Leah Bolden is a general contractor and DIY educator. I have followed her YouTube channel, See Jane Drill, for years and have learned so many great tricks of the trade from her.

This past year, in my weekly tips newsletter, I shared this video on how to use a “ticking stick.” It was one of the most popular items I shared. I had never heard of such a thing, and apparently, I was far from alone.

A ticking (or tick) stick is a little tool, which apparently originated in boat building, that allows you copy and transfer a complex linear shape. Basically, it’s a piece of wood with distinct curves and notches on it. To copy your original shape, you place a piece of cardboard or paper inside the shape, place the tick stick in the corners, and then you outline the stick on your cardboard. The curves and notches act as registers so that, once you’ve marked all of the points of your shape, you move the cardboard to where you want to reproduce the shape and use the outlines you’ve drawn with the stick to mark the corners of your shape. From there, you simply connect these points to reproduce the shape. It’s much easier to understand when you see it in the video.