On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 04:53:28 GMT, Ignoramus14408
wrote:

I would like to know what you use for marking/writing on steel... I
know that I could use chalk, but I was looking for something like a
white felt tip pen that I saw someone using... Any one knows what they
are called, etc. Thanks

i
For general marking, as in prices or ID e.g. junkyard, a Markall
paint ball marker. They work like ball point pens, but they contain
paint -- usually yellow or white.

For welding or cutting angle iron, etc, a soapstone marker.

For layout work as on sheetmetal or drilling (lacking DRO), spray
with layout blue (basically a fast-drying blue lacquer) and mark with
a sharp scribe. It's also available in red.

One very useful application of an inexpensive height gage as
http://tinyurl.com/at8o7
is precise coordinate layout of sheetmetal. They have a carbide
scribe. Spray the metal with layout stuff, let dry. Have one
square corner on the stock. Dial in and scribe the various X coords,
then rotate the stock and dial in the various Y coords. You need a
flat surface, as perhaps the top of a table saw, and an angle block to
hold the stock vertical while you're scribing lines. This process
is both far faster and far more accurate than use of a scale (ruler)
and scribe.