Does watching YT scribing make you cringe?

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graham-xrf

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Not scribing scribing in general. I mean the kind I now often see on YouTube, where the Sharpie or layout fluid is there, and the point of the measuring caliper is used. The caliper is tilted slightly to get the other jaw over the edge of the metal, and he scrapes a line into the ink.

Sure - I get it that one might be using a Hong Kong eBay special bought for £8.50, and maybe you can scribe a line so gently the very loved Mitutoyo Analog Dial 6" won't care, but I still can't bring myself to do it!

For about the price of a cheepie digital, (the kind that can't return to it's zero), I got one of those vernier setting things with a roller and a carbide scribing rod sharpened as a one-side wedge.
 
I have an old Mitutoyo that I have been scribing lines with for 20+ years and there is no visible (or measureable by me) wear to the tips.

I also have several cheap HF calipers that also scribe just fine with no damage.

As long as you are only scribing ink and not trying to scribe the metal, it is fine.
 
Yes, it definitely makes me cringe, and I definitely think less of the folks doing it, it is not a workmanlike way of doing things.
 
I always use my old Tumico verniers for this . They're still going strong after 40+ years , but I also have an extra 15 or so good pairs that I would never use to do this . :grin: Shop quality tools are just that , shop quality .
 
I would never consider it. I use a combination square and scribe or surface plate and height gage for that purpose.
 
I'm not one to tell someone how to use their stuff. I have several, and enjoy old Dodge trucks. I hate to see people destroy them off road, but I do not have the money to buy the Dodges, and get the folks to go buy a ford, so all I can do is watch. Unless the folks work for me, or are using my tools, there is nothing I can say, but some day they will be sorry, or maybe they are too dumb to know what they are doing, in that case, ignorance is bliss. But, I also think there is a lot worse stuff on YT, then someone scribing with a caliper tip. :dunno:

This will make most anyone cringe, yet they do not care, they are making insane amounts of money from YT. Destroying a brand new truck is nothing to them.

 
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This goes back to the shortcuts and secrets of the trade thread someone posted a while back . It's not something I would teach , but it's something I do regularly . I'm in charge of keeping production lines running . Most of these lines produce more $$$$ in a single day than I make in an entire year . Sure , the correct method would be Dykem it up , use the heigth gauge , pull out the protractors , combination squares and the trammels , scribe lines , then cut to a roughing state . You still have to finish machine it . All this is well and fine , if you're not worried or being watched for time . If a $5 set of disposable verniers will do the job , why not ? If you did this in any of the companies I worked for , you wouldn't last long . Time is money .
 
A tool made for this is "hermaphrodite caliper". The point can be easily sharpened, and even replaced. The drawback is that the tool has to be set against another tool
 
I do all the suggested techniques, as well as using my vernier to scribe a line. I'm the only guy in my group that has multiple hermaphrodite calipers.

-- When do I use my vernier? to lightly scribe softer materials, such as brass, aluminum or annealed steel. In 40 years you cannot see the rounding over on an optical comparator. If you need a deep scribe, the other techniques are superior.
 
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