Crown Molding Angle Calculator
Miter and bevel for a compound cut from the corner and spring angles — the two formulas behind every chart — plus linear feet and sticks.
Quick answer: miter and bevel for a compound cut
| Corner | 38°/52° crown (miter / bevel) | 45°/45° crown (miter / bevel) |
|---|---|---|
| 90° | 31.6° / 33.9° | 35.3° / 30.0° |
| 135° | 14.3° / 17.6° | 16.3° / 15.7° |
| 120° | 19.6° / 23.2° | 22.2° / 20.7° |
| 60° | 46.8° / 43.0° | 50.8° / 37.8° |
Miter = arctan(sin spring ÷ tan(corner ÷ 2)); bevel = arcsin(cos spring × cos(corner ÷ 2)). These are the settings for cutting the crown flat on the saw table; an inside and an outside corner take the same numbers, mirrored.
| Miter angle (flat on the saw) | — |
|---|---|
| Bevel angle (blade tilt) | — |
| Nested cut instead | — |
| Linear feet | — |
| Sticks | — |
Two formulas, not a chart. With the crown lying flat on the saw, for a corner of C degrees and a spring angle S: miter = atan(sin S ÷ tan(C/2)), bevel = asin(cos S × cos(C/2)). For a square corner and 38° crown that is 31.6° and 33.9°; for 45° crown, 35.3° and 30°. Every chart is those two lines evaluated; the calculator evaluates them for the corner you measured, which is rarely 90.
The spring angle is on the back of the molding. It is the angle the crown leans off the wall. The two flats on the back are cut at 38/52 or 45/45, and the profile does not tell you which. Set a piece against a square and read it, or measure the two flats; a 52/38 crown cut with 45/45 settings gaps at every corner.
Nested is the no-arithmetic way. Stand the crown upside down against the fence at its spring angle and cut a plain miter of half the corner angle with no bevel. On a square corner that is 45°. The compound settings exist for saws and crowns too big to nest; the page prints both.
Inside and outside corners swap the direction, not the angles. The same miter and bevel serve both. What changes is which end of the stick is left and which is right, and which way the saw swings. No chart shows that, so cut a test corner on scrap before you cut the stick.
What I check on a job
Where I measure, and how I count sticks. Before I trust the angles, I measure the corner where the crown will sit, up at the ceiling line, not at eye level and not off the plan. Walls lean and corners fill with plaster, so the angle a few feet down can differ from the one the molding meets, and the plan says 90 because that is how it was drawn. I measure every corner, not one corner standing in for all of them; the page takes one corner at a time, so I run it once per corner. The stick count is the other number I do not take at face value. It divides the total footage by the stick length, which assumes every offcut finds a use. On a real ceiling, a wall longer than the stick needs a joint, and short walls between close corners leave offcuts too short to reuse. I lay each wall out against the sticks before I order, and that layout is what the waste allowance has to cover.
Miter = atan(sin S ÷ tan(C ÷ 2)); bevel = asin(cos S × cos(C ÷ 2)), for crown cut flat; nested cut = C ÷ 2 miter, 0 bevel. Linear feet = perimeter × (1 + waste); sticks = ceil(linear feet ÷ stick length). Spring angles of 38° and 45° are the two common profiles; the corner angle is yours to measure.
Worked example
What miter and bevel for 38° crown in a square corner, cut flat on the saw?
- Miter = atan(sin 38° ÷ tan 45°) = atan(0.616) = 31.6°.
- Bevel = asin(cos 38° × cos 45°) = asin(0.557) = 33.9°.
- Nested against the fence instead: a plain 45° miter, no bevel. 44 ft of wall with 10% waste is five 12-ft sticks.
31.6° miter and 33.9° bevel — the chart values, from the two formulas that make every chart. For 45° crown it is 35.3° and 30°. Corners are rarely 90; measure yours and the page recomputes.
9 values on this page were driven in a browser and compared with independently derived figures on 2026-10-29 (2808 values across 228 calculators site-wide).
Questions
What angles do I set for crown molding in a 90° corner?
Cut flat, 38° crown: 31.6° miter and 33.9° bevel. 45° crown: 35.3° and 30°. Nested against the fence at its spring angle, either one is a plain 45° miter with no bevel.
What is the spring angle?
The angle the crown leans off the wall, cut into the flats on its back — 38/52 or 45/45 on most profiles. Read it off the molding; the wrong one gaps every corner.
How do I tell 38/52 crown from 45/45?
From the back, not the profile. The two flats on the back are cut at 38/52 or 45/45; set a piece against a square and read it, or measure the flats. A 52/38 crown cut with 45/45 settings gaps at every corner.
Can I cut crown without compound settings?
Yes, nested: stand the crown upside down against the fence at its spring angle and cut a plain miter of half the corner angle with no bevel, 45° on a square corner. The compound settings are for saws and crowns too big to nest; the page prints both.