Shave a Hair Off a Cut
Registering a workpiece against a stopped miter saw blade so the cut removes a few thousandths instead of a full kerf — the way to close a joint that's barely long.
Caulk Is for Corners, Filler Is for Flat Seams
Technique: Caulk vs. Filler
The Problem
Caulk is the universal answer on too many jobs — including seams in the face of trim work, where it's the wrong material. Caulk stays flexible and shrinks as it cures; in a flat butt seam or scarf joint it dips, collects paint differently than the wood, and reappears as a visible line within a season.
The Main Rule
Change of plane → caulk. Same plane → filler.
- Where two surfaces meet at an angle — baseboard to wall, casing to drywall, crown to ceiling — the joint moves seasonally and needs flexibility. That's caulk's job.
- Where two pieces meet in the same flat plane — butt seams in a long baseboard run, scarf joints, miter faces — the joint needs a rigid, sandable fill that disappears under paint. That's a two-part wood filler (the Bondo-style catalyzed fillers; several brands make one). Fill the seam, let it kick, sand it flush, and the joint is gone for good.
Pro tip: Two-part filler cures by chemical reaction, not evaporation — which is exactly why it doesn't shrink back into the seam the way caulk and one-part spackle do. The mixing step is the price of a joint that stays invisible.
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