Scrounging around for the right sized round object to draw a circle has
gotten old so I finally made myself a compass.BTW, the template for the top
of the compass is the bottom of a yogurt cup.

It's made from hard maple. The bolt is a regular 1/4-20 carriage bolt. After
being chucked in the lathe, it took me all of 2 minutes with a file,
sandpaper and then a little buffing compound to turn it into a toughable
chrome-like fastener. Originally I was going to use a wing nut on the other
side, but I found that I could thread a bolt directly into a 7/32" hole and
the threads held just fine. Oh, and there's a reason why the "nut" looks
alot like a -20- biscuit.

Thanks for looking.

Steve






** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

C & S wrote:

Scrounging around for the right sized round object to draw a circle has
gotten old so I finally made myself a compass.BTW, the template for the
top of the compass is the bottom of a yogurt cup.

It's made from hard maple. The bolt is a regular 1/4-20 carriage bolt.
After being chucked in the lathe, it took me all of 2 minutes with a file,
sandpaper and then a little buffing compound to turn it into a toughable
chrome-like fastener. Originally I was going to use a wing nut on the
other side, but I found that I could thread a bolt directly into a 7/32"
hole and the threads held just fine. Oh, and there's a reason why the
"nut" looks alot like a -20- biscuit.

Thanks for looking.

Steve


I'm thinking that's very cool and a neat use of some small scraps. Seems
like a store-bought compass may have taken less time though


--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

C & S wrote:

Scrounging around for the right sized round object to draw a circle has
gotten old so I finally made myself a compass.BTW, the template for the
top of the compass is the bottom of a yogurt cup.

It's made from hard maple. The bolt is a regular 1/4-20 carriage bolt.
After being chucked in the lathe, it took me all of 2 minutes with a file,
sandpaper and then a little buffing compound to turn it into a toughable
chrome-like fastener. Originally I was going to use a wing nut on the
other side, but I found that I could thread a bolt directly into a 7/32"
hole and the threads held just fine. Oh, and there's a reason why the
"nut" looks alot like a -20- biscuit.

One of those shop gadgets the you can use w/pride. How wide is the max.
radius? I'm always trying to draw circles way bigger than the standard
store bought compasses will go. Guess I ought to follow your lead!

Maybe you ought to draw up some outlines on grid paper and submit it to the
tips section of one of the WW magazines. Who knows, it might win you a
nifty new tool or a little bit of $.

Thanks for looking.

Thanks for posting...

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller, Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Registered Linux User No: 307357

"Kevin Miller" wrote:

One of those shop gadgets the you can use w/pride. How wide is the
max.
radius? I'm always trying to draw circles way bigger than the
standard
store bought compasses will go. Guess I ought to follow your lead!

Find an engineering drafting supply house and take a look at a beam
compass.

Might even check Google.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in news:B1IVj.2043$Uz2.45
@trnddc06:


"Kevin Miller" wrote:

One of those shop gadgets the you can use w/pride. How wide is the
max.
radius? I'm always trying to draw circles way bigger than the
standard
store bought compasses will go. Guess I ought to follow your lead!

Find an engineering drafting supply house and take a look at a beam
compass.

Might even check Google.

Lew




Or do what I did: get a 2 or 3 foot chunk of 3/8 square bar stock and
some 1/2 OD (3/8 ID) square tubing (so the bar makes a sliding fit in
the tubing; spend a few minutes at the steel stock display at your local
hardware store or big box finding the right pieces). cut a bit of tubing
to make a trammel, drill and tap a couple of holes in the trammel, (one
for a thumbscrew, one on the opposite side for a short 4/40 machine
screw with the head filed to a point), drill and tap a hole in one end
of the bar stock for a 6/32 machine screw likewise sharpened, and hey,
presto! A beam compass! Granted, 'tain't as pretty as maple, but it
works. I suppose a little time spent polishing it up would make it
prettier, but it does the job.

I'm thinking that's very cool and a neat use of some small scraps. Seems
like a store-bought compass may have taken less time though

Sure, but what's the fun in that. Actually, a large non-beam-type compass
is tough to find. This one can comfortably draw a 12" radius. That meets my
turning needs just fine.

Once in a blue moon I will need to strike an arc with a longer radius. At
that point I'll throw together a one-off beam compass.

regards,

Steve


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