Tracing Long Crooked Lines Made Easy

This Instructable shares how I transcribed the crooked profile of my ceiling onto a beam for little to no cost.

1. Pencil - ( you could also substitute a marker, crayon, colored pencil, mechanical pencil, pen, quill, awl, you get the idea )
2. Tape - ( I recommend using electrical tape )

My dad once told me that the difference between a good Carpenter and a bad Carpenter is how well they hide their mistakes. Most of us don't have the quality tools we would like and manage the best we can.

I like my little digital calipers for measurements like these. Find the largest gap or error.

Keep wrapping until the distance from the center of your pencil to the edge of the tape matches the gap of your largest error. I used 2" masking tape which was a mistake. Wrap it tight with a higher density tape. Next time I plan to use electrical at both ends of the pencil. Like two wheels and an axle.

I've seen others use a fender washer to accomplish the same task. But as I sorted thru my bin of washers I couldn't find one with the right width. (OD-ID)/2

Good luck hiding your mistakes.