How to make and use a Tick Stick

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  • Опубліковано 1 січ 2025

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  • @Woodstock271
    @Woodstock271 Місяць тому +9

    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.

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  Місяць тому +2

      What a most very excellent story! Thank you for sharing it.

    • @Woodstock271
      @Woodstock271 Місяць тому +2

      @ , 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!

  • @MrPatdeeee
    @MrPatdeeee Рік тому +15

    Well done Steve. I never knew this in all my 92 yrs old. Thank you kind Sir. I shall do it I want!

  • @FurnitureMaker1638
    @FurnitureMaker1638 Місяць тому +24

    From the Southern U.S. We always called this a story stick...it tells the story of the piece.

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  Місяць тому +4

      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.

    • @Guishan_Lingyou
      @Guishan_Lingyou Місяць тому +1

      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.

    • @garysullivan8203
      @garysullivan8203 16 днів тому +4

      Calling this a story stick is wrong. Two completely different tools.

  • @rwind656
    @rwind656 Рік тому +7

    I had forgotten this technique! Thank you for the reminder! More, please.

  • @paulsiwy6097
    @paulsiwy6097 Місяць тому +5

    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.

  • @stuartmunn4932
    @stuartmunn4932 11 місяців тому +4

    Genius idea ! I needed this idea 2 years ago! I'm sure I'll need it again though, thank you :)

  • @andysweetland8645
    @andysweetland8645 11 місяців тому +5

    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.

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  11 місяців тому

      Hi Andy, great to hear from you! I thought of you when I was using your Allen keys only yesterday :)

  • @tomfull6637
    @tomfull6637 Місяць тому +8

    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

  • @MadMulberry
    @MadMulberry 12 днів тому +1

    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.

  • @bradboyer1381
    @bradboyer1381 Місяць тому +2

    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.

  • @jsmxwll
    @jsmxwll Місяць тому +3

    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.

  • @robinguysharman
    @robinguysharman Місяць тому +5

    Another thick slice of pure BRILLIANCE!

  • @ABC4TT
    @ABC4TT Рік тому +5

    Thanks Steve.
    Every day a school day :):)

  • @bobminchin
    @bobminchin Рік тому +3

    Excellent presentation of the tick stick methodology Steve

  • @russellwaite5874
    @russellwaite5874 7 місяців тому +5

    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. 🙂

  • @SteveCohenPhilly
    @SteveCohenPhilly Рік тому +2

    Thanks, By necessity, I have a low tech shop. Sometimes low tech is the best way to do something. I will use this!

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  Рік тому

      The older I get, the more I like Low-Tech.

  • @trahtrebor
    @trahtrebor Місяць тому +3

    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.

  • @tabhorian
    @tabhorian Місяць тому +1

    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.

  • @ChuckCampbell-rj7jh
    @ChuckCampbell-rj7jh 3 місяці тому +3

    From the left coast of Canada - Thank you for the excellent explanation. Plan to use these technique in the next few days! 👍😎👍

  • @martinlouden9005
    @martinlouden9005 Рік тому +2

    Extremely useful technique Steve.

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  Рік тому +1

      Thanks 👍. As old as the hills but always new at the same time, eh?

  • @GaryWilkinson-b3n
    @GaryWilkinson-b3n Місяць тому +1

    Brilliant Steve. Thanks for sharing. A definite "tick" in the box!

  • @timloer5419
    @timloer5419 Місяць тому +3

    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

  • @alansmith5690
    @alansmith5690 13 днів тому +1

    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.

  • @iangill4410
    @iangill4410 Місяць тому +1

    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.

  • @caigner
    @caigner Місяць тому +1

    Thanks for sharing your tips and tricks and helpful gadgets.

  • @jwm6314
    @jwm6314 Місяць тому +1

    Brilliant move tucking under. Watching the fit was gratifying.

  • @Sebastopolmark
    @Sebastopolmark 11 місяців тому +7

    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! !! !!!

  • @compunurse
    @compunurse Місяць тому +1

    I love this. Using the traditional to make the marks and a contemporary track saw to make the cuts.

  • @colinball1960
    @colinball1960 8 місяців тому +1

    Low tech and low cost that works. Well done Steve.

  • @PeoplesCarpenter
    @PeoplesCarpenter 19 днів тому

    This excellent presentation of an ancient and clever technique earned you a subscription. :)

  • @davidossinger8183
    @davidossinger8183 Місяць тому

    I learned about the tick stick, but also just picked up a few hints about clamping and holding workpieces! Very helpful video.

  • @botman9391
    @botman9391 Місяць тому +2

    This is the second video I've watched. Great stuff, I've subscribed and liked! Thanks for the great tips and ideas!!!

  • @Woodgate425
    @Woodgate425 11 місяців тому +2

    Thanks Steve, another excellent tip and video.

  • @soualidjerbi
    @soualidjerbi Місяць тому +1

    nice demo Steve. thanks for sharing

  • @bradleytuckwell4881
    @bradleytuckwell4881 11 місяців тому +2

    Well I just got schooled thanks for sharing a brilliant method and that is so worthy of a sub

  • @MCsCreations
    @MCsCreations Рік тому +2

    Pretty interesting indeed! Thanks, Steve! 😊
    Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

  • @teckerg4756
    @teckerg4756 12 днів тому

    whoever thought of this first is sooo clever ........i love it

  • @arkadybron1994
    @arkadybron1994 Місяць тому +4

    In the boatyards that I grew up around in Southampton, these were called spiling sticks, because the technique was called spiling.

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  Місяць тому

      That's a new one on me, so thank you very much!

  • @TheSaintemplar64
    @TheSaintemplar64 Місяць тому

    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

  • @dougk5456
    @dougk5456 Рік тому +1

    Very interesting!!! Very clever tool!!! Thank you for the information.

  • @TheHansoost
    @TheHansoost Місяць тому

    Glad I got up this morning. I learned something! Very good presentation.

  • @viscache1
    @viscache1 Місяць тому +1

    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.

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  Місяць тому

      Funny you should say that. We used exactly that technique to fit a long back panel to a wonky floor in the same kitchen.

  • @David.M.
    @David.M. Рік тому +1

    Excellent example! Thanks

  • @rufinocabrera8164
    @rufinocabrera8164 11 місяців тому

    This is brilliant!
    Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

  • @ricsanders69
    @ricsanders69 День тому

    Brilliant, thank you!

  • @richardcarlson5189
    @richardcarlson5189 Місяць тому +1

    That is so cool. May God bless

  • @chrisholt2474
    @chrisholt2474 17 днів тому

    What a beautiful job, well done and I learned something too, perfect. 🍻👍👍

  • @acerjuglans383
    @acerjuglans383 Місяць тому

    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.

  • @tallpaul7657
    @tallpaul7657 Місяць тому

    I really enjoyed that, thank you for sharing kind sir!

  • @JeffreyFeyh-rb4xk
    @JeffreyFeyh-rb4xk 7 годин тому

    Thank you!

  • @neilcarter6543
    @neilcarter6543 Рік тому +1

    Happy New Year Steve and thank you for the really helpful video. Neil

  • @oleman490
    @oleman490 Рік тому +3

    oh me the material that got thrown away becaue didm;t know this little technique;;;lol;;;good one;;;

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  Рік тому

      LOL! I'm sure we have all had those times.

  • @dennisclapp7527
    @dennisclapp7527 20 днів тому

    Thanks Steve

  • @MikeBenton
    @MikeBenton 29 днів тому

    I love how with all the exacting measurements throughout the videos, the camera starts at an angle

  • @tomshahriari6602
    @tomshahriari6602 Місяць тому

    Brilliant.

  • @a.vanwijk2268
    @a.vanwijk2268 24 дні тому

    @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.

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  24 дні тому

      Thank you for the feedback. Getting the sound right is, indeed, the hardest part of the filming.

  • @1deerndingo
    @1deerndingo Місяць тому +1

    Nice advice.

  • @mrclaus859
    @mrclaus859 Рік тому

    Wonderful thanks for posting

  • @BigBlueDog8
    @BigBlueDog8 Місяць тому

    I will be making one very soon.

  • @ollierobin
    @ollierobin Місяць тому

    Spall Stick. Spalling. Thank you. Pacific coast, USA.

  • @Big222Dog
    @Big222Dog Місяць тому

    I call them " ticking" stick. Used it many times in my site joinery.

  • @jimisullivan1240
    @jimisullivan1240 Місяць тому

    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 .

  • @thedubwhisperer2157
    @thedubwhisperer2157 5 місяців тому

    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!

    • @stevemaskery3568
      @stevemaskery3568 5 місяців тому

      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.

    • @thedubwhisperer2157
      @thedubwhisperer2157 5 місяців тому +1

      @@stevemaskery3568 Agreed - I am glad you had a positive outcome, my friend.

  • @NigelTolley
    @NigelTolley Місяць тому

    Very neat.

  • @Tboyhoot777
    @Tboyhoot777 Місяць тому

    lol .... great video!

  • @ralphchristopherson782
    @ralphchristopherson782 9 місяців тому

    Great video❤

  • @tvideo1189
    @tvideo1189 Місяць тому

    In my uncle's cabinet ship in Alabama these were called "Preachers".

  • @geekay101
    @geekay101 25 днів тому

    Assuming that all the walls are straight, not slightly curved, convex or concave needs to be checked ?

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  24 дні тому

      This is traditionally used in boatbuilding, where everything is curved. You just have to use more points and join the dots.

  • @freqeist
    @freqeist 6 місяців тому

    Nice work shop

  • @deezynar
    @deezynar 11 місяців тому +2

    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.

  • @MegaGavinski
    @MegaGavinski Місяць тому +1

    Why not glue the front joint using wedges on the window side? Do away with piece of trim.

  • @planespeaking
    @planespeaking Рік тому +1

    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

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  Рік тому +1

      Indeed, fitting out a van is equivalent to fitting out a boat in the olden days, very similar scenario.

  • @Christ_on_the_River
    @Christ_on_the_River 4 дні тому

    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

  • @Johnconno
    @Johnconno 28 днів тому

    Three Standard Stoppages.
    M. Duchamp

  • @Tboyhoot777
    @Tboyhoot777 Місяць тому

    Did he get ticked off?

  • @Cmxx1v
    @Cmxx1v Місяць тому

    I used these in boat building

  • @vladtepes97
    @vladtepes97 Місяць тому

    3:39, HEY! your instructions said nothing about growing a 3rd arm!

  • @chattonlad9382
    @chattonlad9382 Місяць тому

    We always called them story boards.

  • @aitchhennequin3979
    @aitchhennequin3979 15 днів тому

    Spilling stick

  • @adrian-mu3jr
    @adrian-mu3jr Місяць тому +1

    I think you need to jump on the bandwagon and add a few lasers.

  • @psychedelic-guitar-art
    @psychedelic-guitar-art Місяць тому

  • @robertharloff560
    @robertharloff560 Місяць тому

    Story Board

  • @texaswoody1
    @texaswoody1 Місяць тому

    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.??

    • @jwm6314
      @jwm6314 Місяць тому

      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.

    • @clickbaiterhater
      @clickbaiterhater 24 дні тому

      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.

  • @KarlBretz-sp5ni
    @KarlBretz-sp5ni 6 місяців тому

    This would drive me nuts either you have the skills and the eye or waste time

    • @Ragingmarmot
      @Ragingmarmot 5 місяців тому +1

      Just another skill to keep in the back of your mind....you never know.

  • @AZ-kr6ff
    @AZ-kr6ff День тому

    So silly.
    Just use your tape measure.

    • @SteveMaskery
      @SteveMaskery  День тому

      So rude. And you miss the point completely.

    • @AZ-kr6ff
      @AZ-kr6ff День тому

      @SteveMaskery
      No, I didn't.
      All of this can, and is, done with a tape measure and/or a straight rule all the time.

  • @vladtepes97
    @vladtepes97 Місяць тому

    imagine trying to do this job using fresh fruit instead.