One of my very first jobs was working in a boatyard with my father. He was a boat builder. He started me out on sanding and varnishing “brightwork”. As I was refinishing the interior of a used sailboat, I noticed one of the mahogany bulkheads in the salon had some dry rot on the bottom. I showed my dad and he said I’d have to replace the entire panel. And how would I go about doing that? This panel was anything but square as it curved along the hull and in and out around a cabinet and up and across the arched ceiling. One piece and it has to fit perfectly. I said it’s impossible. Dad laughed, “It’s not impossible since somebody did this before you.” So he showed me the tick-stick and how to use it. At 18 years old, I thought this some kind of ancient sorcery. But it was really the only way it COULD be done. A tape measure won’t help and I spent a few days on practice pieces that my dad laid out, until I could copy the existing pattern with precision. Then I was tasked with “ticking out” the actual bulkhead in the boat and cutting a test piece out of 1/4” hardboard. It fit perfectly so that was the template for the real thing. I was now a sorcerer. My next job was building ambulances from stock vans for the SPCA. The boss said I needed to build a plywood bulkhead between the driving compartment and the back of the van. He said that it didn’t need to be perfect since there are too many angles and curves and they have lots of spray foam to hide any imperfections. I was horrified at the visual of what that might look like. I assured him that he can save his foam, I’ll make this flawless. “I used to do this on sailboats. This van is child’s play for me.” So I made a tick-stick and started ticking my marks on the plywood, using letters and numbers to keep the order correct. The boss saw the jumble of little angles and numbers and asked what that was? “It’s like a code that translates into the exact profile of the van roof and sides.” He shook his head and smiled. “I gotta see this.” So he watched as I transferred the tick marks to dots on the plywood. He was amazed as he saw the profile of the van roof taking shape and went and got the supervisor. He too was mesmerized by this magic and asked if I was going to make a “test piece” before cutting the actual wood? “Nope, this board full of codes, IS the test piece. It’ll fit. Don’t worry about a thing.” I cut the roof and upper wall section out and it fit like a glove. Needless to say, I built the bulkheads and cabinets for the entire fleet of ambulances after that. This ancient technology always freaks people out when they first see it. They don’t even have computer programs that can do what a tick stick can do. Computers work with measurements, angles, and math. Way too much math for the average person to get right. A tick stick copy is like an abstract picture of the profile, using zero math or measurements. Anyone can do this sorcery. Great channel and just subscribed.
@ , Thank you. I’m watching a bunch of other videos of yours and so far, you’re showing a lot of tricks and techniques that I haven’t seen before. Always fun to learn new things. Thank you for that, Steve!
Yes, someone else has told me the same. To me a story stick is something rather different, but it's good to learn what different things are called on different parts of the world. You'd be surprised how many people tell me that "it's not a so and so, it's a such and such" not understanding that their world is only a very small part of a much bigger, and varied, world.
Working in the midwest, what we called a story stick is what I've heard more recently in Tennessee called a stupid stick. I learned to use a tick stick in Washington, DC, but if the guy who showed me the technique called it anything at all, I really don't remember. I was making irregularly shaped stair treads for fancy condos, and tick stick saved me a lot of time over what I had come up with on my own.
I am 70 yrs old and thought I had seen all the tricks of the trade but I wish I had known of this decades ago. Another of your tools that I will be incorporating into my shop.
Absolutely brilliant idea that I (ignorant oaf! I have never heard of before, no matter how old it is)! Excellent presentation too, thanks Steve (and NO "blimming musak" either, great). PS: NO idea what a Tick Stick is called where ) I live.
Brilliant video! 🤩 Another convenient way is having a number of ordinary A4 copying machine papers. Then just taping them (or small pieces of them) onto each other along all sides and corners. Done! Template completed. Used this to help my youngsters renovating Cheers Anders Sweden
On seeing the video title, I presumed that you had some curvy story sticks that you were going to show us. I've frequently employed the use of story sticks, but this is the first time I've heard anything about ticking sticks. Looking back, I can think of dozens of occasions where knowledge and use of a ticking stick would have made my job way easier. Better late than never, to gain some knowledge. I can't wait to pass this new-found knowledge on to others. Thank you.
I appreciate your mission (I think that's pretty close to the word you'd use) of keeping simple, low-cost, analog ways of solving problems. I think they force your brain to drill down to the core of the issue rather than rely on some sort of black-box digital, automated thingamabob that outsources intellect. In short, it keeps us independent and critical. And it's so satisfying--we're human, and we're made to do things this way. I've now subscribed.
i learned how to use a tick stick in the context of masonry in the southwest USA from my father who comes from a masonry tradition out of Indiana, USA. he called it a transfer stick and he had an extra use of them i've not seen on youtube. when you have a bow in a wall you use a tick stick and a long flexible stick, ours was a bit of 1/16"x2" aluminum stock called the contour stick. this takes more than one person usually. press the contour stick along the wall so it follows the curve. use a tick stick to mark where it starts, then at each major change in the curve mark again. usually you can get away with just the ends and one point at the apex of the concave or convex part of the curve. snakey curves need more transfer ticks to accurately track. in masonry it is often not so easy to scribe to a wall, but you can layout some leveling sand and lay your materials a bit back from the wall and get the contour using this method. i'm probably not explaining it well though. the contour stick sorta averages out the defects into a smoother line to transfer. in masonry we didn't usually need to scribe terribly close because we could grout the gap. as long as we were within 1/8" or so it wasn't usually noticeable. smoother cuts also left fewer stress points that were likely to crack. in the southwest the temperature can swing pretty wildly because it is so dry. a 50°f+ swing isn't uncommon. it murders our roads too.
Well I never ! I once made a part for a small boat and could have really used one of these. I've never seen or heard of one of these before now . Definitely my next little project. Love it , thanks. 🙂
Thank you. You used the stick differently than a video that I watched a while ago. Youve added to the uses of the stick. The various names have aalways been interesting to me. I traveled as a service engineer for 10years(best job I ever had actually). When I needed a zip tie I would walk up to their parts counter and go down a list of names. Zip tie, tie wrap, tie strap and so on. It was the same when asking someone what type of soda they wanted when I volunteered to buy. Another list of names such as soda, pop, soda pop, or my favorite from my home in the south of the USA was a phrase. Do you want a COKE? The answer would be yes. Ok, what kind? Then you were told the flavor as in Sprite or Rootbeer. Almost everything carbonated is a COKE. Ask a black man what is your favorite flavor of Coolaid? It will almost always be "red". Love it! Thanks for your work.
I'm from the southeast US too. And I was going to call it a story stick. But you are not using it like a story stick. I've never seen this technique before. This is brilliant.
I like what I heard you say during the video for a new name for this tool. A “fiddle stick” because you have to do a bit a fiddling to layout your ticks
As you say, commonly used in boat building but boat builders refer to a spile and spile board. Presumably from spill as used in lighting candles and fires.
Used these, several sizes, building a boat in the 70s in South Africa was called a joggle stick here, works really well, the article I read about it ( no youtube ) had two comments which I remember. Joggling gets you fit, and if at first you succeed try not to look surprised.
Brilliant love your work. as a carpenter i'd make a few other measurements, but I've used this method and indeed, there is another way, which floor layers use and is very similar. this uses a metal (for accuracy) spacer laid down on a piece of thick card/paper and scribed. Thanks and keep up the good traditional carpentry
So yeah, going along uneven walls and meeting them with stone countertop with an absolute custom fit I’ve always taught apprentices to use their 12” Carpenter’s Compass and use a straight board along the wall. Just drag it along the crooked edge and transfer every detail and imperfection exactly. No figuring out if you got it right or if your stick was at the right angle. Works for corners, angles etc. fitting materials to concrete or stone walls etc.
Interesting technique. I would just use some 3mm thick plywood strips, pushed up against the walls, and simulating the front edge. And from there, I'd use hot melt glue to attach the strips together. The whole thing could be brought back to the shop.
@stevemaskery Can I give you a little tip? We are hearing quite a bit of the acoustics of the workshop. If you have the money, could invest in either a more directional microphone or a (wireless) lavalier microphone. That would make for a less fatiguing listening experience (esp for non-native speakers like me). Love the videos btw.
You are right to identify the risk! That is why I stress the importance of keeping the board thin.. And I fully understand the eyesight issue - 2 years ago I was blind in one eye, now it is better than the other. Yay! The NHS, with all its faults, is fantastic.
To increase the accuracy of the marks you need to make from the tick stick to the final workpiece, you can close the gap from the tick stick down to the workpiece. Cut a piece of the same plywood the template is made of, and shape it to perfectly match the tip of the tick stick. Just before you go to transfer the marks to the final workpiece, you tape the tip piece to the underside of the tick stick. If a person frequently used a tick stick, they might be tempted to make a more secure, and reusable, method to attach the tip.
There's a video on UA-cam where a guy fits out the plywood dfloor of his van using a ticking stick. It's a good demonstration on gow you would used it. Thanks for the video. I have already subscribed
Why not put a piece of material the same thickness as your tick board between your tick stick and the material to which you are transferring to you have an easier reference than trying to eyeball the space? 6:23
What happened to the how to "make" portion of your title? All you showed was how to "use" it. I came here for the thumbnail title. Please consider showing more about how to "make" a tick stick. Why is it shaped the way it is? Why the curves? Why the notches? Does it matter where they are located? Etc. Etc.??
He says right in the video the shape isn't so important. It just has to be irregular and have points to reach corners. If you cannot watch this video and intuitively discern what would or wouldn't be a good tick stick for yourself then perhaps your gifts lie elsewhere and not in carpentry. I usually just take a piece of scrap and notch it in 3 places and cut a point on it. They are made and thrown away on site like a stick to stir paint. I usually make them out of the free stir sticks, actually.
Sorry, @@jwm6314, but it must be YOUR powers of perception that are handicapped, as I didn't ask YOUR opinion about any of this. So, either your a random troll, with nothing better to do than interject yourself into other folks converations, or your some simp solicited to intervene on behalf of the producer of the content because they can't articulate for themselves. Either way, your input is not needed.
One of my very first jobs was working in a boatyard with my father. He was a boat builder. He started me out on sanding and varnishing “brightwork”. As I was refinishing the interior of a used sailboat, I noticed one of the mahogany bulkheads in the salon had some dry rot on the bottom. I showed my dad and he said I’d have to replace the entire panel. And how would I go about doing that? This panel was anything but square as it curved along the hull and in and out around a cabinet and up and across the arched ceiling. One piece and it has to fit perfectly. I said it’s impossible. Dad laughed, “It’s not impossible since somebody did this before you.”
So he showed me the tick-stick and how to use it. At 18 years old, I thought this some kind of ancient sorcery. But it was really the only way it COULD be done. A tape measure won’t help and I spent a few days on practice pieces that my dad laid out, until I could copy the existing pattern with precision. Then I was tasked with “ticking out” the actual bulkhead in the boat and cutting a test piece out of 1/4” hardboard. It fit perfectly so that was the template for the real thing. I was now a sorcerer.
My next job was building ambulances from stock vans for the SPCA. The boss said I needed to build a plywood bulkhead between the driving compartment and the back of the van. He said that it didn’t need to be perfect since there are too many angles and curves and they have lots of spray foam to hide any imperfections. I was horrified at the visual of what that might look like.
I assured him that he can save his foam, I’ll make this flawless. “I used to do this on sailboats. This van is child’s play for me.”
So I made a tick-stick and started ticking my marks on the plywood, using letters and numbers to keep the order correct.
The boss saw the jumble of little angles and numbers and asked what that was? “It’s like a code that translates into the exact profile of the van roof and sides.” He shook his head and smiled. “I gotta see this.” So he watched as I transferred the tick marks to dots on the plywood. He was amazed as he saw the profile of the van roof taking shape and went and got the supervisor. He too was mesmerized by this magic and asked if I was going to make a “test piece” before cutting the actual wood? “Nope, this board full of codes, IS the test piece. It’ll fit. Don’t worry about a thing.” I cut the roof and upper wall section out and it fit like a glove.
Needless to say, I built the bulkheads and cabinets for the entire fleet of ambulances after that.
This ancient technology always freaks people out when they first see it. They don’t even have computer programs that can do what a tick stick can do. Computers work with measurements, angles, and math. Way too much math for the average person to get right.
A tick stick copy is like an abstract picture of the profile, using zero math or measurements. Anyone can do this sorcery.
Great channel and just subscribed.
What a most very excellent story! Thank you for sharing it.
@ , Thank you. I’m watching a bunch of other videos of yours and so far, you’re showing a lot of tricks and techniques that I haven’t seen before. Always fun to learn new things. Thank you for that, Steve!
Well done Steve. I never knew this in all my 92 yrs old. Thank you kind Sir. I shall do it I want!
Go for it!
From the Southern U.S. We always called this a story stick...it tells the story of the piece.
Yes, someone else has told me the same. To me a story stick is something rather different, but it's good to learn what different things are called on different parts of the world.
You'd be surprised how many people tell me that "it's not a so and so, it's a such and such" not understanding that their world is only a very small part of a much bigger, and varied, world.
Working in the midwest, what we called a story stick is what I've heard more recently in Tennessee called a stupid stick. I learned to use a tick stick in Washington, DC, but if the guy who showed me the technique called it anything at all, I really don't remember. I was making irregularly shaped stair treads for fancy condos, and tick stick saved me a lot of time over what I had come up with on my own.
Calling this a story stick is wrong. Two completely different tools.
I had forgotten this technique! Thank you for the reminder! More, please.
You are welcome!
I am 70 yrs old and thought I had seen all the tricks of the trade but I wish I had known of this decades ago. Another of your tools that I will be incorporating into my shop.
Genius idea ! I needed this idea 2 years ago! I'm sure I'll need it again though, thank you :)
Absolutely brilliant idea that I (ignorant oaf! I have never heard of before, no matter how old it is)! Excellent presentation too, thanks Steve (and NO "blimming musak" either, great). PS: NO idea what a Tick Stick is called where ) I live.
Hi Andy, great to hear from you! I thought of you when I was using your Allen keys only yesterday :)
Brilliant video! 🤩 Another convenient way is having a number of ordinary A4 copying machine papers. Then just taping them (or small pieces of them) onto each other along all sides and corners. Done!
Template completed.
Used this to help my youngsters renovating
Cheers
Anders
Sweden
On seeing the video title, I presumed that you had some curvy story sticks that you were going to show us. I've frequently employed the use of story sticks, but this is the first time I've heard anything about ticking sticks. Looking back, I can think of dozens of occasions where knowledge and use of a ticking stick would have made my job way easier. Better late than never, to gain some knowledge.
I can't wait to pass this new-found knowledge on to others. Thank you.
I appreciate your mission (I think that's pretty close to the word you'd use) of keeping simple, low-cost, analog ways of solving problems. I think they force your brain to drill down to the core of the issue rather than rely on some sort of black-box digital, automated thingamabob that outsources intellect. In short, it keeps us independent and critical. And it's so satisfying--we're human, and we're made to do things this way. I've now subscribed.
i learned how to use a tick stick in the context of masonry in the southwest USA from my father who comes from a masonry tradition out of Indiana, USA. he called it a transfer stick and he had an extra use of them i've not seen on youtube. when you have a bow in a wall you use a tick stick and a long flexible stick, ours was a bit of 1/16"x2" aluminum stock called the contour stick. this takes more than one person usually. press the contour stick along the wall so it follows the curve. use a tick stick to mark where it starts, then at each major change in the curve mark again. usually you can get away with just the ends and one point at the apex of the concave or convex part of the curve. snakey curves need more transfer ticks to accurately track. in masonry it is often not so easy to scribe to a wall, but you can layout some leveling sand and lay your materials a bit back from the wall and get the contour using this method.
i'm probably not explaining it well though. the contour stick sorta averages out the defects into a smoother line to transfer. in masonry we didn't usually need to scribe terribly close because we could grout the gap. as long as we were within 1/8" or so it wasn't usually noticeable. smoother cuts also left fewer stress points that were likely to crack. in the southwest the temperature can swing pretty wildly because it is so dry. a 50°f+ swing isn't uncommon. it murders our roads too.
Another thick slice of pure BRILLIANCE!
Thanks Steve.
Every day a school day :):)
Indeed it is. Glad you liked it.
Excellent presentation of the tick stick methodology Steve
Thanks 👍
Well I never ! I once made a part for a small boat and could have really used one of these. I've never seen or heard of one of these before now . Definitely my next little project. Love it , thanks. 🙂
Thanks, By necessity, I have a low tech shop. Sometimes low tech is the best way to do something. I will use this!
The older I get, the more I like Low-Tech.
Thank you. You used the stick differently than a video that I watched a while ago. Youve added to the uses of the stick. The various names have aalways been interesting to me. I traveled as a service engineer for 10years(best job I ever had actually). When I needed a zip tie I would walk up to their parts counter and go down a list of names. Zip tie, tie wrap, tie strap and so on. It was the same when asking someone what type of soda they wanted when I volunteered to buy. Another list of names such as soda, pop, soda pop, or my favorite from my home in the south of the USA was a phrase. Do you want a COKE? The answer would be yes. Ok, what kind? Then you were told the flavor as in Sprite or Rootbeer. Almost everything carbonated is a COKE. Ask a black man what is your favorite flavor of Coolaid? It will almost always be "red". Love it! Thanks for your work.
I'm from the southeast US too. And I was going to call it a story stick. But you are not using it like a story stick. I've never seen this technique before. This is brilliant.
From the left coast of Canada - Thank you for the excellent explanation. Plan to use these technique in the next few days! 👍😎👍
Extremely useful technique Steve.
Thanks 👍. As old as the hills but always new at the same time, eh?
Brilliant Steve. Thanks for sharing. A definite "tick" in the box!
I like what I heard you say during the video for a new name for this tool. A “fiddle stick” because you have to do a bit a fiddling to layout your ticks
As you say, commonly used in boat building but boat builders refer to a spile and spile board. Presumably from spill as used in lighting candles and fires.
Used these, several sizes, building a boat in the 70s in South Africa was called a joggle stick here, works really well, the article I read about it ( no youtube ) had two comments which I remember. Joggling gets you fit, and if at first you succeed try not to look surprised.
Thanks for sharing your tips and tricks and helpful gadgets.
Brilliant move tucking under. Watching the fit was gratifying.
This is a good example to show that, even Festool, does not make a product for this application.
So many times the old ways are the best ways! !! !!!
I love this. Using the traditional to make the marks and a contemporary track saw to make the cuts.
Low tech and low cost that works. Well done Steve.
This excellent presentation of an ancient and clever technique earned you a subscription. :)
I learned about the tick stick, but also just picked up a few hints about clamping and holding workpieces! Very helpful video.
This is the second video I've watched. Great stuff, I've subscribed and liked! Thanks for the great tips and ideas!!!
Thanks Steve, another excellent tip and video.
nice demo Steve. thanks for sharing
Well I just got schooled thanks for sharing a brilliant method and that is so worthy of a sub
Pretty interesting indeed! Thanks, Steve! 😊
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thanks, you too!
whoever thought of this first is sooo clever ........i love it
In the boatyards that I grew up around in Southampton, these were called spiling sticks, because the technique was called spiling.
That's a new one on me, so thank you very much!
Brilliant love your work. as a carpenter i'd make a few other measurements, but I've used this method and indeed, there is another way, which floor layers use and is very similar. this uses a metal (for accuracy) spacer laid down on a piece of thick card/paper and scribed. Thanks and keep up the good traditional carpentry
Very interesting!!! Very clever tool!!! Thank you for the information.
Very welcome
Glad I got up this morning. I learned something! Very good presentation.
So yeah, going along uneven walls and meeting them with stone countertop with an absolute custom fit I’ve always taught apprentices to use their 12” Carpenter’s Compass and use a straight board along the wall. Just drag it along the crooked edge and transfer every detail and imperfection exactly. No figuring out if you got it right or if your stick was at the right angle. Works for corners, angles etc. fitting materials to concrete or stone walls etc.
Funny you should say that. We used exactly that technique to fit a long back panel to a wonky floor in the same kitchen.
Excellent example! Thanks
It was fun to do, too.
This is brilliant!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Brilliant, thank you!
That is so cool. May God bless
What a beautiful job, well done and I learned something too, perfect. 🍻👍👍
Interesting technique.
I would just use some 3mm thick plywood strips, pushed up against the walls, and simulating the front edge. And from there, I'd use hot melt glue to attach the strips together. The whole thing could be brought back to the shop.
I really enjoyed that, thank you for sharing kind sir!
Thank you!
Happy New Year Steve and thank you for the really helpful video. Neil
Same to you. Glad you enjoyed it.
oh me the material that got thrown away becaue didm;t know this little technique;;;lol;;;good one;;;
LOL! I'm sure we have all had those times.
Thanks Steve
I love how with all the exacting measurements throughout the videos, the camera starts at an angle
Brilliant.
@stevemaskery Can I give you a little tip? We are hearing quite a bit of the acoustics of the workshop. If you have the money, could invest in either a more directional microphone or a (wireless) lavalier microphone. That would make for a less fatiguing listening experience (esp for non-native speakers like me). Love the videos btw.
Thank you for the feedback. Getting the sound right is, indeed, the hardest part of the filming.
Nice advice.
Wonderful thanks for posting
Glad you enjoyed it.
I will be making one very soon.
Spall Stick. Spalling. Thank you. Pacific coast, USA.
I call them " ticking" stick. Used it many times in my site joinery.
Quite accurate , but there is a much better way to scribe what you are doing ... and a 100% spot on ... i fit sunseeker luxury boats .
Fantastic idea. I would want to extend the depth of the 'point' to touch the workpiece, thus avoiding parallax errors due to my poor sight!
You are right to identify the risk! That is why I stress the importance of keeping the board thin..
And I fully understand the eyesight issue - 2 years ago I was blind in one eye, now it is better than the other. Yay! The NHS, with all its faults, is fantastic.
@@stevemaskery3568 Agreed - I am glad you had a positive outcome, my friend.
Very neat.
lol .... great video!
Great video❤
In my uncle's cabinet ship in Alabama these were called "Preachers".
Assuming that all the walls are straight, not slightly curved, convex or concave needs to be checked ?
This is traditionally used in boatbuilding, where everything is curved. You just have to use more points and join the dots.
Nice work shop
To increase the accuracy of the marks you need to make from the tick stick to the final workpiece, you can close the gap from the tick stick down to the workpiece. Cut a piece of the same plywood the template is made of, and shape it to perfectly match the tip of the tick stick. Just before you go to transfer the marks to the final workpiece, you tape the tip piece to the underside of the tick stick.
If a person frequently used a tick stick, they might be tempted to make a more secure, and reusable, method to attach the tip.
Why not glue the front joint using wedges on the window side? Do away with piece of trim.
It's what the owners want.
There's a video on UA-cam where a guy fits out the plywood dfloor of his van using a ticking stick. It's a good demonstration on gow you would used it. Thanks for the video. I have already subscribed
Indeed, fitting out a van is equivalent to fitting out a boat in the olden days, very similar scenario.
Why not put a piece of material the same thickness as your tick board between your tick stick and the material to which you are transferring to you have an easier reference than trying to eyeball the space?
6:23
Yes, you could do tht.
Three Standard Stoppages.
M. Duchamp
Did he get ticked off?
I used these in boat building
3:39, HEY! your instructions said nothing about growing a 3rd arm!
We always called them story boards.
Spilling stick
I think you need to jump on the bandwagon and add a few lasers.
Wash your mouth out with soap and water! :)
Story Board
What happened to the how to "make" portion of your title? All you showed was how to "use" it. I came here for the thumbnail title. Please consider showing more about how to "make" a tick stick. Why is it shaped the way it is? Why the curves? Why the notches? Does it matter where they are located? Etc. Etc.??
He says right in the video the shape isn't so important.
It just has to be irregular and have points to reach corners.
If you cannot watch this video and intuitively discern what would or wouldn't be a good tick stick for yourself then perhaps your gifts lie elsewhere and not in carpentry.
I usually just take a piece of scrap and notch it in 3 places and cut a point on it. They are made and thrown away on site like a stick to stir paint. I usually make them out of the free stir sticks, actually.
Sorry, @@jwm6314, but it must be YOUR powers of perception that are handicapped, as I didn't ask YOUR opinion about any of this. So, either your a random troll, with nothing better to do than interject yourself into other folks converations, or your some simp solicited to intervene on behalf of the producer of the content because they can't articulate for themselves. Either way, your input is not needed.
This would drive me nuts either you have the skills and the eye or waste time
Just another skill to keep in the back of your mind....you never know.
So silly.
Just use your tape measure.
So rude. And you miss the point completely.
@SteveMaskery
No, I didn't.
All of this can, and is, done with a tape measure and/or a straight rule all the time.
imagine trying to do this job using fresh fruit instead.