Crown molding sits at an angle between the wall and the ceiling, so cutting it flat on a compound miter saw needs two settings at once: a miter (the table turned) and a bevel (the blade tilted). The chart gives both for the two common crown profiles, 38/52 and 45/45, at wall corners from 60° to 170°, plus the single miter used when the molding is cut nested against the fence. Every value is computed from the compound miter formula used by our miter angle calculator, which handles any spring angle and corner.
Crown molding angle chart
| Wall corner angle | 38/52 crown: miter | 38/52: bevel | 45/45 crown: miter | 45/45: bevel | Nested in a miter box: miter only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60° | 46.8° | 43.0° | 50.8° | 37.8° | 60.0° |
| 65° | 44.0° | 41.7° | 48.0° | 36.6° | 57.5° |
| 70° | 41.3° | 40.2° | 45.3° | 35.4° | 55.0° |
| 75° | 38.7° | 38.7° | 42.7° | 34.1° | 52.5° |
| 80° | 36.3° | 37.1° | 40.1° | 32.8° | 50.0° |
| 85° | 33.9° | 35.5° | 37.7° | 31.4° | 47.5° |
| 90° | 31.6° | 33.9° | 35.3° | 30.0° | 45.0° |
| 95° | 29.4° | 32.2° | 32.9° | 28.5° | 42.5° |
| 100° | 27.3° | 30.4° | 30.7° | 27.0° | 40.0° |
| 105° | 25.3° | 28.7° | 28.5° | 25.5° | 37.5° |
| 110° | 23.3° | 26.9° | 26.3° | 23.9° | 35.0° |
| 115° | 21.4° | 25.0° | 24.3° | 22.3° | 32.5° |
| 120° | 19.6° | 23.2° | 22.2° | 20.7° | 30.0° |
| 125° | 17.8° | 21.3° | 20.2° | 19.1° | 27.5° |
| 130° | 16.0° | 19.5° | 18.2° | 17.4° | 25.0° |
| 135° | 14.3° | 17.6° | 16.3° | 15.7° | 22.5° |
| 140° | 12.6° | 15.6° | 14.4° | 14.0° | 20.0° |
| 145° | 11.0° | 13.7° | 12.6° | 12.3° | 17.5° |
| 150° | 9.4° | 11.8° | 10.7° | 10.5° | 15.0° |
| 157.5° | 7.0° | 8.8° | 8.0° | 7.9° | 11.2° |
| 160° | 6.2° | 7.9° | 7.1° | 7.1° | 10.0° |
| 170° | 3.1° | 3.9° | 3.5° | 3.5° | 5.0° |
How to read the chart
Measure the actual corner with an angle finder: walls are rarely exactly 90°. Find the row for your corner and your crown’s spring angle. For a square corner with 38/52 crown the settings are a 31.6° miter and a 33.9° bevel; with 45/45 crown, 35.3° and 30.0°. Many compound miter saws have detents at 31.6° and 33.9° for exactly this reason. For the 135° corners of a bay window, 38/52 crown needs 14.3° miter and 17.6° bevel.
The spring angle is the angle the back of the molding makes with the wall. Check it by holding a piece in a framing square as it will sit on the wall: a 38/52 crown touches the wall and ceiling at 38° and 52°, a 45/45 crown at 45° on both. If your molding matches neither, measure it and enter it in the miter calculator.
Flat or nested: which method
- Flat (compound) cut: the molding lies face up on the saw table. It suits wide crown that will not stand against the fence, and it needs both a miter and a bevel. Left and right pieces are cut with the miter swung opposite ways.
- Nested cut: the molding stands upside down against the fence, with its flats tight against the fence and the table, as if the fence were the wall and the table the ceiling. Only a miter is needed (45° for a square corner). It is quicker and less error-prone if the crown fits under the blade; make a stop or tape a line so every piece sits at the same angle.
- Inside corners are often coped instead: cut the profile with a miter, then remove the waste behind the face with a coping saw so the piece fits over the face of the other. Coped joints stay closed as the walls move with the seasons.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the corner is 90°. A 92° corner opens a visible gap at the top of a 90° joint on 5 in crown; split the measured angle instead.
- Mixing up the spring angle. 38/52 settings on 45/45 crown are close but leave a gap of a few degrees.
- Forgetting which edge goes to the ceiling. In the nested method the ceiling edge is against the fence, the wall edge against the table.
- Cutting the final pieces first. Test every setting on offcuts and hold them in the corner before cutting long lengths.
Frequently asked questions
What angle do you cut crown molding for a 90 degree corner?
Flat on the saw: 31.6° miter and 33.9° bevel for 38/52 crown, or 35.3° miter and 30.0° bevel for 45/45 crown. Nested against the fence: a 45° miter with the blade square.
What is the bevel for 45 degree crown molding?
For 45/45 crown in a 90° corner the bevel is 30.0° and the miter 35.26°.
What angle for crown molding on a 135 degree corner?
For 38/52 crown, 14.3° miter and 17.6° bevel; nested, a 22.5° miter.
Are inside and outside crown corners cut at the same angle?
Yes, the saw settings are the same for the same corner angle; what changes is which side of the blade the piece is on and which part you keep.
Sources
- Compound miter formula: miter = arctan(sin S ÷ tan(C ÷ 2)), bevel = arcsin(cos S × cos(C ÷ 2)), the trigonometry of a plane cut through a sloped board; the same formula as our miter angle calculator, checked against the standard 31.6°/33.9° and 35.3°/30.0° settings for 90° corners.
- Nested cut: miter = 90° − corner ÷ 2 (plain miter of the corner), blade square.
Last reviewed: 24 October 2026. Numbers in the tables are our arithmetic from the sources listed; code sections are summarised, not quoted. How we check our work: methodology and corrections. Spotted an error? Please let us know.