Question About How to Scribe Baseboards

[jylu97]

I like to work on small projects (I'm a novice, with tools) around the house and now that our wood floors are in, I'm going to work on the baseboard trim.  I'd like to scribe the baseboard and I was wondering what would be the best method to trim off the excess area.  I have a choice of LDF and pine (although the pine is significantly more expensive, so I'm considering sticking with LDF unless it proves too difficult or time-consuming to work with).  My question is should I cut the bottom of the LDF baseboards with the TS55 at a 45 degree angle and then sand or plane the remaining amount to the scribed line?  This would mean that I would have to cut every baseboard lengthwise and this would be time-consuming, but I would save time on sanding.  Or should I just sand or plane to the scribe line and skip the saw -- this would mean sanding/planing significant amounts of LDF?  Or should I buy the Quickscribe and use it with my Bosch laminate trimmer and scribe the bottom of the board after I've tacked it up an inch from the floor?  I'm bothered by the amount of dust this would produce (since the Quickscribe is only made for a select few trimmers) and I wonder if dealing with real wood would be better?  I've been pondering this for a few weeks that I will never get this started!

I have the MFT3, TS55, Trion -- I plan on renting a miter saw.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Liz

 

[ryansmythe]

how much material do you think you are going to have to remove to get it tight to the floor?

 

[jylu97]

I believe I will just have to remove 1/8 to 1/4" at the most.

 

[quijas23]

I am a long time lurker but I thought I would respond. Im a finish carpenter who specializes in doing wainscot /high end trim.
When I am in this situation, I find that the baseboard will bend a little bit so the methode of using the quick scribe is not really required. but what I do is I lay the baseboard down and scribe it right in place, first finding the highest spot on the floor. I use a planer if it needs to be scribed a ton (yeah Ive ran into a few believe it or not on million dollar homes). I usually have a belt sander near by for fine adjusting.
Make sure that you dont get yourself into trouble when you start scribing into the next room where you have the floor at two levels (i.e. tile next to a lower wood floor).
sometimes if we have a bad bend in the floor, you can lay a peice of two by 4 on the top of the base (in place where you are going to nail it)  leaning down to the floor  and have sombody stand on it to get it to bend down to where you want it.
Hope this helps.

 

[dirtydeeds]

in the uk skirting (base board) is almost always single piece, ive worked on single baseboard a foot high and 1-1/2 inch thick (finished sizes) but it doesnt change the method

quijas says that it is possible to bend skirting to fit the floor, hes right to an extent BUT only if its thin and narrow, so most of the time scribing is the only option

if you do manage to "bend" its a more difficult fit when scribing agaisnt architraves (door casing)

my method for mdf skirting is to scribe the line, then split the scribe line with a japanese pull saw (you put a back bevel on at the same time) if the fit aint perfect fine tune it with a block plane

most of the time with a pull saw i dont need to fine tune but thats because im practiced at it

if its timber (lumber) i use a jigsaw because rip cutting timber by hand is time consuming, you get more breakout with a jigsaw, so dont try to split the line. you cut close and then trim to line using a block plane

other carpenters use bandsaws for the rough cut then use sanders or angle grinders to waste to the line

 

[dirtydeeds]

quijas is also right about baseboard heights in adjacent rooms with differing floor finishes

 

[Per Swenson]

Ok,

I know I am gonna sound like a smart alec jack off, but,

whatsa matter with 1/4 round?

Per

 

[dirtydeeds]

its not metric  ;D

seeing as per is going for the american smart alec comment, i have balanced it with an english smart arse comment

seriously, it depends on skirting and casing dimensions

with some base and casing designs the quarter round looks wrong

with other designs you have to use it to make it look right

these tend to be in much older housing in times when people only had floorboards and a few rugs if they were lucky

 

[Per Swenson]

Ah yer funny,

America is funny also, take this nonsense for example.

1.4 million inflated dollars. Mdf trim. Builders doors,

melamine kitchen, tom dickn harry windows.

But oh, the location is to die for. The only wood is the quarter round ;D
[attachimg=#]

Per

 

[dirtydeeds]

it happens here too per

million pound house and the owner gets a "carpenter" in to hang new doors, cheapest on the market 12 pounds a throw, hinges at 23 pence and tubular latches at 46 pence  ( these prices include 17.5% vat [sales tax] )

all from b&q (a shed) that sounds like your homestores

why was i there?

to rehang them of course............. with new hinges and latches, only 9 months after theyed been put in

 

[Steveo48]

.....why was i there?

to rehang them of course............. with new hinges and latches, only 9 months after theyed been put in

I worked with a big marble, tile and terrazzo contractor that was union and he would often lose commercial work to open shop contractors.  Then the phone would ring because he was needed to:

1. Finish the work, the other guy was bankrupt/runoff/a no show/couldn't get the work done.

2. Fix the work, because it was never done right, or with the wrong materials/methods.

He made them pay for choosing him second.  He was very upfront about it, it would have cost the owner less to have him in there first.

 

[dirtydeeds]

we have a curious reversal of this situation here, altough im sure it isnt unique to the uk

the type of customer who gets you in to complete somebody elses work, then ..........

doesnt want to pay you for ripping out and sorting bad work

AND wants you to complete the work for nothing

the.....................    "ive already paid someone else to do the work....... so im certainly not going to pay you for completing it"

you dont get caught twice with this type of customer

luckily in my case, the customer was a barker not a biter, but it taught me a lesson

 

[mastercabman]

Ok,

I know I am gonna sound like a smart alec jack off, but,

whatsa matter with 1/4 round?

Per

i'm with per on this one. why scribe baseboard?  never heard of that.i think it looks better with shoe mold.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Ok,

I know I am gonna sound like a smart alec jack off, but,

whatsa matter with 1/4 round?

Per

i'm with per on this one. why scribe baseboard?  never heard of that.i think it looks better with shoe mold.

Unless you like gaps you need the toe mold. Scribe the base now and in the winter there will be a nice even shadow at the bottom. Ideally a small toe mold is nailed to the floor so it always covers the gap between base and floor, even in winter.

 

[quijas23]

Basically I agree with you that putting the 1/4 round is more easy. You need to remember than on most jobs, the architect/designer/homeowner are really fussy. So they have some look that they are particular to or something of that sort.
I posted a picture below of a job that had tons of scribing; distressed peruvian walnut on the floors and 3/4 inch by 7 inch baseboard. All of the corners were pocket screwed (notice the rounded corners) and on the inside corners we used 45 degree cuts (no copeing) with a quickdry glue by fastcap.
Here on the west coast, we dont have the huge temperature swings that most of the east coast guys have so  we dont need to put the 1/4 round. If you pocket screw/biscuit/domino and glue, you should be alright

 

[jylu97]

Is it common to have shadows or gaps if you scribe the baseboard and do not place shoe molding?  If that's the case, I may forget about scribing, although I do like a challenge.  Thanks for everyone's advice!

Liz

 

[Per Swenson]

As 23 said above,

Location, location, location.

Desert Southwest, house is pretty much going to stay put.

Below the Mason/Dixon, humidity is a killer.

You get the idea. But everything moves, everywhere, to some degree.

Per

 

[danrush]

On the furniture grade cabinets we install ( dining room buffets, libraries, etc) it is customary to use scribed furniture base.  Basicly a 1" x 5" base board with an ogee up on top. I could never get away with a base shoe.  I'm not sure I would if I could.  The idea is to creat a piece that truly looks like a piece of furniture.

I've never had a complaint about gaps in dry months.  ( the homes these products go in do have excellent climate control) but even so, most movement on a floor will occur on the horizontal plain with the grain, and any movement on the cabinet or base may be vertical but will be minimal.  I realize that pine trim on drywall on 2X pine studs will react very differently.

 

[Cannuck]

I'm definitely with Per and the others on the use of quarter-round, or a nice shoe-moulding.  A shoe-moulding can come in various shapes and profiles, allowing you to  match the dimensions and proportions of your baseboard and casing.

If you want to scribe, I suggest two tools.  A set of offset wheel gaugeshttp://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=50272&cat=1,42936,50298&ap=1

and an electric planer.

Cut to length and lay the baseboard in place - level.  Raise the baseboard the appropriate offset distance, using the highest part of the floor as a reference point.  Mark the board with a metal scribe or 2mm mechanical pencil and wheel guage.

If you have to remove alot of material, you can use a table saw or jig saw to get close.  With only 1/8 to 1/4 inch, I'd set the planer to about 1/32, and start taking of the material in short passes.  You can then tilt the planer in and out of the material to get closer or farther away from the line.  Remember to angle it "up" from the floor, for a cleaner line. 

This method works well for me, when scribing window seats and book cases to plaster walls.

 

[Michael Kellough]

On the furniture grade cabinets we install ( dining room buffets, libraries, etc) it is customary to use scribed furniture base.  Basicly a 1" x 5" base board with an ogee up on top. I could never get away with a base shoe.  I'm not sure I would if I could.  The idea is to creat a piece that truly looks like a piece of furniture.

I've never had a complaint about gaps in dry months.  ( the homes these products go in do have excellent climate control) but even so, most movement on a floor will occur on the horizontal plain with the grain, and any movement on the cabinet or base may be vertical but will be minimal.  I realize that pine trim on drywall on 2X pine studs will react very differently.

Dan, in this case isn't gravity keeping the gap closed?