As I do remodeling work, I often need small pieces of wood of varying thickness to fill gaps. I need them around door and window frames, or when I have to furr out studs or joists to meet existing conditions. To find the right shim, I used to scrounge through debris bins, or custom cut something with the table saw. Now I go to my shim-box.
Over the past few years I’ve been assembling a collection of selected scraps of cedar shingle, Masonite, plastic laminate, plywood and solid wood ranging in thickness from 1/16 in. to 1-1/4 in. I keep them on edge in a box, grouped by thickness for easy identification and access. Although it looks to some people like I’m carrying a box of junk onto a job site, I’m certain that the shim-box has saved me a lot of time.
Robert Castle Gay, Seattle, WA
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #46
