Built my own compass

[Allan Ferguson]

Got to thinking seriously about a large compass for the shop. Well; after several failures. #3 is my new compass. I did bore the holes for the pencil and steel point on the lathe. It will do a 22" circle.

[Roger Chandler]

Way cool, Allan! Very nice!

[daryl moses]

Great idea!! Looks very nice.

[Don Orr]

Outstanding!

[Robert Willing]

Great compas Allan. How do you hold the pencil in place? What did you use for the point?

[Allan Ferguson]

For the pencil, I drill for a tight fit. thinking 17/64th, took a tiny bit off the pencil corners. a good friction fit. The metal point made from a torx screw driver bite, tight fit blind hole. Torx end ground to a sharp point . If you would like I can send photos of joints .

[Robert Willing]

Thanks for the info

[Al Launier]

Nicely done - a very worthwhile project that will always be useful.
As an aside, I'm wondering if a "locking strap" of some sort to lock in a radius would be useful if the compass were to be used a number of times to prevent accidental bumping/changing of the radius?

[Allan Ferguson]

At this time there is no finish in the joint and it locks down tight. Only time and use will tell. If a greater diameter joint bearing surface were used the holding ability could be increased.