I found this great tip on Facebook while perusing other woodworking venues.

Here is a neat little trick to scoring a counter top to the wall. Using a washer, to smoothly ride along the imperfections of the wall.

The photo says it all. This tip could be used for many things, not only counter tops.

 

And to change the offset use a different size washer. Can also be used to make pattern when using pattern router bit with the washer equaling the offset from the bit.

Edited September 13, 20196 yr by Gerald

Excellent additional info @Gerald, thank you!

Well, just don't let yourself get goofed up in the corners.

Thanks!

Didn't Derek use that trick when he built his Harlequin table?

I could have used this tip last week when I made a window casing.  I couldn't get my compass close enough to the glass and wall to scribe the line.  After determining I needed 3/16" I just used a small piece of scrap.

I like it. 

I can tell who's from the Midwest by the terms scribe versus score. 

4 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said:

I can tell who's from the Midwest by the terms scribe versus score. 

Actually, the "score" terminology came from the original tipster, I would have used "scribe", in my mind score is to break surface, to scribe is to use a marking pen or pencil. Here we go again, tenon or tendon?

John,

When I was in Detroit for my apprenticeship they kept saying Hi-Low. Us guys from Wisconsin sat wondering what the heck is a Hi-Low? I had to ask, Duh it's a fork truck! 

8 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said:

Duh it's a fork truck!

What the heck is a fork truck!

10 hours ago, John Morris said:

What the heck is a fork truck!

I'm not sure what you guys on the left coast call them. 

Towmotor, Clark, etc..

11 hours ago, John Morris said:

Actually, the "score" terminology came from the original tipster, I would have used "scribe", in my mind score is to break surface, to scribe is to use a marking pen or pencil. Here we go again, tenon or tendon?

That is how I would differentiate scribe-score also.  And in these parts we usually call Larry's machine a fork lift

52 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said:

I'm not sure what you guys on the left coast call them. 

Towmotor, Clark, etc..

 

I spent my life in the business and the common term around this area was Towmotor.

1 hour ago, Larry Buskirk said:

I'm not sure what you guys on the left coast call them. 

Towmotor, Clark, etc..

Got it! We would call em Forklifts.

In my experience, a tow motor is a warehouse tug, and a fork lift is sometimes called a "goose", I suppose referring to the visual when the forks are up high.  No wonder people whose native language is not English have such a hard time learning our language.

We don't use washers for counter top gapping but you  can use shims as they have different thicknesses to adjust the the line where needed to be cut.You could use several washers but we always had shims around...

 

To go one step further on counter top installation its fairly easy to trim down a straight top as long as the lip isn't hitting the the front edge of your cabinet but on corners.etc it gets a bit more complicated as the counter tops may just barely fit and removal of even an 1/8 could be costly around the corner. 

 

So always verify there is enough to cut without creating problems elsewhere...

Edited September 20, 20196 yr by BillyJack