Scribing Panels and Countertops

"When there’s no room for error, these two techniques will give you a tight fit every time"

1 MIN READ
A piece of wood the width of the scribe on the adjacent wall jogs the divider pencil so the countertop will match the uneven walls on an inside corner countertop.

Photo: David Sharpe

A piece of wood the width of the scribe on the adjacent wall jogs the divider pencil so the countertop will match the uneven walls on an inside corner countertop.

The first time I watched a carpenter scribe a countertop to the inside corner of an irregular plaster wall, I was impressed. With practice, I eventually got pretty good at scribing. But the more things I built, the more jobs I encountered where standard scribing techniques didn’t work — situations like inside treads on winding stairways and countertops in three-sided alcoves with no backsplash (as with built-in desks). In cases like these, many carpenters make either a wooden frame or a plywood template in the exact size and shape of the finished piece. I’m not a big fan of these methods, both of which are time-consuming. A wooden frame is flimsy,

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About the Author

David Frane

David Frane is a former foreman with Thoughtforms Corp., a construction company based in West Acton, Mass., and former editor of Tools of the Trade.

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