Working on a historic church in Charleston made me rethink my whole approach to trim

I was restoring some window casings in a 200 year old building last fall. The original trim had these tiny, perfect miter joints that looked simple but were cut with a handsaw and a shooting board. My first attempt with my power miter saw left a visible gap, even though the angle was dead on. The old foreman on site showed me how the wood had shrunk over centuries and you have to plane a slight back bevel on the long point. I spent three hours redoing two windows to get it right. Has anyone else run into this kind of fitting problem with really old, dry lumber?

3 comments

3 Comments

bens817d ago

Old wood teaches you more than any new piece ever could.

rose_craig977d ago

What exactly did you learn from it?

mary7767d ago

Watched my buddy restore an old dresser he almost threw out. Now he says he can spot quality wood from across a room, you know?