The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Care And Repair Of The House
As the most frequent angle cut is 45°, and as a square-end cut, especially in molding, is more accurately made by use of a miter box, it may be well to describe the making of one of these cuts.
If a job is encountered where many cuts of a certain angle are required, it is advisable to make a special miter box for that particular angle.
Tools.
Screw driver, saw, and steel square.
Materials.
Three pieces of dressed lumber, consisting of one piece of 2 inches by 6 inches by 21/2 feet long for the bottom and two pieces of 1 inch by 8 inches by 21/2 feet long for the two sides, and about a dozen and a half 2-inch wood screws.
Making the Box.
Screw the two side pieces to the edges of the bottom piece to form a channel or 3-sided box, being careful to have the sides flush with the bottom. It might be advisable to bore holes for the screws to avoid splitting the side pieces. Then, as shown in Figure 30, square a line between B and E, across the top of the box near the middle, marking the line on top of side pieces 1 and 2. Next measure from point B along the outside edge of side 1, the same distance G as between the outside faces of the side pieces, and mark point A. From point A, draw diagonal line AE. This diagonal line will be on a 45° angle drawn from one outside, face to another. Each end of the diagonal line AE should then be squared down the outside face of each side, to form a perpendicular. Proceed in the same manner to lay out a second diagonal line BD in the opposite direction, to form an X with diagonal AE.
Before cutting through on the diagonal lines, be sure that there are two screws in each side between points A and B and D and E to fasten securely the two short side pieces thus formed. Saw carefully through the two sides along the diagonal lines and down the perpendiculars until the top face of the bottom piece is reached.
Near one end cut a third line OF across the box, at right angles to the sides and perpendicular to the bottom, to be used for cutting off square ends. Screws should be placed close to this cut also, on both sides, to make the sides more rigid.
