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Question "pencil compass" for gunsmithing
- Thread starter Mike8623
- Start date
3. Have a nice strong gauge attached????? All of my drafting compasses don't have any gauges. Could you elaborate?
I would recommend Ebay for a good used one. Lots of old name brands there. I have Dietzen, Craftsman, Staedtler, & Keuffler & Esser. Some sets, some individual items. All are good professional brands back in the days before CAD.
As far as #4. You get a high dollar scale with etched grooves in it for setting the points. Scales are available for 50 & 100 of an inch, but I don't go more then 1/64".
All my good ones use an ink point that gets dipped in ink. You want a compass with an adjusting screw in the center of the legs to lock in the size. I do have compasses that can strap in a ball point pen or pencil, but they are not very accurate.
I would recommend Ebay for a good used one. Lots of old name brands there. I have Dietzen, Craftsman, Staedtler, & Keuffler & Esser. Some sets, some individual items. All are good professional brands back in the days before CAD.
As far as #4. You get a high dollar scale with etched grooves in it for setting the points. Scales are available for 50 & 100 of an inch, but I don't go more then 1/64".
All my good ones use an ink point that gets dipped in ink. You want a compass with an adjusting screw in the center of the legs to lock in the size. I do have compasses that can strap in a ball point pen or pencil, but they are not very accurate.
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2014
- Messages
- 6,558
A scale on a compass is generally useless, especially with a pencil or for precision work. It is always best to measure point to point, otherwise, you can never be sure where the pencil point actually is in relation to the other point or its length, all of which would effect a scales accuracy.
Look at woodworking tool sites for a solid compass I CS Osbourne makes a nice one.
Look at woodworking tool sites for a solid compass I CS Osbourne makes a nice one.
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2015
- Messages
- 8,235
No gauge on a compass. on my drafting compasses, you can adjust the needle point length, so the length changes.
The process for measuring is to use a precision scale with etched in markings, and put the compass in the etched lines for accurate measurement.
I have a beautiful set of drafting compasses. The ink are nibs and are accurate , but the line they leave is not. The thickness of the ink is the problem. A scratched line is more accurate I'll show you what I mean in a few. I was using them the other day.
The process for measuring is to use a precision scale with etched in markings, and put the compass in the etched lines for accurate measurement.
I have a beautiful set of drafting compasses. The ink are nibs and are accurate , but the line they leave is not. The thickness of the ink is the problem. A scratched line is more accurate I'll show you what I mean in a few. I was using them the other day.
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- Joined
- Nov 14, 2016
- Messages
- 2,995
That is a divider, not a compass.
As with the pictures above, I have a selection of all of them. The compass I referred to is the second on the bottom of Woodchucker's top picture with the nib alongside. You put sharp points in to scribe, or use the pencil or nib for drawing.
As Aaron pointed out, that is a divider. I have a drawer full of dividers, inside, straight and outside. Don't have a hermaphrodite yet. They are used to transfer measurements or quick reference, not for precision.
Here is a Starrett scale for 100's. Just the first I pulled up. You can find them in all sorts of brands from Chinese to Starrett, Mitutoyo. If you use the scribe points, you really want an etched scale, not just printed.
C616R-6
As Aaron pointed out, that is a divider. I have a drawer full of dividers, inside, straight and outside. Don't have a hermaphrodite yet. They are used to transfer measurements or quick reference, not for precision.
Here is a Starrett scale for 100's. Just the first I pulled up. You can find them in all sorts of brands from Chinese to Starrett, Mitutoyo. If you use the scribe points, you really want an etched scale, not just printed.
C616R-6