# How to Scribe a Door
If a door sticks in the jamb, you may need to take it off the hinges and trim it down. Before doing so, however, it is important to scribe the door. Scribing is the process of drawing a line down the edge of a piece of wood to determine where a cut needs to be made. It is especially handy when you want to fit a piece of wood closely to a wall or a frame. Scribing is a straightforward process that requires only a few tools.
Things You'll Need
- Compass
- Pencil
Instructions
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1
Place a sharp pencil into your compass. Ideally, the compass is a metal one with a sharp metal tip.
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2
Position the tip of the compass into the upper corner of the door frame and the pencil on the edge of the door frame itself.
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3
Drag the compass carrying the pencil down the edge of the door. Where the compass point encounters an irregularity in the wood frame, it will skip, creating a similar skip along the edge of the door. The pencil line that is produced gives you a guide when you go to cut or plane the door.
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4
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the horizontal edges of the door as well if necessary.
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Windows, Doors & Walls
