Chatted with an old timer about cope cuts and it changed my approach

I was on a job last month in a 1920s house in Portland doing baseboards. An older carpenter stopped by to grab his saw and saw me doing a cope cut with a jigsaw like I always do. He said it looked rough and asked why I bother with that when a sharp coping saw does it cleaner in half the time. I told him jigsaws are faster but he just laughed and said speed doesn't matter if you spend 10 minutes sanding out the mess. So I tried his way on a tricky inside corner and he was right. The fit was tight the first time with barely any touchup. I still use a jigsaw for rough cuts on long runs but for copes I stick with a hand saw now. Has anyone else had an old school trick that made a big difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilychen1mo ago

Ditched my jigsaw for copes after a similar talk with an old cabinet guy and it was night and day difference. Hand cut fits way tighter with way less messing around.

noahclark1mo ago

Wait wait wait, you're telling me someone actually talked you out of using a jigsaw for copes? I mean, I've been doing it the jigsaw way for like eight years now and I thought that was just how everyone did it. Seeing an old timer just laugh at you for it must have been brutal but honestly that's kind of awesome. I'm sitting here thinking about all the sanding I've done over the years and I feel like an idiot. Maybe it's just me but I always figured a power tool was automatically better. I'm actually a little shocked that a hand saw could be that much cleaner. I might have to try that on my next job just to see if I've been wasting time this whole time.