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Pro tip: I saw a cabinetmaker in Asheville use a simple trick for perfect scribe lines
I was at the Biltmore Estate last month and got a behind the scenes tour of some restoration work. The lead carpenter there used a compass with a pencil to transfer the exact wall contour onto a cabinet side panel before cutting. He said it beats trying to measure and guess the angles. Has anyone else used this method on a tricky, uneven wall?
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charlie_stone721d agoMost Upvoted
Always thought you needed a fancy contour gauge for that kind of work. Watching that guy at Biltmore just use a basic compass was a total lightbulb moment for me. It's so simple and smart, and it clearly works on historic stuff with all its quirks. Logan's washer idea sounds like the same kind of clever, low-cost fix. I'm definitely trying both methods on my next project with an old, wavy wall.
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logansullivan1d ago
Ever try the old trick of using a washer instead of a compass? Lets you set a consistent offset from the wall, so the pencil just rides along the high and low spots. Works great for baseboard too on those wavy plaster walls. I keep a few different sized washers in my pencil pouch just for that.
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