Basic Scribing Techniques

A finish carpenter shares his secrets for fitting trim to

uneven, unlevel or unplumb surfaces

he first thing I learned as a finish carpenter

was that square corners, plumb walls and level
floors and ceilings don't exist on this planet. And
because that's just the way it is, it was up to me to
learn how to work with these unfortunate divergencies from the way it ought to be. As the finish
man, my job was to fit the pretty stuff to the structures that framers and rockers left behind, no
matter how crooked they were.
In my quest for perfect fits, I learned how to
use bevel squares and base hooks, among other
tools, and became proficient in the use of a
slightly customized pencil compass. I learned
from legendary boat builder Bud Macintosh
how to use something called a spiling batten to
solve certain awkward scribing problems, such
as fitting the last ceiling board. I even paid homage to the linoleum trade and learned the ingeniously simple "Joe Frogger" method of creating
a template that can produce dead-accurate fits
every time.
Using the bevel squareA bevel square is a
layout tool with a wood, metal or plastic body
having an adjustable metal blade attached to
one end. The square is used mostly for determining the angle at which a piece of trim needs
to be cut to fit tightly against a surface.
My first bevel square came from my grandfather. It's a nice rosewood-bodied job with a 6-in.
long blade. It's pretty and has sentimental value,
but like many contemporary bevel squares, it's
not the best tool for taking angles. This is because
its locking lever, which is located at the pivot
point of the tool, often sticks beyond the edge of
the body and gets in the way. Also, the body is
quite thick, which holds the blade away from the
stock. This can throw off the angle measurement.
What's more, the body is relatively short, which
can also produce inaccurate readings.
I like my all-metal Japanese bevel square better
(bottom left photo, facing page). It's much thinner than a conventional bevel square; the lock is
a knurled knob that's out of the way; and it can
be held and locked with one hand.
Although the use of a bevel square may seem
straightforward, it's not. Always extend the blade
fully before pressing the outside edge of the body
against a surface to measure an angle (such as
when measuring an inside corner where two
walls meet). Any protrusion of the blade beyond
the outside edge of the body will hold the body
away from the surface it's resting against, throwing off the angle reading.

by Jim Tolpin
Also, don't assume that you can simply press
the square against converging surfaces to get an
accurate reading. Say, for instance, that you want
to fit a baseboard to a door casing (top photo,
facing page). To measure the angle of the end
cut, set the baseboard where you want it on the
floor, then place the body of your bevel square
on top of the baseboard to measure the angle of
the casing. If you simply lay the body of the
square on the floor, any bumps or dips in the
floor next to the joint will fool the square into
measuring a false angle. An alternative is to set a
level or a straightedge on the floor and to measure the angle off of that.
Once you measure an angle, be careful not to
jar the bevel before you scribe the workpiece.
Fortunately, there's an easy way to ensure against
the loss of an angle setting on a bevel: Record it
with the help of a boat-builder's bevel board.

The base hookAnother homemade tool,

called a base hook, eliminates the need for a
bevel square in some applications. Similar in
concept to a siding gauge (see the cover of FHB
#47), it's simply an L-shaped piece of a stable,
split-resistant wood used primarily for laying out
the end cut of baseboard where it butts against
standing moldings such as door casings (bottom
right photo, facing page). To use the hook, lap it
over the baseboard and hold it hard against the
standing molding while scribing a cutline across
the baseboard. Be sure the faces of your base
hook are perfectly square to the edges, or you'll
introduce a margin of error.

Saving anglesBoat builders, who confront

compound angles on nearly every piece they fit,
have developed a simple, shop-made accessory
that makes it easy to measure and record a series of angles for future reference at the saw
table. Called a bevel board, it's a board with a
bunch of lines drawn across it at angles ranging
from 0 to 45 (bottom left photo, facing page).
The bevel board allows you to measure an angle with your bevel square and then read the degrees of the angle directly from the board. If the
angle scale on your bandsaw, table saw or chopsaw is calibrated to the bevel board, you need
only to set the saw to the appropriate degree
mark and cut away. If more than one angle is being taken at once, the angles are simply recorded
on a scrap of wood or paper that represents a
story board of the piece or pieces to be cut.
The bevel board should be made of a stable
wood, such as mahogany or teak, that has an interlocking, split-resistant grain. You can also use a
scrap of -in. plywood. Using a protractor, scribe
the lines to the board with an awl and then fill
them in with an indelible ink. Keep the board
thin so that it will be lightweight ( -in. thick is
sufficient); leave room at both ends of the board
for indexing the body of the bevel against it; and
radius or chamfer the top edge of the board so
that you can orient it at a glance. An alternative
board, sans the romance (and not quite as easy
to read), is made by scratching the lines deeply
into a piece of Lexan plastic.
In lieu of a bevel board, you can scribe and label each angle on a wood block right after you

Scribing to irregular surfacesShortly after I

became a finish carpenter, I bought a $5 pencil
compass like the kind my kids tote in their school
bags. It has two adjustable arms, with a metal
feeler point at the end of one arm and a pencil at
the end of the other (bottom photo, p. 62). For
improved accuracy, I heated and bent out the
feeler point of my compass slightly so that the
point, rather than a portion of its side, contacts
the meeting surface. (The meeting surface is
whatever is being scribed to; I'll call the piece to
be cut the workpiece.)
Although I haven't tried it yet, I recently learned
a tip from Gary Katz, a contractor in Encino,
California. To ensure that he can always scribe a
fine line, Katz fits his compass with a Cross #3503
mechanical pencil (A. T. Cross Co./ATX Marketing, One Albion Road, Lincoln, R. I. 02865; 401333-1200). This pencil is expensive ($15.50), but it
scribes a very fine line, is well made and has a
wonderful warranty. No matter how you damage
it and regardless of its age, you can return it to
Cross, and they'll send you a new one.
When scribing a line with a compass, you are
actually transferring the pattern of the meeting
surface onto the workpiece. It is very important,
as you scribe the line, that the feeler point on
one side of the compass not get ahead of or lag
behind the pencil point on the other side.
Throughout the scribing process, these two
points must align parallel to the direction the
workpiece will move to contact the meeting
surface. If they don't, the result will be an inaccurate pattern and, ultimately, a sloppy fit. (top

measure it, then reset your bevel square from the

block to mark your trim. If you need to quantify
an angle in degrees, measure it on the block with
a Speed Square.

Fitting baseboard. Author Jim Tolpin uses

either a bevel square (photo above) or a homemade base hook (photo below right) to lay out
baseboards for a tight fit against door casings.
Bumpy floors can fool a bevel square, so Tolpin always measures the bevel off of a straightedge or a piece of the baseboard Itself. The
base hook is used by holding it hard against
the casing (or plinth block in this case) while
scribing a cutline directly on the baseboard.
Boat builder's bevel board. Etched with 46
labeled lines spaced 1 apart, the homemade
bevel board (photo below) makes it easy to
read an angle off a bevel square, then adjust a
saw to that angle.

Scribing with a compass

drawing, left). Chinkless-Iog-home builders, who

routinely scribe logs to fit together tightly, have

Right

When scribing a line with a compass, an accurate pattern results from keeping the feeler

point and the pencil point aligned in the proper direction throughout the process. These
points should always align parallel to the direction the workpiece will move to contact the

meeting surface.

Wrong

Scribing a panel

developed a homemade compass with an adjust- able bubble level on it that makes it easy to
keep the compass oriented properly while scribing. For more information about this compass,
see FHB #53, pp. 80-84.
It's amazing what the pencil compass allows
you to do. For instance, it really comes into its
own for fitting a wall panel or a vertical siding
board to a bumpy surface, such as a fireplace
(bottom drawing). The procedure is straightforward. First, plumb the panel or board and tack it
to the wall about in. away from the closest spot
on the meeting surface. Then set the compass to
distance "X" between the edge of the panel and
the bottom of the deepest valley on the meeting
surface, plus in. so that the scribed line won't
fall off the edge of the workpiece. Hold the compass level along the entire vertical run and trace
the meeting surface with the feeling point so that
the pencil transfers the profile to the workpiece.
(If the workpiece is dark, a strip of wide painter's
masking tape applied to the panel will make the
line more legible.) Finally, remove the workpiece
from the wall, back-cut it (bevel it back) a few
degrees along the scribed line, then test fit it
against the meeting surface. If the fit is good in
some areas and way off in others, you probably
let the compass wander from level during scribing. If this happens, try again. If necessary, final
fitting is achieved through hand planing, sanding, rasping and filing (more on that later).
Sometimes the closing (last) board or panel on
a wall must be scribed. This is tougher to do because the board has to fit into an existing gap.
For one solution to this problem, see Tom Law's
method on the facing page.
Another common scribing problem is fitting
stair treads between a pair of skirtboards (or similarly, closet shelves between two walls). This is
accomplished by cutting the tread in. longer
than its final length; dropping it into place with
one end riding high on a skirtboard; scribing and
cutting the low end; marking the final length of
the tread by measuring off the scribed end; dropping the tread back into place with its scribed
end riding high; and then scribing and cutting
the low end to the measurement mark (for an illustration of this trick, see FHB #68, p. 61).
Some fitting jobs are accomplished using a
pencil compass in concert with a bevel square
and a combination square. Laying out a window
stool is a good example (photos p. 62). In this
case, use a combination square to locate the outside corners of the window opening (where the
wall meets the side jambs); a bevel square to lay
out the angles of the side jambs relative to the
front edge of the stool; and a compass to scribe
the stool horns to the wall. For added convenience, a couple of sticks tacked to the sill (perpendicular to the window) will support the stool
while you lay it out.

To scribe a wall panel to an uneven surface, plumb the panel and tack it up about

in.

away from the closest spot on the meeting surface. Then scribe the panel with the
compass points set to distance "X" (the distance between the edge of the panel and the
bottom of the deepest valley on the meeting surface plus in.). Back-cutting the panel
will ensure a snug fit.

Scribing with a spiling battenSometimes

it's awkward to hold a workpiece in position for
scribing. A perfect example is scribing the closing board of a wood-strip ceiling. Not only do
you have to hold up the board while scribing it,

Scribing the closing board

by Tom Law

The installation of wainscoting

and the installation of vertical
siding both have the same
problemfitting the closing (or
last) board. I approach this

problem by nailing up all but the

last few boards. Then I tack up the

rest of the boards except for the
last one. I mark and cut this
closing board, remove the tacked

ones, then spring the whole group

into place at once and nail them to
the wall.
How I fit the closing board
depends on the nature of the
surface it meets. If the meeting
surface is straight and plumb, I

simply measure the gap and rip

the board to width. If the meeting

surface is straight but not plumb, I

measure across the top and bottom

of the gap, transfer the

measurements to the board,
connect the marks with a straight
line and rip the board with a
circular saw.
If the meeting surface is
irregular, the board needs to be

scribed as shown in the drawings

below. In this case, after I've
tacked up the next-to-last board, I
mark the top and bottom of its
leading edge on the underlying

wall (points A and B). Then I

remove all of the tacked-up

boards, hold the closing board
hard against the meeting surface
and mark the top and bottom of

its trailing edge on the wall

(points C and D).

Setting the closing board aside,

I now adjust my compass to span
either the top or the bottom two

marks, whichever are the farthest

apart (points A and C in the
example). I then use the compass

to make a new mark (point E) at

the opposite end so that the top
and bottom pairs of marks are the

same distance apart (if they

weren't to begin with). Finally, I
replace the closing board so that
its trailing edge falls on the
appropriate marks (C and E), then
use the compass, with its setting

unchanged, to scribe the board to

the meeting surface.
I almost always make the cut

with a handsaw, cleaning up to the

line with a block plane if

necessary. A handsaw cuts on the

downstroke, ensuring that any
tearout will occur on the backside
of the board where it won't show. I
undercut the board slightly so that

when it's sprung into place it

makes a nice, neat joint.

When installing wall paneling

instead of boards, only the
second-to-last panel is tacked

up and removed to fit the last

piece. Otherwise, the scribing
and cutting procedure is the same.

Tom Law is a consulting

editor of Fine Homebuilding and
lives in Westminster, Md.

Here's a four-step method for fitting the last vertical board

on a wall to a bumpy surface.

Step 1:
Install a/I but the last board on the wall, tacking up the last few

boards for easy removal. Mark the leading edge of the second-tolast board on the wall (points A & B),

Step 3:
Adjust a pencil compass to span either the top or the bottom two
marks, whichever are the farthest apart (points A and C this time).
Use the compass at this setting to mark point E on the wall.

Drawings: Christopher Clapp

Step 2:

Remove the tacked-up boards, hold the closing board hard against
the meeting surface and mark the top and the bottom of the board
along its trailing edge (points C & D).

Step 4:
Align the trailing edge of the closing board with points C & E, then
scribe the board off of the meeting surface with the compass
setting unchanged. Once the board is cut to fit, spring it and the
remaining boards in place and nail them to the wall.

Fitting the last ceiling board (Looking up at the ceiling)

Fitting a window stool. The author

uses a combination square to mark the

outside corner of the window opening
on the stool (top photo above). Then he
uses a bevel square to measure the angle
between the window jamb and the front

The best way to fit the closing board

batten, remove it and clamp it to the

on the stool through the corner point

use a spiling batten. Cut the batten

ceiling board off the batten with the

edge of the stool. This angle is scribed

(last board) of a wood-strip ceiling is to

(middle photo above). Finally, he sets his

pencil compass to span the distance between the corner of the opening and the

(typically a -in. thick strip of softwood)

about 1 in. shorter and in. narrower
than the ceiling gap, then tack it into the

the stool's horn to the wall (bottom photo above).

board and centered end to end. Scribe

corner mark on the stool, then scribes

ceiling-board stock. Now scribe the

compass setting unchanged. Before

scribing the batten, it's a good idea to

gap tight against the next-to-last ceiling

draw an insurance circle on it with the

compass so that you can double-check

the leading edge and both ends of the

before scribing the ceiling board.

the compass setting against the circle

but the oversize board tilts into the opening. This

board, spaced -in. shy of the wall at either end

it easy to plane the board to fit if necessary.

Boat builders confront this exact situation

when planking a wooden hull, and they've come

maximum gap between the batten and the wall,

plus in. to make sure that the scribed line

batten. The spiling batten is simply a thin strip of

scribing the batten, I draw a circle on the batten

Fitting floors to postsThe bottom right photo

on the facing page shows a wide floorboard that
fits tightly around a post. If the post had been
square and its faces flat, I would have laid out
the floorboard using a combination square. But,
of course, the post isn't perfect, and the combination square stayed in the toolbox.
Instead, I called on the Joe Frogger method,
as it's known in the linoleum trade, to make a
template that works like a spiling batten. You'll
need a pencil, a utility knife, a piece of heavy felt
paper or noncorrugated cardboard for the template and a small block of wood measuring
about 1 in. square by about in. thick (the
block is the frog).

tilt can throw off the scribed line.

up with a nifty device to cope with it: the spiling

wood ( -in. thick softwood is standard) that's

tacked into the opening that the last plank (or

(drawing above). I then set my compass to the

doesn't veer off the edge of the batten. Before

with the compass to serve as a reference if the

compass is bumped inadvertently. Once the bat-

shutter) will have to fill. The batten is scribed (or

ten is scribed, I remove it and clamp it to the clos-

ing surfaces along its leading edges and ends,

then removed and clamped to the workpiece.
The scribe is then reproduced in reverse, from

edge that meets the second-to-last ceiling board)

flush with the trailing edge of the board. The
board is then scribed off the batten with the compass setting unchanged (double-checked against

spiled, as boat builders would say) to the meet-

the batten back to the work.

For ceilings, I cut the batten about 1-in. shorter

and

-in. narrower than the ceiling gap, then

tack it up snug against the next-to-last ceiling

ing board, positioned with its trailing edge (the

the insurance circle on the batten).

I back-cut the ceiling board about 5 to allow
the board to swing into place. And this cut makes

Photos this page: Jim Tolpin

Joe Frogger. A trick of the linoleum trade called Joe Frogger makes it easy to fit a floorboard to
a post. First, Tolpin cuts a cardboard template to fit around the post and tapes it to the subfloor,

tight against the previously installed floorboard. Next, he holds a small block of wood (the frog)
against the post in several spots while marking the frog's outside edge on the template (photo
above). After removing the template, he tapes it over the next floorboard and uses the frog to transfer each mark from the template to the board (photo above right). The marks are joined using a

straightedge and a pencil. The reward is a perfect fit (photo right).

The procedure is simple (photos this page).

First, use the utility knife to cut an opening in the

template that matches the profile of the post,
adding about

in. clearance all around. Slip the

template around the post, tight against the last

installed floor board, and attach it to the subfloor

with double-stick tape. Then hold the frog against

the post at stations spaced a couple of inches

apart while you mark along the outside edge of

the frog on the template with a sharp pencil.

Rabbets at opposite ends of the frog make it easy
to orient the frog in the same way at each station

(scribing is always done off a rabbetted edge).

Next, remove the marked template from the

subfloor and tape it to the floorboard to be fit,

flush with the board's end and trailing edge.
Then index a rabbetted end of the frog against

each mark on the template while you mark the

opposite end on the floorboard. Finally, join the

marks using a pencil and a straightedge, then

back-cut slightly along the cutlines. If you're care-

reach into dips. Fine-tuning is accomplished with

flat and round files.

I've worked with a guy who insists that a belt

sander is faster and more controllable than a jig-

ful, you'll be rewarded with a perfect fit.

saw for wasting stock to a wiggly line. Another

Cutting itOnce a workpiece is laid out, there

are a number of ways to cut it. Unless the cutlines are relatively straight, allowing the use of a
circular saw, I always use a Bosch 1581VS jigsaw
to cut just to the line. The saw blows dust off the
cutline, its reciprocating blade cuts fast, and its
tilting base allows back-cutting. Besides making it
easy to trim stock for a tight fit, back-cutting allows the workpiece to be squeezed into place.
I use a block plane and rasps to remove stock
up to the cutline, skewing the block plane to

with a small bandsaw, which he outfits with a

pair of wheels to make it maneuverable on the

guy uses an angle grinder. Still another scribes

job site (see Tools & Materials, p. 94).

Jim Tolpin is a finish carpenter, cabinetmaker and

writer in Port Townsend, Wash. His book, Working

at Woodworking, is available from The Taunton,

Press, Inc.; (800) 888-8286. His forthcoming man-

ual on finish carpentry will by published by Crafts-

man Book Company. Photos by Patrick Cudahy

except where noted.