How to use it
Choose the crown
Most crown in North America is 52/38, DEWALT says: the back meets the ceiling at 52° and the wall at 38°, so its spring angle is 38°. Choose 45/45 for crown with equal angles, or enter another spring angle.
Measure the wall angle
The angle between the two walls, seen from above: 90° for a square inside corner. Few rooms are exactly square, the makers warn, so measure the corner rather than assume it.
Read miter and bevel
Both are for crown laid flat on the table, broad back down. Which way each is set, and which end of the cut to keep, depends on the corner and on your saw: follow its manual.
Cut scrap first
Both DEWALT and Makita call the settings precise and hard to set exactly. Cut test pieces and fit them in the corner.
The method
Crown laid flat on the saw table
miter = atan( sin S ÷ tan(W ÷ 2) )
bevel = asin( cos S × cos(W ÷ 2) )
- W
- wall angle, the corner between the walls (degrees)
- S
- spring angle, between the wall and the molding's back (38° for 52/38 crown) (degrees)
The same geometry as a compound-mitered box with sides sloping 90° − S; the miter angle calculator handles that case.
| Wall angle | 52/38 crown: bevel / miter | 45° crown: bevel / miter |
|---|---|---|
| 60° | 43.0° / 46.8° | 37.8° / 50.8° |
| 72° | 39.6° / 40.3° | 34.9° / 44.2° |
| 90° | 33.9° / 31.6° | 30.0° / 35.3° |
| 108° | 27.6° / 24.1° | 24.6° / 27.2° |
| 120° | 23.2° / 19.6° | 20.7° / 22.2° |
| 135° | 17.6° / 14.3° | 15.7° / 16.3° |
| 150° | 11.8° / 9.4° | 10.5° / 10.7° |
As printed in Makita's LS1019/LS1019L manual; the calculator gives the same figures to 0.1°. Makita lists the bevel first, the calculator the miter first.
Which way to set the saw
| Piece | Inside corner | Outside corner |
|---|---|---|
| Left side | Bevel left 33.9°, miter right 31.62°, keep the left end | Bevel right 33.9°, miter left 31.62°, keep the left end |
| Right side | Bevel right 33.9°, miter left 31.62°, keep the right end | Bevel left 33.9°, miter right 31.62°, keep the right end |
From DEWALT's manual for its dual-bevel saw; a single-bevel saw flips the molding instead, as DEWALT's crown instructions show. Another saw's manual may set it out differently — follow your own.
Crown can also be cut nested: upside down against the fence, its bottom edge on the fence and top edge on the table, with a miter and no bevel. DEWALT points out the advantage — an out-of-square corner then changes only the miter. Both methods are drawn in the miter saw guide.
Before cutting crown
- Spring angle known: 38° for 52/38, 45° for 45/45
- Wall angle measured, not assumed
- Bevel and miter direction set for this corner and side
- The end to keep marked
- Test pieces cut and fitted in the corner
Sources
The formulas reproduce Makita's 45° table at every wall angle and its 52/38 table at all but two, to the 0.1° Makita prints. Those two entries — 12.8° miter at a 140° wall and 10.8° bevel at 153° — sit out of line with their neighbours and are shown as printed. DEWALT prints its 52/38 bevel as 33.85° on its crown page and 33.9° in the DWS779 manual; the formula gives 33.86°.
- 1.
LS1019/LS1019L Slide Compound Miter Saw instruction manual, Mexico edition (Spanish section reviewed). Makita, 2025.
Used for: Crown laid flat, broad back down on the turntable with the wall edge against the fence; Table (A) settings at 90° (52/38: bevel 33.9°, miter 31.6°; 45°: bevel 30°, miter 35.3°); full tables of bevel and miter for 52/38 and 45° crown at every wall angle from 60° to 180°.
- 2.
Used for: Crown molding with a 52° top rear angle against the ceiling and a 38° bottom rear angle against the wall; for crown laid flat, top of the molding against the fence, bevel 33.9° and miter 31.62°, left or right by corner and side, with the end to keep; settings precise and hard to set, rooms rarely square, scrap tests essential.
- 3.
How to Cut Crown Molding. DEWALT Canada, 2026.
Used for: The 52/38 settings printed as bevel 33.85° and miter 31.62°; nested crown cut upside down with miter only, so an out-of-square corner changes only the miter; a single-bevel saw flipping the molding between cuts, a dual-bevel saw keeping its top against the fence.
About this calculator
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