How to Make a Drawing Compass
Drawing compasses are essential for those who want to draw perfect circles and arcs. Commonly referred to as drafting compasses, drawing compasses consist of a fixed point from which an arm extends. On most compasses you can fix a pencil to the end of the extending arm and rotate it around the fixed point to create circles and arcs. Mathematicians, architects and navigators have used drawing compasses since ancient times; they are still useful tools for builders, quilters and anyone else who needs to render accurate arcs and circles.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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1
Cut a strip of wood whose length is equal to half of your circle's desired diameter.
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2
Drill a hole, large enough to insert a pencil tip, into one end of the strip.
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3
Hammer a nail into the other end to secure the strip to a wood base. Make sure the wood strip can still rotate freely.
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4
Place your pencil into the hole and rotate to draw a circle or an arc.
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1
Tips & Warnings
If you want to draw large circles, make a temporary drafting compass to draw larger circles with the help of a friend. Tie a pencil to the end of a piece of string that is long enough to equal half the finished circle's diameter. Have your friend hold the other end of the string in a fixed place. If you're working alone, loosely tie the fixed end of your string to a post or nail that won't move when you pull the string taut.
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Comments
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This step-guide doesn't explain that you will actually need to make the wood strip larger than half the distance of your desired circle, to allow an inset space for the nail otherwise the necessarily inset holes for the pencil and the nail will shorten the desired circumference of your circle! You will also have to precisely measure the distance from the nailed end to the hole where you want to insert the pencil, so that the tip of the pencil sits dead centre.
