My brother, a master craftsman on my custom-home building crew, started out as a boat builder. He learned a scribing technique that involves something called a “joggle stick.” It looks similar to an old-school handsaw blade—though when you lay eyes on one for the first time, you might think it’s something Sasquatch would use as a back scratcher. You it use to plot a series of points on the material you’re scribing. It’s the perfect tool for fitting complicated shapes and round curves, like counter­tops into the hull of a boat. It’s not that practical, however, for scribing the kick or side panel on a base cabinet in a house. For that, we employ a number of strategies, depending on whether we’re retrofitting cabinets in an existing house with a finished floor or building in new construction before the floors go in.

Carpenter Tim Donbeck starts by marking a plumb line on the wall where he’ll have a cabinet face frame or, in this case, an end panel.
Carpenter Tim Donbeck starts by marking a plumb line on the wall where he’ll have a cabinet face frame or, in this case, an end panel.
Next, he sets a laser level at final countertop height, accounting for appliances like dishwashers or stoves.
Next, he sets a laser level at final countertop height, accounting for appliances like dishwashers or stoves.
He checks the floor for high and low spots, as well as humps or dips along the cabinet run.
He checks the floor for high and low spots, as well as humps or dips along the cabinet run.
He also checks for the same issues along the front plane of the cabinet run to get a sense of how much he’ll need to shim and what will happen to the toekick height once it’s scribed to the floor.
He also checks for the same issues along the front plane of the cabinet run to get a sense of how much he’ll need to shim and what will happen to the toekick height once it’s scribed to the floor.

This particular job was part of a large renovation we’ve been working on for months in an immaculately maintained historic Victorian in upstate New York. The cabinets were in good shape but weren’t installed well (the maple countertop was 1/2 inch out of level in 8 feet).

Donbeck sets the cabinet temporarily, checking front and back for level and looking for bows in the floor.
Donbeck sets the cabinet temporarily, checking front and back for level and looking for bows in the floor.

The owner wanted us to relocate a single large base cabinet in what will become a utility room, making this is a good place to illustrate some of our basic scribing techniques. Some may think them a little crude—but I can assure you that they are both efficient and effective for a skilled craftsman; doing good work doesn’t have to be elaborate or sexy. Most of the time, only a small block of wood (the fat part of a shim works well) and either a circular saw or a belt sander are all that we need. I’m sure some hipster “maker” could produce a titanium alternative, but it’s not needed. For long, straight tapers on end panels or face-frame stiles where the finished edge won’t be seen (wainscot will cover it on this job), we use a circular saw.

When the base will sit on a finished floor, especially if the floor is in an older home, we’ve found that a belt sander can’t be beat for wasting away material on the cabinet bottom. We like that it provides a good amount of control and can follow even slight variations (like subtle waves) in the floor. The sander also removes a significant amount of material quickly, so it’s fast. The circular saw and belt sander were the perfect tools for this job; we could maintain high quality and accuracy but still work quickly without a lot of fuss.

Most of the time, we install custom-built cabinets in new custom homes in which our framers leave us level and plumb planes to work from and to. Scribing is fairly minimal on those jobs (we pay our framers well). When setting cabinets before the flooring will go in, we simply shim level and plumb, and then spend the most time carefully scribing where a finished edge will be visible.

Then he shims everything in place until it’s level across the floor and plumb down the face.
Then he shims everything in place until it’s level across the floor and plumb down the face.
Next, he scribes to fit the contour of the floor and the wall, using a pencil and a scrap of wood that matches in thickness the widest gap he shimmed (he didn’t have dividers on hand for this job).
Next, he scribes to fit the contour of the floor and the wall, using a pencil and a scrap of wood that matches in thickness the widest gap he shimmed (he didn’t have dividers on hand for this job).
He does the same thing along the end panel’s stile and rails as well. He likes to put tape on the surface of darker woods to better see his mark and also to help prevent tear-out.
He does the same thing along the end panel’s stile and rails as well. He likes to put tape on the surface of darker woods to better see his mark and also to help prevent tear-out.
Once everything is marked, Donbeck removes material from the base, using a belt sander. Here, to ensure a crisp line at the floor and wall, he maneuvers the sander so he bevels slightly away from the front plane.
Once everything is marked, Donbeck removes material from the base, using a belt sander. Here, to ensure a crisp line at the floor and wall, he maneuvers the sander so he bevels slightly away from the front plane.
On finished panels like this bottom rail, he cuts the tape and the scribe line to prevent tear-out.
On finished panels like this bottom rail, he cuts the tape and the scribe line to prevent tear-out.

Scribing face frames and end panels. To mark the scribe line, we like to use a set of dividers because they scratch the surface with a distinct line, making for an accurate scribe. General Tools (generaltools.com) and Starrett (starrett.com) make good ones. We don’t often use a traditional compass and pencil if we need a very fine, precise scribe line.

For longer straight runs where the line won’t be shown (this one will be covered by wainscot), he uses a circular saw outfitted with a finish blade. When this line will be visible, he uses a power plane. On high-end cabinets, he almost exclusively uses hand tools, and even scrapers. Reading the grain of the wood is important. When grain changes direction along the length of one board, as it can in many hardwoods, power planers and even hand planes can blow out the grain in an instant, so a scraper is often necessary. The process is more time consuming, but the result is what’s most important. The author typically knows the level of cabinet when he bids the job, so he’s sure to account for the extra time these types of details will take.
For longer straight runs where the line won’t be shown (this one will be covered by wainscot), he uses a circular saw outfitted with a finish blade. When this line will be visible, he uses a power plane. On high-end cabinets, he almost exclusively uses hand tools, and even scrapers. Reading the grain of the wood is important. When grain changes direction along the length of one board, as it can in many hardwoods, power planers and even hand planes can blow out the grain in an instant, so a scraper is often necessary. The process is more time consuming, but the result is what’s most important. The author typically knows the level of cabinet when he bids the job, so he’s sure to account for the extra time these types of details will take.

We also do a fair amount of renovation and remodels on homes built in the late 1800s and early 1900s—a prevalent house type in our area. The new kitchens that we install in these older homes are often substantial in scope and call for custom-built cabinets. On those jobs, I check the floors and walls for level and plumb before I start building the cabinets (or order them, if they are coming from elsewhere), so that I can add enough “scribe” material to the toekick height and the panel and face-frame stiles. I don’t get carried away here—I just give myself a fair amount of extra material (usually about 1/2 inch, sometimes 3/4 inch) to ensure, for instance, that the kick isn’t too small once we level the base cabinets. I do the same on face-frame and panel stiles so that the smallest amount left will match the width of the matching stile.