Replies

1. 
   PeteDraganic | Dec 30, 2008 02:58am | #1

   The face frame on the wall side should stick out past the carcass by the needed amount... maybe 3/4" in your case.  then you can scribe it to be cut back to accomodate the wall precisely.

    

   I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish.        Pete Draganic

    

   Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day.          Matt Garcia

2. 
   Shep | Dec 30, 2008 04:44am | #2

   And if you're building your own cabinets, don't forget to make a deep enough rabbet at the cabinet back to allow some scribing there.

   One of my pet pieves with most big cabinet manufacturers is that they no longer do that. So now once we shim the cabinets so the face is plumb, then its necessary to apply a moulding at the end of the run to cover the gap to the wall.

3. 
   RedfordHenry | Dec 30, 2008 06:37am | #3

   You could build your face frame one stick at a time, starting with the stile that needs to be scribed.  Cut it to length, as wide as your finished width, plus the width of the widest part of the gap to be filled.  Hold the stile up to the wall, keeping the inside edge perfectly plumb, then scribe the wall onto the stile using a compass.  Cut nearly to the line with your choice of saws, and fine tune with block plane or sander.  Bevel the scribed edge to minimize the amount of wood that contacts the plaster.  If you get the first piece right (plumb) the face frame should be cake.

4. 
   BDohrn | Dec 30, 2008 06:51am | #4

   I'm a cabinetmaker & designer and I have to say the standard or scribing the piece of face frame that sits on the most visible plane of the cabinet strikes me as terrible.

   In my business I ahve the face frame of cabinet side have a perfectly straight edge that sits either 1/2 or 3/4 away from the bumpy wall (depending o n how bumpy). Then I scribe a (removable -- in a closed cabinet you can screw it or finish nail from the inside) filler that sits at least 1/2 inch or more behind the face frame. This way the bumpy scribe gets lost in the shadow line and the cabinet looks crisp.

1. 
   BoJangles | Dec 30, 2008 07:18am | #5

   I don't know about that one!!   I can readily see a 3/8" taper in a crack between the wall and the cabinet a lot better than I could see a one piece, wider stile scribed precisely to the wall.

1. 
   BDohrn | Dec 30, 2008 08:10am | #6

   Believe me you're wrong about seeing it. Try it.

1. 
   BoJangles | Dec 30, 2008 04:06pm | #7

   I'll try anything once!!   I still can't imagine installing a set of cabinets and leaving a big crack between the wall and the cabinet.

   Have you got a picture of one of your installations where you've done it that way?

   An interesting concept!

1. 
   Piffin | Dec 30, 2008 05:10pm | #8

   I have done like that when it is a 2-3" filler strip, but when it is only 3/8 - 3/4" I'd rather have the face scribed. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

5. 
   inperfectionist | Dec 30, 2008 05:34pm | #9

   Corrib,

   Would you be able to "fix the wall".

   Not too hard to float the wall out w setting type, sandable compound.

   I have even done this after the cabs are up.

   It's easier than - say - building your own cabinets.

   Best of luck, Harry

1. 
   AitchKay | Dec 31, 2008 12:21am | #10

   *If it's out by 1/8"-1/4", scribe it.*If it's out by 3/8", float the wall.*If it's out by more than that, combine the above.*If it's out by 2-3", recess a filler strip.Here's a neat floating trick:Before you set the cabinet, screw a strip of sheet metal (ask the HVAC guys to give/make you a cutoff) to the back, hanging it out about 1/8". Put a strip of blue tape on the cabinet to protect the finish, and use the sheet metal as a screed. Your mud fill will be perfectly straight.If you're worried about a crack line opening up, it's not too much extra work to screw through the cabinet into the metal. That way, you can back off the screws, push the metal back behind the cabinet, and caulk the joint.Aitchkay

6. 
   mike_maines | Dec 31, 2008 01:37am | #11

   I would fully assemble the face frame and cabinet, and then scribe to the wall.  If the wall is out by more than 1/4" you might add an extra quarter to half inch to the end stile for scribing.

   If you start by levelling and installing your base assembly you can just set the cabinet on the base and slide it into position to scribe.

   I like to use a power plane to back-bevel the end stile, then use a sharp block plane to sneak up on the scrible line.  Back-beveling leaves you less wood to have to hand-plane through.

   For scribing where an end panel meets a wall, I like to let the end panel face frame overhang the back of the cabinet a quarter to half inch to allow for scribing.

1. 
   corrib | Jan 06, 2009 03:03am | #12

   Guys,Thanks for the great info. This will definitely get me going on my project.