Shims are used to provide additional support between door
jambs, structural framing members and are often referred to as wedges.
The picture below provides you with an excellent example of shims that
are being used to adjust the center stair stringer.
|
|
 |
Don't Throw Your Old Wood Shingles Away
When I first started working in construction, there were still plenty of
roofs that were built using wood shingles and it wasn't hard to find
them, laying around the job site. It also wasn't uncommon to find
carpenters with a bucket of wood shims in their vehicles, made from
leftover roofing shingles.
Make Your Own Wood Shims
The shims in the picture above were created with a circular saw and a
couple of scrap pieces of wood. You can also set up your table saw or
radial arm saw to cut your own shims, also. If you are planning on
making your own shims, try to find a board that doesn't have any knots
or small ones.
Problems Using Wood Shims
I've seen wood shims shrink, loosen up and fall out of their original
positions. To prevent this from happening, make sure that you glue,
screw or nail your shims into place, to limit their movement.
I don't advise using hardwoods for shims, because they're too hard to
break and often difficult to nail or screw into. Redwood, cedar and
pine, will provide you with excellent wood shims.
|
|
|
