I assume you are running the beam perpendicular into the crown molding? As long as the beam is taller than the crown, we cut a section of the crown out - the same width as the beam, then slide the beam into the gap. To cut the crown, we use an oscillating saw. I'm a fan of DeWalt, but the Rockwell Sonicrafter is less expensive and works for what you are doing. Once you have one, you will find many other uses for it!

At Lowes:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_571000-54602-RK5121K___?productId=50169945&pl=1&Ntt=oscillating+saw

I want to know why you want to put in a phony beam i think they almost always look phony and in most of my design work we try to make the ceiling flat between the places where we remove walls

Story to share with you....we make false beams out of #3 pine - we split them, worm hole them, put them back together with an occasional rusty cut nail and fake mortise and tenon. Stained and glazed, they look pretty convincing. Installed some in three rooms in a house close to our office about 6 years ago. A friend stopped by one day to tell me they bought a house in that neighborhood because they fell in love with the old beams. Asked what address.....yes - they thought our beams were real. True story!

I had posted earlier asking for photos but no luck. Anyway, I know from experience the fake ones aren't cheap. Go the way Batho talks about above. We used salvaged wood beams for our "faux" installation and I love them. And it was kinda fun beating them with chains and such to distress the fresh cuts in the wood. And we have authentic forged nails hammered in there.

This was ours mid-install.

Church conversion · More Info

Not a carpenter, but this idea?

Diablo Mansion: Living Room · More Info