this is a topic that always gets me curious as to, what to be used where and where do you get them or do you have to make them.
could use cedar shingles, those softwood prepackaged deals.
understand that there are plastic shims and metal shims.
if you make them, which wood and how should the grain run (understand that wood is strongest when force is parallel to grain, that right?)
AS an HO I don’t normally go in and ask a lumber yard for shims, but look to see what is on the shelf, usually softwood.
OK for non bearing shims, cedar or softwood seem ok.
but what about bearing situations, under plates or cabinets? hardwood, plastic? metal under sills?
Replies
Current FHB has a tip re making your own from offcuts.
Seemed overly complicated, but it made the grade for tips.
I haven't tried those plastic ones that look like mouse bait.
Joe H
saw that tip, also saw (dare I say it) on DIY network a jig for making shims.still can't my mind around grain orientation, as to which is best
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
Around here a bundle of white cedar shingles only costs about 10 bucks and lasts me about 6 months or better. Under cabinets I try to use as wide a shingle as possible for the most support. They work fine under sill plates as well.
>>> l can't my mind around grain orientation, as to which is best
I can't imagine anything but grain running parallel to the taper (longitudinal), but then again I don't have very good imagination. If crosswise, the shim would break too easy, plus it wouldn't slide in easy, the cross grain would catch and shim breaks or separates if u'r pulling it out. wanna test? find a piece of cedar clapboard, cross cut a 2" wide wedge and try to use it.
Third possibility is end grain running perpendicular to the largest surface of the shim -butcher block shim. This will be left for others to ponder.
"I haven't tried those plastic ones that look like mouse bait."
I have. And I'll never use 'em again.
They're not bad if you need to snap 'em off right where one of the score lines is. But that never seems to be the case.
So then you have to try to cut through the thickest part of the plastic with a utility knife. That's a pain.
The plastic is also slick - They don't seem to want to stay in place like the wood ones do.
So like I said - Never again for me.
I.......am not a crook. [Richard Nixon]
I don't like those little shim packs that they keep on the shelves. They're expensive and tough to cut with a razor knife. But I like the physical size of them, very convenient. I prefer to buy the bundles of cedar and then rip 'em on the table saw so I can carry a bunch in my tool pouch.
They're fine under cabinets and for most other applications. For framing, I'll cut my own from the same wood that I'm building with, and generally reserve steel shims for foundation to plate gaps, especially if there's a large point load.
But cedar shims out of a bundle accounts for 99% of my needs.
"I prefer to buy the bundles of cedar and then rip 'em on the table saw so I can carry a bunch in my tool pouch.
They're fine under cabinets"that is not intuitive to me. it would seem that a cabinet (kitchen) would crush the cedar, especially if there was a stone counter top. or is that the exception.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
Okay, let me clarify somewhat. I'm talking about good quality construction where the floors and walls are pretty much level and plumb, respectively. There shouldn't be a huge stack of shims in this instance. Remember also that the cabinets will be screwed to the wall studs, lending a lot of support (and on wall cabinets, that's the only support they have), and the faces screwed to each other as well. And I'll put fillers between the cabinets at the back, screwed in, so they're locked together.
In older, sagged houses or in lesser quality new ones, sometimes you have to raise the cabs quite a bit to level them. In these cases I start my shimming with plywood scraps, then finish with the regular shims. Really, scribing the cabinets is better in this instance, but that's rarely in the builder's budget.
And you're not talking tons of weight here, either, especially since the weight of the counter is spread over many bearing points. Frankly, I'd be more worried about the particle board side panels crushing than I am about the minimal loss of thickness in the shim.
Cedar is fine for adjusting door jambs and similar non load uses.
But for loads cedar only exceeds styrofoam for being being crushable.
Under cabinets I like the threaded adjuster feet, very slick.
For framing shims I'll rip from framing stock.
Cedar shims are very common in Western Washington where I work and I use them quite a bit for doors and other light loads. There are plastic or plastic/wood composit shims that I use to support moderate loads or when I suspect that they will be exposed to moisture.
Our yard also sells sawn wedges made out of 2x4 SPF, around 1.5"x12", that are quite handy, especially for making temporary shoring.
Edited 11/28/2006 2:21 pm by Renoun
We almost always use R+R extra clear white cedar shingles for shims. Really. It's what we install on most of the houses we do, so there's always extra boxes around. They are nice and straight grained, and dry. At trim stage we'll rip lots of 1 1/2" pieces on the table saw and keep them in sheetrock buckets, ready for hanging doors, setting cabinets, and whatever else we need shims for.
When you add up all the time it takes to deal with knotty shims, too-wide shims and shrinking wet shims, it makes sense to use good quality stuff like the R+R's.