Took me 6 months to realize I was cutting crown molding upside down

I've been doing trim work for about 4 years now and never really thought twice about how I was cutting crown molding. Then last month I was helping out at a job site in Cleveland and this old carpenter watched me set up my miter saw for a few cuts. He just pointed and said 'you're cutting that backwards.' I didn't believe him at first but he showed me how the spring angles work and sure enough I had been holding the piece wrong the whole time. All those gaps I thought were from bad walls were actually just me flipping the molding. It made me wonder how many other little things I'm doing wrong without knowing it. Anyone else ever find out they were doing a basic task completely backwards?

3 comments

3 Comments

reed.elliot4d ago

Cutting that backwards" hit close to home. I spent two years installing ceiling fans before someone told me I was wiring the pull chains so they hung on the wrong side. I thought I was just cursed with bad fans or something. Feels like half this trade is just finding out you've been doing it wrong.

betty_kelly94d ago

@reed.elliot that wiring thing sounds like a nightmare lol. I was the same way about crown molding for years, thought I had it down pat. Then I watched a guy who actually knew what he was doing and realized I was just making life harder for myself. It's humbling but honestly kind of awesome when someone points out the simple fix you've been missing all along. Makes you wonder what else we're all doing backwards without a clue.

laura_schmidt823d ago

Yeah @betty_kelly9 it's wild how long you can go thinking you're doing it right. I use a scrap piece of crown to test every cut now before I commit, saves a ton of headache.