I need help to figure out how to cut the miter angle where a curved piece of molding meets a straight piece.
The meeting angle is a little more than 90 degrees, maybe 110.
Do I cut the angle of the straight piece at 45 and go from there, or what?
How do I support the curved piece against the fence of my chop saw?
Thanks.
Replies
I think the intersection you are looking for is called a "Hunting Miter". This is a thread at JLC Forums ... Sharpen Yor Pencils!.
Here are a couple of drawings, I think the curve is a parabola. Definition: "A parabola can also be defined as locus of points in a plane which are equidistant from a given point (the focus) and a given line (the directrix)." View Image View Image
I've never heard of a "hunting miter" is that a made-up term? It sounds like a "guess and check" method.If not, do you have any clue of it's origin?So, how do you cut a curved miter?DC
I had never heard of a hunting miter until reading/participating in the JLC thread.
How to cut? I'd say a small handsaw. My input in that thread linked to was limited to the math. Likely there are other forum members who have cut curved miters and have some better suggestions.
Joe Bartok
Yeah, what Joe says... or....
Can you cut the straight piece square, then suppor the curved piece and the proper angle and cut that square also? If so, just do that but use a miter cut instead of a square cut.
How long is the curved piece?
~ Ted W ~
Cheap Tools! - MyToolbox.net
See my work - TedsCarpentry.com
rdesigns
Cope it. Fit the cured piece first. Miter the straight one at half the angle of the intersection and cope to the line of the miter cut. It's no harder than coping any other angle, which is to say - piece of cake.
I should have described my problem a little more clearly.
The "moldings" are actually 3" aprons (3/4" thick) that wrap around a shelf, but you could think of it as a table top with one side a convex curve, the other straight. I'll be making 4 or these shelves.
I'll have to make the curved parts by doing bent laminations to achieve the curve.
Re: JoeBartok's diagrams. My curved side is concave, not convex as shown in your detailed diagram, and I don't think I could cut the scooped-out miter that it seems to show.
P.S. Joe--check my profile. Are we neighbors? If so, you know me (and my wine cellar)--Russ G.
Russ, sorry the diagrams didn't help with your problem. We're not neighbors, I'm in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Too bad the wine cellar is so far away ... :)Joe Bartok
Joe,
Thanks for the input. Coincidentally,the reason why I asked you to check my profile is that I know a Joe Bartok (how many can there be?), and he is a very talented trim carpenter/builder. I guess it runs in the Bartok family, along with a taste for good wine.
It does not sound like you have a profile on the pieces you are mitering, so the hunting miter is not actually helpful. Cutting a curved miter allows all the details of a molding profile to meet seamlessly.Even moldings with profiles can be cut with straight, odd angle miters and the profiles lineup fairly well. Here are a few pics of layout and supporting the workpiece for cutting:
Not to be argumentative but a curved can only be joined to a straight piece with either a hunting miter or a larger profile molding. Depending on the radius the joint will either be close or off by quite a bit.
If it is flat stock, with no profile, no need for a hunting miter.
I stand corrected, I didn't notice the lack of a profile. In that case one only needs to come close to bisecting the angle.
Right, my pieces are simple 3/4 x 3 rectangles in section.
Thanks for the pix and info.
Figure the angle as close as you can,if 110° then cut each piece 55°. Lay out both pieces to see if you need to adjust. If you are very close, clamp each piece to a scrap and saw thru with a handsaw. You may have to saw thru more than once,depending on how far the first cut was. Now you have a sample of the cuts and you can cut to size.
mike
Thanks Mike,
I like low-tech methods. They're usually the most fool proof for guys like me.
Low tech usually works for most people. I started my apprenticeship before a lot of modern tools were invented. No mitersaws, compound or regular,slidesaws, cordless tools etc. We cut scarf joints in base the same way, nice now to have all these power tools. Although the amount of carpentry time on a typical job was probably at least twice if not three times what it is today.
mike
Mike,
Yes, I remember those days, although I was a plumber at the time, so I didn't catch on to many of their tricks. The finish carpenters would not only trim the job out with casings, base, windows, doors, etc., they would actually build the kitchen cabinets, piece by piece, on site, along with any incidental cabinetry that was wanted. Stuff like corner curio cabinets, built-in hutches--you name it.
Layout, bisect and scribe if needs. Do it all the time on curves & odd angles.