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Would you like to add information to this article? Interested in writing or submitting an article? Have a question about this article? Scribing a Farmhouse Sink to Fit 
Question
Since these sinks are handmade and have a +/- 2% from the original template, there is no official template supplied that I can use to draw the corner bottom front curves on my cabinet's stiles before cutting. The sink is heavy - 112 lbs! I can't just set it on there to trace, plus it is huge and very awkward. Has anyone installed one of these sinks before? If so, what was your method of getting an accurate template onto the cabinet? I would want to just cut a 90 degree angle, and fill the curve in after with a small piece of wood that I could redo if I made mistakes, but, my client wants one seamless curved cutout. I have one chance at this. Also, what tool(s) did you use for cutting the curved corner cutouts? Any help is appreciated.  Forum Responses
From contributor P: I just finished a kitchen with one of these monster sinks. It was supposed to be an apron front (which is easier to build for and install) but the customer changed her mind (mid build) and purchased the farm sink. Personally, I don't like the factory recommended install method of cutting and hoping it's right. What I'd do is cut the opening and then trim it out with a narrow molding. On the just finished install my installer tried to scribe the opening from a template like RWW suggests and missed. They had to caulk and fill (which to me looks awful) but the customer ok'd it rather than wait for me to make new stiles for the cab and hope they didn't miss again or use a trim molding. For a one-shot attempt at perfection because the customer is demanding it, I'd show them the +/- variance issue and get them to sign off on it before cutting the cab face. This will give you some insurance against the gaps that will happen. Trace a pattern, cut the opening undersized and fit the sink with a hand rasp until it's perfect.
From contributor A: Who agreed to scribe a Shaw's farmhouse sink with the customer? Why? I had to save an install on one of these our designer spaced but had no clue how to deliver. We ended up having to order three total aprons in the end. I was never able to scribe the thing tight in the end. Caulk was used and looks like crap in my opinion. Keep in mind that this is sometimes a three-dimensional scribe if you use a 3/4" panel. To the best of my knowledge Shaw's doesn't show a picture in their ads of one of these with a tightly scribed apron. I'm curious as to why anyone with any knowledge of cabinetry and kitchens would attempt to sell one of these installs. From the original questioner: I managed to do it and did a pretty good job for the first time. I did use the cardboard cutout template idea that Contributor R recommended, and it worked out great. This is what I did:
To trace the curved corners I used a piece of thick card stock paper that was bendable, taped that to the sink and bent it around the corners, then drew the curves onto the cardboard. I cut out the cardboard template right on the line (knowing that this would be tight fit). Before I drew my template onto the cabinet face, I slipped the cardboard template onto the front of the sink, just as if it was a stencil. Then I could really tell if it was a good fit or not before I made my cuts. I made slight adjustments to the template then slipped it on again for one final fit. When all was good, I taped the template in place onto the cabinet front and drew it out. I used my hand circular saw with laser beam to cut the straight edges, and a jig for the curves. But the curves I cut inward from the line so I had room to sand to perfection with my drill bit sand drum. The drill bit sand drum worked out to be the lifesaver. I just kept placing the sink into the cutout position, could see where it needed sanding, pulled off the sink, sanded again, and again. I think it took me about six tries, but when all was done, it gave me a pretty precise 1/16" fit and level. The good thing was that the sink's coating was tough and smooth, and it did not damage at all with all my reattempts to fitting into position.
From contributor M: I see the original questioner was able to get everything to work and was very happy with the results. However, in his original post he had indicated that the sink was very heavy, huge and awkward to handle and maneuver. If anybody has to do this in the future you might be able to take that cardboard template and transfer the pattern to a piece of 3/4" MDF. Take that piece of MDF and cut it and sand the cutout to fit exactly. You will need to keep testing the fit of the MDF template around the sink instead of lifting the heavy awkward sink into a cabinet cutout to test fit. Once that MDF template is correctly adjusted and fit, take the MDF template and clamp it to the face of the cabinet. Then get a jigsaw and cut out the bulk of the material leaving about an 1/8" of material remaining. Then take your router with a top bearing and route out the remaining material to the template. Then all you need to do is run a piece of sandpaper, maybe 150-220 grit around the inside of the cutout do deburr and the sink is ready to drop into place for final fit. You only have to lift that heavy sink once (other than getting it into the kitchen).
From contributor B: Well, after a little research, I found that fireclay expands .3 inches per 100 ft. per 100 degrees Fahrenheit temperature change. Thats only .01 in. for a 3-foot object, like a sink, which is not much. On the other hand, when wood is exposed to moisture it can move a lot, as we well know. A moisture change from 12% to 18% will expand a typical wood board 36 in wide 1/2 to 7/8 inch across the grain. Allowing a 1/8" space for proper caulking with a good quality elastic caulk to keep water from the sink getting into the cut out skirt would be the right way to go.
The comments below were added after this Forum discussion was archived as a Knowledge Base article (add your comment). Comment from contributor J:
Comment from contributor L: Another option is to: Turn the sink upside down and mark where the cabinet will cope to the sink. Make a very rough, oversized cutout that will fit over the sink. Place said cutout over sink where the cabinet will scribe to it and use a compass to scribe the line to the template. Place template on a piece of MDF and transfer lines over. Cut out and make so it scribes to the sink, then rout the shape onto the cabinet. Wood movement shouldn't be an issue as the rails that abut the sink are only a couple inches wide, not 36. Movement should be minimal. Still, there should be a very small and consistent gap that you can fill with silicone. If it's all consistent it should look good and be relatively water-tight.
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