Cutting Skirting with new SCMS

[wizer]

Ok basic question.

I've been roped into installing skirting board at a friends house. 2 Rooms using traditional torus style skirt. Any tip on best practise? It's also the first oputing for the new SCMS so any tips on setting that beast up will be a great help too.

Cheers

 

[WellsWood]

Hi Wizer,
Accepted practice is to butt/scribe internal corners (they say mitred internals tend to open up with wood shrinkage, although I mtred all mine and haven't had any problems) and mitre externals. If the skirting is to be painted I use acrylic decorators caulk in any minor imperfections - it hides a multitude of sins.

Mark

 

[the_g_ster]

I have done exactly the above at home and it looks great. 7 or 8 inch boards in a high ceiled room look great too. External mitres are a little bit tricky without a SCMS mind. Make sure you seal and small gaps between the wall too, as looks alot neater as noted above.

G

 

[Jake]

Butt and scribe is easy enough provided the corners are near enough 90 degrees. Cut the skirting to full length of the wall (ignoring the depth of the other board it is going to butt up to) with a 45 degree mitre on the front face so the diagonal cut is facing the room. Then cut down the line where the mitre cut has intersected with the front face of the skirting with a coping saw (at least for the wiggly bit). Undercut it back a bit further than 90 degrees.

Describing it in words makes it sounds much more complicated than it is. Google "butt and scribe" and there will be plenty of better explanations than mine.

 

[engineer one]

must say that once i had got the hang of it, i found that the butt and scribe
idea was the way to go, it does make it easier if you can use the longest bits with straight ends, and if you can buy the timber over length for the
longest part of the wall, but then i used mdf last time, since i think it
is better than painting real wood. remember if you have to join along a wall
to figure out where the normal seating and viewing position is going to be
since you will need to join with an angled cut, not a straight one, and
the longest part of the cut should be toward where you will look from.

the bit i had most difficulty with actually was marking and cutting the
outside mitred bits of wood long enough, that takes practice. :?

depending upon the depth of the skirting, and the size of your smcs,
it may be worth using a sacrificial bit of wood both under and beneath
the wood you are cutting, this reduces the break out on the skirting.
make sure you have the right kind of newish blade, and also let the saw do the work.

paul :wink:

 

[wizer]

begining to wish i hadn't said yes now! She's just told me she has ordered exactly the amount of wood needed. So no practise runs!

I must admit that I am drawn to internal and external mitres, purely for speed. But then getting them right first time will be a challenge.

Also it's the first time this saw will be turned on\used so i'm going to have to spend some time reading the manual tonight!

 

[tombo]

one of these might help

tom

 

[todd]

You say you have no pratice runs,this is one of the reasons why scribing is the wat to go.
From a carpenters veiw for a room to be skirted out ,the wall opposite the entrance to the roomshould be done first then skirtings should be scribed to this.
On straight runs sribed skirting can be cut slightly longer so the skirting is "sprung" into place giving a tight fit.
Also on a internal wall i the angle does not have to be exactly90 degrees for a scribed joint ,but it does if you mitre a internal joint .
It is easier to "tune up" a scribed joint as opposed to a mitred joint to make it fit.
Finially This subject has been talked about on many forums ,and as you can see I am a Pro srcibe and anti mitre , as I see one way as much superior than the other being that scribing done right is easier and gives a more proffessional finish .There are people that advocate mitring internal joints which I feel shows a lack understanding of the job

 

[engineer one]

i do agree with todd, but must say that i am worried that your client
has bought the wood, and not given you any overage.

cutting the outside edges does take some practice and may well involve
wastage.

paul :wink:

 

[les chicken]

WiZer

A little tip for the outside mitre. If you fit the skirting and there is a little gap at the tip, get a piece of round bar a screwdriver will do the job and roll it up and down the joint. It will round over and blend together the fibres of the wood, done carefully no will notice that there was a gap.

:wink: :wink:

Les