I am needing to fit new skirting to a room with lots of angles - bay window and corner chimney breast. I don't have the tools for this and would welcome advice. I am going to get skirting to complement the laminate floor I have fitted. Ideally, are corner pieces availabel to save the hastle?
John
I'm assuming your wanting advice on the tools to buy for mitreing? No tools no can do :-)
I find it much easier to profile the skirting but that only applies to taurus skirting. You have not said what type of skirting you are fitting? however a trip to the local sheds will get you a bench type mitre saw for hand sawing but its best to pay the extra and get one of these.
Hi John
If corners pieces are available they surely won't be cheap!
Are the corners all square e.g.90 degrees? If so, you don't have to mitre them, just draw the shape of the profile (or use a profile gauge) onto the end of a board and cut the shape with a coping saw.
If they are at odd angles, buy a cheap & cheerful electric mitre saw like this
Dave
Get yourself one of these for 20 quid - it will do this job, and you'll find lots of subsequent uses for it.
You're presumably going to remove the old skirting *before* laying the flooring, so that the new skirting covers the expansion gap? You'll also need a very sharp flexible handsaw with which to undercut the doorframes and architraves, so that you can slide the flooring underneath - again hiding the expansion gap.
If you expect to do a lot of mitred work or general cutting of timber then it's worth getting an electric compound mitre saw (aka chop saw).
If your skirting is up to about 100-120mm a simple one will do - if it's higher, then you would need a sliding type to accomodate the width.
Alternatively if the use is occasional, there are hand mitre saws which would do the job, e.g. Screwfix 19927
Thoes things are virtualy useless. They are so flimsy and wobble as you push and pull the cheap as pidgeon crap saw back and forht. The saw *always* will go off the straight line and leave you with a curved mitre where it should be straight.
Absolute crap!
>
I totally agree thats why I bought a compound mitre saw, after taking the hand mitre saw back.
need the saw. Stuart
Then I would question your technique! I have a very similar one (from Wickes rather than Screwfix - but it looks virtually the same) and I have cut lots of perfect mitres with it. You do need to clamp your wood (with a G-clamp rather than the saw's own clamp) - and provided the blade is correctly tensioned, it works perfectly.
I'm sure that the electric mitre saws are ok - but you need one with a very big blade (or a slider) to handle anything bigger than about 100mm.
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1What size skirting/wood did you cut?
I've mainly used mine on 3" skirting. The biggest section I have cut is about 4" x 1.5" when making a plinth to raise the toilet for a disabled relative - but it will handle wood up to over 5" wide. The Screwfix saw which I cited can handle wood up to 190mm (nearly 7.5") wide.
Ok, now try cutting 6" depth skirting/wood and then tell us it doesn't go off course. when you start to get about four inches down this is when it starts going of the line.
Ok, now try cutting 6" depth skirting/wood and then tell us it doesn't go
These were designed for people who cant cut straight with a hand saw, _Almost_ fool proof pity you cant buy ready made technique at B&Q.
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You cant cut a decent mitre without some kind of guide however much technique you have.
You can providing the saw is of good quality and will go through the wood like butter. I used to do the taurus with a spear&jackson till it got nicked but the price of these compound mitre saws these days swayed me to buy one.
Techinque doesn't come into it they do go off course during the cut, I'm talking 4" depth I'm talking 6" and thewy where not made for people who can't cut straight, they where made for making different degrees of mitre cuts easily(alledgedly)
Well, there are a number of things you can do to make wandering off less likely.
Firstly can make sure that the device is held firmly. I have a strip of wood screwed to the bottom of mine, which I clamp in a Workmate.
Then you can make sure that the workpiece is firmly held in place. Forget any clamps which are part of the device and use decent G Clamps. Also, if cutting a long piece of wood, support the ends.
Then, take any wobble out of the saw guide by doing up its swivel clamp. Mine locks in position with an Allen screw - which *has* to be done up when cutting anything other than the preset angles, and which is *good* to do up even when using the presets.
Finally, make sure that the blade is correctly tensioned.
I'm not sure whether these come within your definition of "technique" - but they certainly come within *mine*!
They come with the wrong blade and quickly lose their "set". If you can buy blades for them and they are any good, they are useful but not as good as getting to grips with a mitre block and a new Bacho or Sandvik. Their main bugbear is they only use half the blade.
I've also used those cheap electric saw before replacing it with a 110 volt machine. That too had its foibles. Getting the angle right for one.
They cut the 45 in a choice of 2 ways. Use the tilt to cut the board laid face down on the plate. Use it on a bench with blocks to raise the board to the right height along its length.
If I am only replacing one or two, I manage to get by on a saw bench with a pencil line and a decent decent hand saw.
Put a piece of scrap under 2 of the legs to save the blade and rest the board on the most suitable leg. Cut it upside down to get a square section to go through, to start you off. Again remember to support bothe sides of the cut. With a brand new Bacho you will soon get the confidence you need.
And no I do not have an interest in the firm other than appreciation of their high quality. Get a short bladed, blue handled one.
To do odd angled corners, Mark the line of the outside edge on the floor, with a scrap piece and the inside edge with apencil mark at the top of the board where the wall ends.
Do the same with the other side of the corner and see where the bottom pencil line appears under the board.
Asuming the wall is plumb, a perpendicular will give you all the guidance you need.
Use contact adhesive especially designed for mitring to join them. PVA and pins will do though.
Skirting board mitres and scribes are perhaps the most difficult joinery of all because floors are never quite level, walls never quite plumb, corners never quite square, skirting profile often slightly different from previous piece. Easier if only 3 inch (never done 3 inch myself) but harder as it gets bigger. The details of how to do it traditionally and perfectly are too long but you will need - mitre block (make your own), panel saw, coping saw,
2 or 3 sliding bevels, protractor, block plane, pencil, carpenters axe (for scribing to uneven floor) etc. Only external corners are mitred, internal are scribed i.e. one piece is butted into the corner and the other is profiled to fit against it. Could go into more detail but I'm off down the boozer, tataHomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.