Woodworking Compass Scriber, Portable Aluminum Alloy Woodworking Compass Tool, Adjustable Metric/Inch Arc Drawing Ruler Circle Drawing Ruler Marking Gauge Circle Marking Tool

Great circle maker, best on Amazon so easy to use, good size hole for pencil end, I've used a pen, and a drafting pencil with h6 lead and its great

Very high quality aluminum construction. It has laser-engraved markings, & both metric/inch markings. You can use it to make large circles or scribe large arcs up to 21" radius or 42" diameter with the included self storing pen or just use a standard pencil. I use it for laying out numbers on large diameter clock faces.

I just tested my new arc/circle drawing tool and it works well. For storage the pin screws into one end and for swinging an arc the pin just drops into the hole near the opposite end. Light, downward pressure on the pin allows you to anchor the end and swing an arc without denting your wood. When making a small arc you will probably need to push the tool with your fingers, several inches farther out from the pencil, so that you don't break the pencil lead. I checked the imperial and metric scales against other accurate rulers and they matched. Be aware that the holes for marking are countersunk large enough for a regular pencil but the through-hole for the lead is small so a mechanical pencil is needed. A minor issue is I think the slide locking mechanism could be better. When tightening the thumb screw it was natural for me to gently squeeze the outer forks together but this caused it to break loose easily or not even lock. I tried without squeezing the forks together and it locked much better.

Good quality, especially for the price, like the deep pocket for the pencil to keep it straight, very pleased with this purchase

The compass is neatly done in anodized aluminum. The center point has a place where it screws in when not in use. The minimum radius is 1 inch. For laying out arcs or circles of a specific radius onto large stock, this product works just fine. On small workpieces where the compass hangs over the edge, it gets tippy and a bit hard to handle. I found the center point to be thicker than I would like. You have to hold down the center during the scribing process. The hole for pen/pencil is small and works best with a very fine point pen or a mechanical pencil. All in all, I like it better than many of the drafting compasses I have worked with.

Why did you pick this product vs others?: Solid, well made tool. Worked exactly as described.

This is a good item, have not been able to use it yet. I had thought that I could use it to make 1" circles, but the smallest circles that can be made are 2" ones. I tried to use a mechanical pencil for a marker, but it is very difficult to hold the pencil and turn the compass at the same time, you have to use whatever you are marking with to turn the compass, or figure out how to have three hands. "one to hold the pointer down into the wood, one to hold onto the marker and one to turn the compass." I haven't mastered that yet.

Quality exceeded what I expected. Very nice tool.