How To Cut A Plinth With A Miter Box

How to cut a skirting board with a miter box
Ceilings Ceiling skirting board performs not only a decorative function, visually separating the walls from the ceiling, but can also hide the joints of various finishing materials of the ceiling and walls.

How to trim the corner of a ceiling plinth using ceiling markings

Marking the skirting board on the ceiling also allows you to cut the corner straight and precisely. The only drawback of this method is that it is difficult and inconvenient to keep the plinth strip suspended during the cutting process. Otherwise, you can mark the cutting angle in this way even more accurately than in other ways. Applying the plinth to the installation site, all wall flaws and deviations in the angle size are immediately taken into account.

Cutting the corner of the skirting board:

  • The first step is to cut two workpieces at a 90 degree angle.

how to cut a plinth with a miter box

  • Then we first apply one plank, resting its end against the perpendicular wall. We draw a line on the ceiling, outlining the contour of the plinth.
  • We remove this bar and apply a striker, also resting its butt against the wall. We outline the line.
  • The intersection of the marked lines will be the mark at which the skirting board needs to be cut.
  • Again, we apply each bar in turn and mark the cutting point on them.
  • We draw the line from this point to the other edge of the plinth.

We cut off the skirting boards along the outlined lines, join them and apply them to the installation site. Note that this method makes it easier to cut inside corners.

How to cut a corner of a ceiling plinth using a miter box

The miter box is a simple carpentry tool that allows you to cut the workpiece at the desired angle. Most often it is a tray made of plastic, wood or metal with vertical slots for cutting at an angle of 90 ° and 45 °. There are also more complex miter box designs. For cutting at angles of 90, 60 and 45 degrees. For more professional work, a miter box with a swivel mechanism is used, where the hacksaw can be fixed at any angle to the workpiece.

How to cut a skirting board with a miter box. Inner corner:

  • We apply the plinth to the ceiling, measure the required length.
  • Then we install the plinth plinth in the miter box so that the position coincides with the position of the plinth on the ceiling.
  • The plinth strip should be pressed against the far wall of the miter box.
  • We hold the plinth with your left hand.
  • We choose such a position of the hacksaw when the angle is 45 degrees and the handle of the hacksaw is as close as possible to the left hand.
  • We cut the workpiece without making excessive pressure on the saw.
  • The next step is to trim the plinth striker. We also install it to the far wall of the miter box.
  • Press and hold with your right hand.
  • We choose such a position for the hacksaw when the angle is 45 degrees and the handle of the hacksaw approaches the right hand.
  • Cut off the skirting board.

Next, we join the trimmed plinths and check the cutting accuracy. For a more accurate orientation, they also say that to complete the inner corner, it is necessary to start cutting from the front of the skirting board. Wooden skirting boards will most likely need to be filed after trimming.

How to cut a ceiling plinth with a miter box. Outside corner:

  • In order not to be mistaken with the dimensions, it is better to start by marking the inner corner, and then cut out the outer corner. Otherwise, a situation is possible when the planks may not be enough in length.
  • It is necessary to attach the plank to the ceiling and outline the dimensions.
  • Install the plinth strip and press it against the nearest wall.
  • Hold it with your left hand and choose a position for the hacksaw at an angle of 45 degrees, when the handle approaches the left hand.
  • We cut off the workpiece.
  • We install the striker to the nearest wall, hold it with the right hand.
  • We set the hacksaw at a 45 degree angle when the handle approaches the right hand.
  • We cut off the workpiece and join the corner.

Trimming the workpiece with a miter box is only suitable if the angle between the walls is even. 90 degrees. If the accuracy is poor, you will have to use other methods.

Ceilings

The ceiling plinth performs not only a decorative function, visually separating the walls from the ceiling, but can also hide the joints of various finishing materials of the ceiling and walls. Not every interior design involves the use of a skirting board, but more often than not, the overall appearance of the room seems incomplete without it. There is nothing difficult in attaching this element. Fillets. Almost all types of skirting boards are attached with glue. But the question of how to properly cut the ceiling plinth in the corners of the premises can confuse many. Indeed, even in the simplest room there are internal corners, where the plinths of the ceiling plinth must be precisely and beautifully docked. And in a more complex configuration of the room, you will also have to dock the skirting boards, performing the outer corner. In this article, we will look at various options for how to cut a ceiling plinth with and without tools at hand.

First, you need to figure out how to cut the ceiling plinth, the answer to it depends on the material from which the fillet is made. At the moment, we sell ceiling skirting boards made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), expanded polystyrene (foam), polyurethane and wood.

Pvc ceiling skirting boards are the cheapest. They are easily dents and creases that cannot be repaired, so the product must be thrown away. Also their disadvantage is electrostaticity. The ability to attract dust. You can cut them with a sharp construction knife or a hacksaw.

Styrofoam ceiling skirting boards are also cheap. This material is very fragile, it crumbles easily during processing, therefore, it is necessary to cut the expanded polystyrene with a sharp knife or a hacksaw on metal, without making too strong pressing forces.

Extruded polystyrene foam ceiling skirting boards slightly more expensive than expanded polystyrene, denser and more difficult to cut. However, they crumble less, making them easier and more comfortable to work with. They are cut with a construction knife and a hacksaw for metal.

Polyurethane ceiling skirting boards are the most expensive at the moment. They are durable, elastic and moisture resistant, easily cut with a construction knife and do not crumble. The disadvantage of polyurethane skirting boards is their dependence on temperature changes. For example, over a gas stove, a polyurethane skirting board will permanently deform and begin to crackle slightly. If you try to process or cut such a plinth, it may bend or deform in other ways.

Wooden ceiling plinths are dense, heavy products that can only be cut with a hacksaw, preferably with small, frequent teeth. You can also use a cloth for metal.

Before proceeding to the enumeration of the ways of how to properly cut the ceiling plinth, I would like to note that there is a possibility not to cut the plinth with great precision. Available for sale special corner pieces, into which the edges of the skirting board are inserted. In this case, it is enough to cut the plinth strip at an angle of 90 °, and the corner element will hide all the flaws. But this method is not always used, since the dimensions of the corner elements are slightly larger than the baseboards themselves, so the corners in the room will stand out against the general background. Sometimes it can look bulky. However, if the design of the room allows the use of corner pieces for ceiling skirting boards, it makes sense to use them. Further instructions will come in handy for those who nevertheless decided to accurately cut the skirting boards at a given angle.

Features of cutting ceiling plinths in a miter box

It is necessary to work with this device with extreme care so as not to blunt the tool and not leave cuts in unnecessary places. In the process, we adhere to the following instructions:

    We fix the baguette in the miter box in the same way as it is planned to place it on the wall. The side that will be pressed against the ceiling on the miter box must rest against the sidewall.

We insert a cutting tool (hacksaw or knife) into the desired gap and cut the fillet.

  • We process the joint of the ceiling plinth and apply it to the wall to check the correctness. The foam molding can be tweaked with a sharp knife if the roughness of the end is about 2 mm. The wooden skirting board can be simply sanded with sandpaper. For ease of use, it can be glued to a wooden block.
  • Method for cutting a ceiling plinth without a miter box

    To neatly dock fillets in the inner corners, you can do without a miter box.

    We carry out the work in the following order:

      We apply the end part of the baguette to the sheet of paper and outline the outline of the convex side. It is more convenient to use a small piece of plinth (if any).

    Cut out the resulting template.

    We transfer the contour to the surface of the baguette with a simple pencil.

    Cut along the drawn curve.

    For fitting, we apply one plinth tightly with the end part to the wall, and then the second.

  • If there are small gaps, then they can be processed with a clerical knife or subsequently sealed with a sealant.
  • Selection of tools for cutting ceiling skirting boards

    To properly and accurately cut the skirting board, you need to use a suitable cutting tool. It is chosen depending on the material from which the fillets are made:

      Styrofoam. It is characterized by low strength and is relatively inexpensive, and therefore foam models are becoming more and more popular. Their strength does not particularly affect the performance characteristics, since usually the ceiling plinth is not subjected to mechanical stress. A regular stationery knife is suitable for cutting.

    Extruded polystyrene foam. A cheap material with a density several times higher than that of foam. Because of this, cutting it is a little more difficult, and therefore a sharp and thin knife is used for this purpose.

  • Wood. Such skirting boards are more difficult to process, although they have many advantages (environmental friendliness, durability). They cost moreespecially if made of hardwood. Before cutting a wood skirting board, stock up on a hacksaw.
  • In addition to the tool for direct cutting of the baguette, you will need a miter box. This is a special device made of wood, plastic or metal in the form of a box with notches on the sides. A hacksaw or knife can be inserted into it at the desired angle. Thus, the cutting angle is as accurate as possible.

      We knock three planks of 5015 cm with a long edge into the shape of a three-sided, rectangular box. Please note that an angle of 90 degrees must be respected between the side rails and the transverse board.

    Using a protractor, mark an angle of 45 degrees on the bars. Instead of a protractor, you can use a school square. In it, one angle is 90 degrees, and the other two are 45 degrees.

  • Before cutting the corners, mark the vertical direction with a simple pencil.
  • Approximately

    With enough experience, neither a miter box nor a marking is needed. In this case the master simply puts the skirting boards on the wall, estimates the size of the angle, and makes a cut by eye. But this method is permissible only with a very great experience, when the finisher has a correct eye and a very accurate hand. If this is not the case, this method is highly discouraged: you can spoil two parts of the plinth at once without achieving a proper fit.

    This will show you how to cut corners on skirting boards.

    Hand Right IMPORTANT: Eye fit is more suitable for plastic and foam elements than wood. They are easy to cut with a knife right in place. And with a strong hand and a correct eye, everything will sit perfectly. The tree must be sawed. And the cost of a mistake is extremely high.

    Using a miter box at home

    The easiest way to adjust the strips of the skirting board is to cut it with a miter box. It the device is a U-shaped structure (something like a box without one of the walls). In the sidewalls of the miter box, cuts are made in advance, which are later used as a template for cutting both the plinth and other materials.

    Cutting skirting boards at an angle using a miter box, see this

    The miter box has the following advantages:

    • It allows you to precisely trim the edges of the skirting board according to a ready-made template.
    • It’s easy to do it yourself, using four planks, a square and a saw. At the same time, you can cut template grooves for every taste, depending on the required type of work.
    • It makes it easy to form both inner and outer corners.

    The only drawback of this method applies only to those cases when the miter box is made by hand: it is necessary to be extremely careful, in advance to outline the mowing line for patterned cuts using a protractor, without deviating a degree.

    Cutting a corner on a ceiling plinth using a miter box has its own characteristics. You may also be interested in reading an article on the topic, plastering walls with your own hands, types of plaster.

    Polystyrene

    Polystyrene has the same properties as Styrofoam. Therefore, polystyrene skirting boards are cut in the same way as foam ones. The main thing here is to sharpen the cutting edge of the tool as sharp as possible to avoid chipping.. At the same time, there is no need to process the ends with sandpaper: their edges are usually already sufficiently embossed to ensure good adhesion of the glue.