DeWalt Crown Stops

Why I reached for these stops

After too many crown jobs relying on pencil lines on the fence and a couple of taped-on scrap blocks, I finally gave the crown stops a proper trial on my miter saws. I was looking for two things: faster repeatability and fewer mistakes when switching between inside and outside corners. The idea is simple—two mirrored plates mount to either side of the blade and give the crown a positive “register” so it nests at the correct spring angle every time. Simple tools often live or die by execution, and that’s where these shine.

What they are

The crown stops are heavy-gauge metal plates with a long slotted adjustment and a single star knob to lock them down. You get a left and a right, one for each side of the blade. Once installed, each stop creates a ledge for the back edge of the crown to sit against while the other back edge sits on the table, replicating the installed orientation (upside down on the saw). The effect is like adding a repeatable, built-in jig to your saw without sacrificing fence height or blade clearance.

Setup and compatibility

I installed the stops on a 12-inch sliding miter saw and a non-sliding 10-inch saw to see how universal they felt.

• Mounting: On the larger saw, the stops bolted directly into factory holes. The slotted design gave me enough range to dial in the stop position for both 38/52 and 45/45 crown profiles. On an older saw, I didn’t have dedicated mounting points. I ended up using existing accessory holes; on one fence I drilled pilot holes in a replaceable sub-fence to avoid altering the main fence. If your saw lacks accessory holes, plan on either a sub-fence or some creativity.

• Adjustment: The long slot is the right call. I measured the crown’s spring angle, set the stop to hold the molding at that height, snugged the knob, and made a couple of test offcuts. A micro adjustment or two with the knob got me to a perfect “kiss” joint at the corners. After that, it was set-and-forget for the whole job.

• Clearance: The stops didn’t interfere with sliding action or bevel capacity at 0 degrees. If you’re cutting tall baseboard standing up or making compound bevel cuts, you’ll want to loosen and slide them back or remove them entirely. That takes seconds—the single knob makes them quick to pop off.

In use

Once set, the difference is immediate. Instead of babysitting the crown to keep it from slumping on the fence, you push it firmly into the stop and the table, and it just sits there at the correct angle. That reduces the number of hands you need and steadies the piece while you focus on the miter angle and a clean, controlled cut.

A few practical notes from actual cutting:

• Repeatability: Running a room’s worth of inside corners, then switching to outside corners, I didn’t retouch the stops once. Offcuts used at the start matched end-of-day cuts perfectly.

• Speed: If you’re used to eyeballing a penciled line on the fence, this feels like cheating. Once you’ve set the stop to your crown profile, every piece nests instantly in the same place.

• Safety and control: The stops don’t clamp the work. You still need a secure grip or a hold-down clamp, especially on long, flexible runs. I kept a quick clamp at the ready for narrow stock and slick primered moldings.

• Capacity: On very large crowns approaching the saw’s vertical capacity, the stops still handled the placement, but you remain limited by your saw’s fence height and blade diameter. No accessory can create capacity your saw doesn’t have; these just make full use of what’s there.

Build quality

The plates are stout and don’t flex. The finish resists scuffs, and the star knobs are easy to grip with dusty hands. I didn’t manage to bend anything, even after repeatedly snugging them down hard and bumping them with longer stock. If you’re worried about marring delicate primer, a strip of painter’s tape or thin felt on the stop face keeps everything pristine.

Where they help most

• Whole-house or multi-room installs: When you’re cutting a lot of identical miters, repeatability beats improvisation every time.

• Mixed profiles: If you bounce between 38/52 and 45/45 crown on different jobs, the stops make re-setup quick. It’s a minute or two to dial in each profile; I keep index marks on the slots for my most common settings.

• Training and consistency: If you share a saw on a crew, these turn crown from a “touch” operation into a guided setup. Less seasoned users can get reliable results without mastering fence marks or shop-made jigs.

Where they don’t

• Non-standard or back-beveled profiles: These still work, but you’ll spend a bit more time on setup. For highly irregular backs, cutting crown flat with compound settings might be the better route.

• Tight shop workflows with frequent non-crown cuts: If you’re constantly switching to tall base or complex bevels, plan to loosen or remove the stops between tasks. It’s quick, but it’s still an extra step.

• Saws with no accessory provisions: You can make them work with a sub-fence or careful drilling, but that’s more effort than a simple bolt-on.

Tips for getting clean results

• Confirm your spring angle: Measure the crown or check the manufacturer’s spec (38/52 is very common). Set the stop to that angle, not just “what looks right.”

• Make test coupes: Cut two short pieces as inside and outside corners and tape them together on the bench. When they close up cleanly, your stop position is correct.

• Label orientation: Mark “ceiling” and “wall” on your workpieces and keep the crown upside down on the saw. It saves the classic upside-down cut mistake.

• Use a fine-tooth blade: A 60–80 tooth blade for a 12-inch saw makes a big difference in tearout on painted and stain-grade crown.

• Add a slick face: A bit of low-friction tape on the stop helps long pieces slide in without catching, especially with heavy primer.

Value and alternatives

You can build a plywood crown jig with a registration ledge, and I’ve done it. Those work, but they take up space, can interfere with slide travel, and aren’t as quick to install or remove. The crown stops give you that positive location without turning your saw into a science project. For a modest accessory, the time you save during a full room or a long run is real—fewer miscuts, faster setups, and cleaner corners.

The bottom line

The crown stops do one job and do it well: they put your crown in the exact same position every single cut. The heavy-gauge build, long adjustment slot, and single-knob lock make setup straightforward and reliable. They won’t expand your saw’s cutting capacity, and they won’t replace a clamp, but they remove the most error-prone part of nesting crown—holding the spring angle consistently.

Recommendation: I recommend these to anyone cutting crown regularly, whether you’re a DIYer tackling several rooms or a pro who wants predictable, repeatable setups on site. They’re durable, quick to adjust, and they turn a finicky operation into a repeatable one. If your saw has no mounting provisions or you switch tasks every few minutes, the extra step of installing and removing them may feel like friction. For everyone else, they’re a simple, effective way to get better miters with less fiddling.