home made scribe

[jumps4]

Could you guys recommend the metal or raw materials for making a scribe. I bought a used starrett surface gage missing the scribe. I need one... can you order them separately? Are they expensive?

the best i have found is a broken carbide endmill reground to a point the 1/8 burs work well and will hold an edge forever. it you need a certain diameter use the shank of a broken drill the proper size, heat to red and quench then grind to point. drill shanks are soft so you have to heat treat.
steve

 

[wolframore]

I bought a 5 pack of 1/2" drill bits I used to sharpen a scribe. I chucked it up on a drill and ground to a point at the grinder... it worked! I got the point hot enough to turn purple which i quenched in water. It was hard enough to scribe cast iron without losing it's tip. Now if I could find some longer pieces!

~Charlie

 

[strantor]

How do you use this scribe? Is it a hand held tool? I've only seen a scribe used in a video once and it was mounted on a base like a dial indicator. Does scribing a line make the metal easier to bend?

 

[wolframore]

stantor I think you're talking about a surface gage or a height gauge. the one in the design is for running against a parallel side to put a scribe in like the mortising gauge or a marking gauge for wood working.