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Best way to draw a scribe?

17K views 25 replies 16 participants last post by  vans 
#1 ·
I've got over 32 feet of trim to scribe into a 1950's fire place--:mad:

I've always used a compass to draw the scribe--Damn that isn't as accurate
as it could be.

Any suggestions /methods that you guys use?

I want to cut the scribes in my shop --I know that's optimistic but this house is neat as a pin/garage is too. Ten inches of snow tonight-and I have a nasty cold.:laughing:

I'll be cutting the scribes with an angle grinder--I watched Basswood do it.:laughing:

Went shopping at "BASSWOODS TOYS FOR TRIM GUYS".com :whistling



It's still a secret site.


Seriously--Any suggestions?----------MIKE---------
 
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#5 ·
I used the accuscribe ,a cheap compass, or even just a pencil. Been doing it for many years and can get it tight. When I started out years ago, this guy I worked for wouldn't let it pass if he could slip a piece of paper between the scribed piece and the adjoining surface. I've used belt sanders, usually holding perpendicular to the piece, but have also used a angle grinder with different types of sanding discs. Make sure you back-bevel it so that the front is what is tight.
 
#7 · (Edited)
coped about 18' of this casing to brick onsite in no time with bosch jigsaw with ply insert in foot. far as the actual scribing, the problem with scribing, in order to get a good transfer to your stock while indexing said stock to surface to be scribed to, you are essentially holding the scribe at a very steep angle and sometimes cant get into certain "nooks and crannies", simple fix to this which has never failed me is to take your little $2 scribe and bend the pin out a little
 
#9 ·
shouldn't matter if your scribing to an elephants nutsack, if you cope at a bevel releiving the backside, you'll get a nice crisp fit, if there is no "backside", than cope, rescribe, finetune:thumbsup:
 
#11 ·
I use a compass scribe but not a cheapo one. I have a empire I think I bought at hd that sucks. No way to lock it down. Now I use one that locks. Bought it a harbor freight but it is the same made in china one sold at sears. lol I have used the fastcap accuscribe not big on the articulating arm. I like the version that doesn't articulate. It all depends on what you are scribing.

Last job I was on I did probably over 1000 LF of scribe cuts. all done with a table saw free hand then tuned it up with a belt sander. Didn't have gaps over a 1/32 shim. Sure could of did better but I had to get 10 entry doors cased a day.
 
#12 ·
I also use the Accuscribe for scribing relatively flat work, for rough stone a normal compass with the bent needle gets in the nooks and crannies better. It takes some practice to be able to keep it perpendicular to the surface. For doing the work at the shop, I would scribe and fit 1/8" masonite strips to the stone as a template and then duplicate it at the shop.

Also, if you have much stock to remove, do a rough pass with a jig saw, then just use the grinder for the tune up.

BTW, I saw a tip in FHB where they made their own coping foot by cutting a golf ball in half and attaching that to the jigsaw base.

All the best,

Bass
 
#14 ·
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I will have to take a look at the Accuscribe.

Thanks Bass for reminding me of that golf ball idea---I'll ask the dog where he has them hidden.

I've done a fair bit of scribing over the years--I just hoped that someone had discovered a secret marking method!


Thanks again--Mike--
 
#16 ·
Going off what Bone Saw was saying, even when using scribes or a compass, you arent always able to get into every little detail. Going off stone for example, not only is stone changing in the x direction, but also in the y direction, so if you run your scribes down it you dont get what you are looking for.

You can either cut it very shy, then go back and fine tune it a few times to get it right, or bend the scribe like he said, thats a good idea.

In doing cabinets, generally, you are scribing up to a sheetrock wall, or trim piece, which is fairly simple with a set of scribes, going up to stone is a different story.

This floor I scribed in, I had to scribe it, cut it shy, then scribe it again, a few times in order to get it to sit the way it should be, not the most productive way of doing it, but it worked.

Floor Wood Hardwood Flooring Plywood


Floor Wood Hardwood Wood flooring Laminate flooring


Floor Flooring Hardwood Wood flooring Wood


Dont ask why there wasnt another 3" piece mitered into the horizontal piece against the stone, returning to the wall, thats the way I wanted to do it, but the GC wanted it this way...doesnt look right to me, but its there
 
#26 ·
Great Post with great Answers, love the grinder idea,
doing a project now with a lot of fieldstone, planning ahead, we made spacers out of wood or rigid foam to create pocket for siding/drywall/trim to slip in behind mortar, the thought of scribing a couple hundred yards of fieldstone made this an easy decision.
 
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