The retired framer who showed me his scribe method

Met an old timer at a lumberyard in Portland about a year ago. He saw me staring at some crown molding and just walked over and showed me how he scribes inside corners with a compass. Said he learned it from his dad in the 70s and it works every time. I had been cutting and recutting for ages, and his trick took 2 minutes flat. Anyone else pick up a weird old technique from a stranger that changed how you work?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_tara1mo ago

Portland summers are brutal for old scribe tricks, but a 70s dad would've taught him with a bevel gauge, not a compass.

pat_park1mo ago

Feels like you're making this way more complicated than it needs to be. A compass works fine for most basic cuts, especially if you're just doing straight lines and not trying to fit a curve. Not everything needs to be a workshop lesson from the 70s.