History Stick
 

When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and efforts.

Don

I seen it called a "story stick." Never used one myself or taken the time
to learn the system but a lot of cabinet makers use them.


wrote in message
...
When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and efforts.

Don

wrote:

When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and efforts.

It's called story stick. Here's an article explaining the details:
http://www.huntfamily.com/metz/storystick.htm

Wolfgang
--
"Holzbearbeitung mit Handwerkzeugen": http://www.holzwerken.de
Forum Handwerkzeuge:
http://www.woodworking.de/cgi-bin/fo...bbbs_config.pl

wrote in message
When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
respectfully snipped
Don

I've heard "story board", "story stick", and "preacher board". I never
heard the word "history"
used in this context.

In the 70's a guy told me that
if I used a thin piece of lumber on doors and marked the hinge butts on it,
I could easily transfer
the measurements to the new door/jamb, etc. Other door specifications were
also written on
the wood. Asking why it was called a preacher board, he said that it
"never lied". (this young
carpenter's helper was impressionable at the time.) :)

woodstuff

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 23:35:53 -0700, wrote:

When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it.

A "story stick" - pretty much essential for doing fitted work into
alcoves. Jere Cary's kitchen cabinets book has a good piece on them.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 23:35:53 -0700, wrote:

When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and efforts.

A "story stick". You'd use one if doing a lot of the same
measurements. One of those simple, handy tools, like a hammer.
You'd measure once [and check] on the stick, and apply that. Less
chance of errors in repeated measurement.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 23:35:53 -0700, wrote:
When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either.

Maybe "story stick" would be a better phrase to google for.

Man what a group. Thanks for all the replies. Sounds
like a good way to go, especially after I know what to call
it now. Keep up the great work.

Don

wrote in message
...
When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and efforts.

Don

I use one on almost ever project.
http://www.teamcasa.org/workshop/images/bcab6.jpg
Here is a picture of mine in use on a current project.

Dave



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On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 11:34:04 -0500, Patriarch wrote:
wrote in news:k1bd51h47r80u1n9sg4bgavtgb0aeo1kc1@
4ax.com:

Man what a group. Thanks for all the replies. Sounds
like a good way to go, especially after I know what to call
it now. Keep up the great work.

Don


I learn a lot more from the old guys than I ever do from books. And now,
due in part to fine examples, I'm becoming one. ;-)

Which, a book, a fine example, or an old guy?

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 23:35:53 -0700, wrote:

When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and efforts.

My late Dad was a cabinetmaker in the NE of England before and just
after WW2, until his trade gave way to machinery. He often used one
which - I think - he called a story stick. More than one in fact - I
can remember more than half a dozen for various jobs.

He also had a sliding version for measuring recesses - a pinch stick
he called it (don't ask) - or perhaps a pinch rod (it was a long time
ago). In fact he had gauges, large and small for just about
everything he made. Never measure when you can gauge was his motto.

His benchtop was often used as a kind of story stick too, with
measurements and distances marked out on it so that pieces could be
repeated quickly. When pencil and/or chisel marks got too deep to
just sand off, he would re-plane his benchtop - perfectly.

He could put his fingernail on a mark and use the stick to scribe a
line down a plank - and I doubt it could have been bettered with a
proper marking gauge. And he wasn't shy of hammering a panel pin
through the stick for scribing or radiusing.

And if he eschewed measuring tapes and rulers (not always, but for
choice), you should have heard him go into a rage about metrication -
which he always reckoned was a measuring system for people who never
needed to make anything! Which I've always agreed with, frankly.

He would often tell you that - depending on the work - you could have
it measure right or look right - as long as you realised they weren't
always the same thing. I used to hear that from paperhangers, too.

Happily I inherited his enthusiasm. Unhappily I inherited just a
small portion of his skill.

John

I have never heard any of the sticks mentioned. I do have and do
use a "story pole".

Commercial carpenter with 40 years in the trade.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




wrote in message
...
When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1
inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is
this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of
much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and
efforts.

Don

In article ,
wrote:

When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and efforts.

Don

Not to be confused with "tick-sticking". An art indeed. Used to
duplicate complex 3-D shapes. I use it all the time.

I've used "story sticks." They are much better than using a tape
measure. For example, I made one to set a specific height for my
electrical outlets in the shop. No measuring required.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 23:35:53 -0700, wrote:

When we were having our house remodeled, the contractor used a 1 inch
square piece of wood with all the cabinet measurements on it. I
haven't seen anyone else use this system of making cabinets. Is this
an old system not used any more? Can't really find anything of much
substance on the internet either. Thanks for your time and efforts.

Don