inner corner. Make the cut as in the previous case.

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Self-made miter box

If there is no tool, and you do not know how to cut a corner on the ceiling plinth, make a miter box with your own hands:

  • you will need 3 boards. They are fixed in the form of a U-shaped box, on the walls of which the necessary markings are applied. Cuts for a hacksaw or a knife are cut out along it;
  • the lightweight version will help you get the job done neatly and effortlessly. Two thin strips are connected with nails in the shape of an angle. Sections are drawn on the sheet in the required proportions. The template is superimposed on the corner, the plinth is cut according to the markings;
  • use of improvised items. Take everything that has corners. chairs, boxes, tables, against the wall close.

Advice! Measure the blanks for the inner part from the extreme point. When marking the outside, take into account its protrusion into the room equal to the width.

Fixing prepared skirting boards in place with glue

The technology for attaching the plinth strips has already been discussed in detail earlier in the articles “How to glue a foam plinth” and “Plinth for a stretch ceiling“. Let’s recall the main provisions:

  • glue must be applied not only to the back of the fillet, but also to the butt cuts;
  • rivers must be kept pressed until the glue sets;
  • the curing time of the adhesive composition by the manufacturer of the material is indicated on the package;
  • after fixing the plinth, all leaks should be sealed with putty or sealant;
  • in the case of a stretch ceiling, the side adjacent to it is not smeared with glue, and fastening is carried out only on the wall.

Your task is to make the joint monolithic, without gaps and cracks. Therefore, the issue of prefitting is the basis of success.

Cutting the inner and outer corners of the floor skirting boards

Cutting the floor moldings exactly is no more difficult than cutting the ceiling moldings. Only the cutting tool is selected according to the material to be cut. The work itself will also be similar, only for manual cutting, a slightly different marking method is presented here.

Miter box made of plastic and metal

Inexpensive plastic baguette trimmer

PVC baseboard cutters are an inexpensive alternative to wooden counterparts.

The advantages of these devices include the following:

  • affordable price;
  • a wide range of standard sizes and, as a result, the possibility of purchasing a device of the required size;
  • light weight.

Among the disadvantages of the device, we note the rapid wear due to the fact that the cuts are developed and become wider than necessary. As a result, the position of the hacksaw blade is unstable and the cut is not accurate.

Metal professional equipment

The metal modification, on the contrary, is distinguished by its durability, since it is not as easy to develop cuts made in an aluminum or steel case as in a plastic analogue.

A significant drawback of a metal device is the high price, which, however, is justified by a long service life.

How and what to cut a plastic skirting board

All of the above applies to Fiberboard and wood baseboards. Cutting them with an ordinary hacksaw is not a problem. It is advisable to take a blade for metal, since it has a smaller tooth and the saw cut is smoother, you will have to work less with sandpaper. With plastic, the situation is different. when you try to cut a piece, some thin-walled skirting boards crumble and break.

Cutting plastic is not very convenient because of the thin walls

To cut normal quality plastic skirting boards you can use:

  • Hacksaw for metal.
  • angle grinder (angle grinder) with diamond disc.
  • A revolving miter saw. Before cutting, speed up the disc and only then start cutting.
  • A jigsaw and a file with a fine tooth. Here you have to try. select the speed and file.
  • Sharp knife.
  • Scissors for metal. In any case, it is not difficult to make straight cuts with them.

Only personal experience will help you decide what is more convenient for you to cut a plastic floor plinth. If you have a miter saw, try using it. It’s not a problem to try an angle grinder with a diamond disc a couple of times. If all this does not work well, try a hacksaw, jigsaw, or knife. There are, of course, special scissors for plastic, but they are too expensive to buy for a single use.

Accessories for the design of corners and joints of PVC skirting boards

In plastic skirting boards, you can design corners and joints using special fittings. There are external and internal corners, plugs and connectors. Basically, they allow you to assemble the desired configuration. Each manufacturer makes its own accessories. for its own profile, colors. But the principle of their use is the same.

How to shape the corners of a plastic skirting board

The first rule is that all cuts are made straight. Strictly perpendicular. Marks in the corners are set at a distance of 1-1.5 mm from the corner. The fact is that the rigidity fittings have their own jumpers. For them, it is necessary to retreat a couple of millimeters, but no more. Otherwise, a gap will appear or the skirting boards will pop out of these corners.

This is the result of the assembly

I must say that not everyone likes the look of plastic corners. You can make a corner on a PVC skirting board in the same way as described for wood or Fibreboard. The only difficulty is that you have to be careful with plastic. it breaks down from excessive efforts. There is one trick. before cutting the plastic skirting board, add a little polyurethane foam on the back side and wait for the polymerization to begin. It will be tougher, easier to cut, less deformation. If the foam subsequently interferes, it is not a problem to remove it, but to cut it is, indeed, easier.

Miter box technology

Cutting schemes for external and internal corners

The instruction for cutting the ends is simple and consists of the following steps:

  • before using the miter box, measure the ceiling plinth on the side where the outer corner will be located;
  • we put the bar into the device so that the back side adjoins the bottom and side of the miter box in accordance with the correctly selected location of the cuts;
  • insert a hacksaw into the selected cut and cut the bar to the end.

Important: When cutting polystyrene baguettes, you should not use much force, since the blade will not only cut, but also push the edge of the cut.

ceiling, plinth, miter

How To Use A Miter Box To Cut Trim

So now you have a general idea of ​​how to cut a skirting board with a miter box. It remains to find out how to prepare a baguette for gluing without using special devices that correct the direction of the cut.

How to connect with a door trim

You know neatly how to make a corner on a plinth, but that’s not all. The room most often has doors. By the way, they must be installed before fixing the skirting boards. So, you still need to correctly dock the skirting boards with the platbands on the door. If you just cut it straight, it turns out roughly. There are plugs for plastic. not the most elegant way, but quite acceptable. Wooden ones can also be trimmed by cutting off the “face” obliquely. Also “not ice”, but already something. And what to do with Fiberboard skirting boards, because the saw cut from them is unpresentable? There is a way to make a beautiful junction with the jambs. You will need to make two cuts at an angle of 45 degrees (see photo below).

How to properly arrange the joint between the skirting board and the door jamb

If the edge is not even, we first cut it off strictly perpendicularly. With respect to the aligned edge, make a 45 degree cut. A small cut off piece will come in handy for the design of the abutment. We make the second cut at 90 degrees relative to the first, but if we lower the perpendicular from the angle, we also get 45 °.

How to make a neat jamb fit

Now we take the first cut piece, attach it to the just made cut with the long side. It turns out a beautiful rounded cut. If there are chamfers, grooves on the plinth, they match perfectly. In the case of woody patterns, you cannot be sure that the lines match. Anyway, such a joint between the skirting board and the door casing is much more aesthetically pleasing.

When planning the installation of ceiling plinths in the premises of their apartment, many people think about how difficult the work can be. However, everything is not so scary: the ceiling plinth can be installed with your own hands. the main thing is to know about some of the features of the materials from which this finishing element is made.

Miter box for skirting boards

A carpenter’s miter box is a device for cutting at a certain angle. It is used with a hacksaw. In principle, you can make a miter box yourself by assembling a guide from the boards and making cuts in the walls. There are various models on sale, ranging from 15 to several hundred dollars. They differ in capabilities, materials, although all are called “miter box”. Professional models are made on the basis of a good hacksaw, have a scale that allows you to set the saw as it should. With such a tool, it is not a problem to set any desired cutting angle in order to correctly cut the skirting board for a perfect fit.

Professional carpentry miter box. a tool with a wide range

The simplest miter box is a plastic U-shaped profile, in the walls of which slots are formed. These slots are used as a hacksaw guide. They do not allow the canvas to deviate. In any case, there are two cuts. straight and at 45 degrees. Some may have a couple more options.

How to cut a plinth at 45 degrees? One way is to use a miter box

Sometimes a hacksaw is included, sometimes not. Usually the ones included are not very good. Any hacksaw can be used, picking up the blade for the material that is planned to be cut. It is important that the blade moves freely in the slots.

Miter saw application

If your home workshop has a miter saw, trimming the bar will be easy.

The instruction for using the saw consists of the following steps:

  • using a metal scale located at the base of the tool, we set the required bevel angle;
  • manually fix the workpiece on the base;
  • lower the cutter and thus form the butt.

The only drawback of this method is that the price of a miter saw is high, and therefore not every home workshop has such a device.