Abmition vs. Skill, Scribing to stone on the diagonal (w/pics)

[Owen Lawrence]

Well (almost) done! Someday someone else who works with wood is going to look at it and say, "Wow, this guy was a real maniac!" I've seen lots of jobs done by pros where they just gloss over details like that. Their work looks okay, even good, and they're done in 1/10th the time it would take me. But I'm not getting paid by the hour, so I end up doing all the fiddly bits, too. The result looks just that tiny little bit better so you'll always know you couldn't have bought what you got.

- Owen -

[Lew Hodgett]

Want to build a boat?

What you are trying to do is an every day challenge for the boat builder.

Rather than use cardboard, consider making a template from 1/4" hardboard complete with registration marks to get the correct angle for the flooring.

Use a disc as well as a spindle sander to get correct profile.

Once finished, use template and a router to trim floor ends to size.

Final fit may still require sanding and a some files.

I hope you have a good back brace as well as a good set of knee pads.

You're going to need them.

Have fun.

Lew

[David F. Eisan]

Hello everyone,

I have been working on the flooring at my house for the last few weeks and I have come upon a very challenging section. I have a stone fire place that needs to be floored up to. The flooring needs to be scribed to the stone, a task in itself, but add to that that the flooring is being laid on the diagonal.

At first I tried scribing with a compass, that didn't work. Then I tried an expensive stainless steel fine wire profile gauge, didn't work well. What worked the best was an inexpensive Samona plastic profile gauge. This was because of it's "low" profile that allowed me to take a profile at the correct position/height easily.

with the profile gauge, I found it was best to transfer the profile from the profile gauge to a piece of cardboard and test fit the cardboard template. Trimming cardboard with a pair of scissors is much easier than running to the bandsaw in the garage with a piece of flooring. And, cardboard is cheaper than flooring...

I was happy with the fit of the cardboard template I transferred the profile to the flooring. The flooring I am using has 10 coats of finish on it, and I cannot see a pencil line on it for the life of me. What I ended up doing was colouring in the end of the board with an old school grease pencil/marker, and then when I transferred the profile, the normal pencil removed the grease pencil marking my line. The grease pencil wipes off with a paper towel.

cut the profile on my little 14" bandsaw using a 1/4" blade. I have been meaning to get a magnetic lamp for my bandsaw, but a Makita flashlight does a great job.

it will fit?

Enough for me!

has been one of the hardest things I have done in a while. Twenty One boards scribed, three more to go....

for looking,

David.

Every Neighbourhood has one, in Mine I'm Him

[bridgerfafc]

[charlieb]

You might have titled this fearless or foolish. As usual, you start with "difficult" and then move right to "really challenging". My vote is for FEARLESS. Did you realize the fun and games you'd be facing because you went diagonal?

Thanks for documenting a solution to a "challenge" I hope I never have to face.

charlie b

[Leon]

Looks good David, besides the contour gauge you can also use a round disk with a pencil point sized hole in the center. Lay the piece of wood as close as possible, lay the disk on top with a pencil in the center and roll the disk against the surface that you want to trace. The pencil will scribe the contour.

[Greg G]

Good idea, but you'd better take a second look at the profile he cut on a coupe of those planks. And they call me anal...

Greg G.

[Leon]

Yeah, like anything, there are limitations and especially where the piece needs to rap around a corner. It works well when going basically in the same direction.