5/02/2020 Making the Cut

    A friend of mine calls me up, hey can you help me with some cove moulding? I tell him I never did it before. But I'll try to help. When doing baseboard its easy with a powered mitre saw. Put the mitred boards together in the corner then caulk the joint. Faster than coping, which is a way harder cut. He onced watched a TV show how to do it. This was before you tube. He didn't remember the TV show too well. Also crown moulding is expensive. We tried small pieces to see about the fit in the cieling corner. The fit was super terrible. Readjusting the mitre saw angle. Try again, no better. We must have done it 25 times. At 3.00 a foot it was way expensive. We went at it half cocked, and had the results to prove it. Eventually he used putty to fix the corners. Just terrible.

    Many years later, I had a short stint with a carpenter, we were putting up crown moulding. He showed me how to do it. You hold the moulding against the fence of the saw, the way it would be put on the wall. The moulding would be protruding away from the fence at a 45 degree angle, then you make the cut. A little caulk and wella, looks great.

    A friend of mine got me a job at a friend of his. It was to put up crown moulding. It's usually a 2 person job, but it was just going to be me. Gave her a price and set to work. Three days later, it all looked great. My first crown moulding by myself, I was happy. Then she wanted kitchen done, gave her price. Too much she said. Six months later my friend says come over to her house, I want to show you something. Ok. Get there and I see new custom cabinetry, solid wood, fitted into position, really nice. My friend found her the cabinet maker. Everything looked good except the finished crown moulding. She did it herself and it looked like the job me and my friend did over 20 yrs ago. I told my friend, it wasn't me, she didn't want to pay. Penny wise, pound foolish.

    Standing on top of others, can help us see better and get a way better result. I thank my friend for letting me see that kitchen. It helped me, see the big picture. Also spirit was behind everything.