Fine Homebuilding
magazine
Tools, tips, and
techniques for installing finish carpentry including wainscots, casings, cornices, baseboards,
and more
Pleasing proportions, clean lines, flawless
miters, and other well-crafted details are all measures of
excellence for finish carpentry. Finish Carpentry
takes you to the job site to see exactly how topnotch trim
carpenters get interior detailing done right. A collection of
finish carpentry articles from Fine Homebuilding magazine, this book covers
the essentials of interior trim and built-in construction, including
techniques for constructing hutches, baseboards, windows, crown
molding, and paneling.
Written by the pros who actually do the work, these articles will
help you to:
- install different types of door, window,
baseboard, and cornice trim
- calculate, order, and plan trim
installation to minimize waste
- compensate for out-of-square, out-of-plumb
conditions
- make cope and miter cuts quickly and
accurately
- use scribing techniques to get precise fits
against uneven surfaces
- design and install a paneled wainscot
- use a nail gun to speed trim installation
Formerly The Best of Fine Homebuilding:
Finish Carpentry, this newly revised edition features 30 percent
new content, including the latest tools and techniques and updated
photos and illustrations.
About the For Pros by Pros series
To get the best results when building or remodeling, you need advice
from the best professionals in the business. For Pros By Pros books
bring together the expert designers, builders, and remodeling pros
who have written for Fine Homebuilding magazine.
Introduction:
"That gap's so big you could throw a cat
through it." I had just finished trimming a window, when one of my
fellow carpenters assessed the quality of a particular miter joint
with that comment. It was job-site hyperbole, of course. You could
barely have slipped a matchbook cover into the gap, but his point
was clear. The gap was too big.
Finish carpentry is not a game of inches. It's a game of skoshes,
hairs, tads, and other increments smaller than any carpenter's tape
will measure. The overriding goal of frame carpentry is strength,
but with finish carpentry, it's all about looks. And in order to
look good, finish carpentry must be executed to very high
tolerances.
In the real world, working to high tolerances is hard. Floors are
never level, walls are never plumb, and the build-up of joint
compound on drywall means that corners are never square. There's
never a stud or joist to nail into when you need one. And then
there's human nature to contend with. You know, the voice whispering
in your ear that you don't really need to drill a pilot hole for
that nail, which of course splits the wood as soon as you drive home
the nail.
To do good finish work you need four things. First you need to care
about doing good work. Then you need patience and good tools. And
finally you need every trick in the book . . . which makes this a
good place to start. This book is actually a collection of articles
originally published in Fine Homebuilding magazine. Written by
builders from all over the country, these articles contain the
hard-won lessons from their real-world experience.
-- Kevin Ireton, editor-in-chief, Fine Homebuilding
Contents:
Introduction
Part 1: BASICS
Basic Scribing Techniques
Plate Joinery on the Job Site
10 Rules for Finish Carpentry
Pneumatic Finish Nailing
A Pair of Built-In Hutches
Part 2: BASEBOARDS
Curved Baseboard Corners
Running Baseboard Efficiently
Designing and Installing Baseboards
Part 3: WINDOWS
More Than One Way to Case a Window
Making Curved Casing
Bench-Built Window Trim
Part 4: CROWN MOLDING
Crown Molding Basics
Cutting Crown Molding
Installing Two-Piece Crown
Making Curved Crown Molding
Installing Crown Moldings
Part 5: PANELING
Recycled Redwood Wainscoting
Traditional Cabinetry from a Modern Material
Installing Elegant Wainscot Paneling
Credits
Index
Soft-cover, 8-1/2 x 11 in., 160 pages,
with color photos and drawings Published 2002
ISBN 978-1-56158-536-6
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