That Starrett made "center-finder" is intended to be used on smaller circles, and with a sharpened Tungsten-Carbide single-point "scribe tool", which scratches through a blue ink called "Dykem Layout Fluid".
Sure the centre finder makes you draw off-centre. So just flip it, draw again, and it'll make to extremely close parallel lines. Same for your intersecting lines. And you end up with a tiny parallelogram enclosing the true centre.
Update... Thanks to your idea, I found an old 24" framing square that was hanging around my tool shed being ignored, drilled two holes in the short leg, and with some hardware, I attached my Swanson Big "12" speed square to it. Presto-Chango, and 30 minutes later I have a centre finder that can handle up to a 30 inch diameter log. And with the wing nuts I can adjust the gap at the inside corner to accommodate different sized marking instruments. Thank you for making my day and for being the catalyst for helping me solve a tool problem without spending any money.
After watching all these videos today, I just got a sudden urge to go to the garage and play with circles. 😎 All your videos (not just today's) are high quality content, but today you also passed the quantity test.
Nice trick! I use those Silver Streaks all the time at work to mark defects. Back when I was a welder, an older guy blew my mind when he showed me that the cap came off and had a sharpener inside. Made layout more precise. Most people I show that to- to this day didn’t know about the “hidden” sharpener.
You don''t have to be spot-on; you're looking for the centre of a very small error. Great use for a speed square. Wish I'd been shown as an apprentice steel fabricator how damn handy those things are for marking around steel sections.
I like learning new ways to layout parts. These 3 videos were very informative. For more precise parts I will use layout fluid or a Sharpie and a scribe
You can also use a chalk line with a pump bob. Hold the circle vertically and set the chalk line at the circle's' top, then pop the chalk line. Rotate the circle(30, 45, 60, 90, etc.) and pop another line. Where the lines intersect is the center.
Great vid! Thanks for showing this. I'm gonna try this method with one slight modification to fix up the true centre issue: I'm going to put a piece of masking tape where the centre approximately is, then with the true centre, I'm going to run a scalpel to ever so slightly score the tape area right up against the true centre. And do that 3 to 4 times to triangulate the exact centre.
Outstanding ! You are a great source of info ! B.T.W. I have a leatherman Sidekick in near Virginal condition , that I will gladly gift to you . I gets little carry time , which is a Sin! Largely due to your input , my main Multitool battery is the Surge + Bit adaptor and Whia bits , for work , and Spirit X with a Leatherman adaptor which fits the Whia bits . Can’t beat the Spirit for elegance and compactness ! Again if you are interested the Sideclip is yours !
Oh wow, I’m definitely interested in the SideClip. It is one of the few I don’t own. Email me at txtoolcrib@gmail.com and I will forward you my mailing address. Thanks a ton!
I never thanked you for the SideClip. Let me take the time to do that now. It’s one of my favorites, and a wonderful addition to the collection, thank you.
@@txtoolcrib You still have me agonizing about ordering one of the Black Aussie Spirits , as a New Zealander , I hate to put Bucks in Australian pockets ( kinda like a Canada vs. US thing ! Off topic I think the plier less, minimalist Multitools are an Evelutionary dead end , Victorinox already covered that base ! Cheers and best regards !
Good method, simple and quite straightforward. You could also use it for a flat plane circle by using the points of a divider placed on the circle and butting the square against the points.
like it...another easy way is set the right angled piece as outside the circle to form two tangents. Then draw two right angle lines from the tangent contact towards the center of the circle. Where they cross is the center..
This is great. I want to point out something you did naturally that worked in your favor. You held the two parts together and didn't reverse or flip them. If you would have clamped them and done that simple rotation around the circumference with the assembly, the square could have been off by a little bit (say 89.5 deg), or the speed square (say 44.7 deg). When you make three or more tick marks in the center, the tiny circle will be exactly the center of a perfect larger circle. Similarly, i guess you could have used the Starrett and had a set of lines forming a tiny circle around the true center, a pencil width away, but the fat line is even fatter here. All bets are off if the outer circle is not circular, but it should still be close to the average center.
Now I know why my centers are always slightly off when I use the center finder of a combo square. Thank you. Would I have the same problem if I used a very fine point scratch marker?
Man, I gotta tell ya, when I watched that first video for finding the center I spent the next 15-30 minutes thinking of ways how to pull this off at work (especially when my boss sees it, cause he's mr. Know-it-all). Now with the new video I want to show off even more 😆😆😆
All you really have to do with the commercial centre finder is repeat it several times and the lines will intersect to create a small 'circle' the centre of which is dead centre. You tip is very relevant though... so long as you actually hold everything exactly the same!
I use a center finder and a scriber to locate the center of a round bar within a few thousandths of an inch. Then I use a center punch to mark the center and this is also off by a thou or two. Then I center drill which might be a little off as well. Then I mount the bar in a three jaw chuck which isn't perfectly accurate , and fix the outer end with a tailstock center. Now I take a trueing cut along the length of the bar and presto!, I'm now concentric with the lathe axis. Well, at least close enough for government work.
I will stick to the center square. You do not have to hold two different squares in perfect alignment to get your perfect center point and if you are using the silver marker you are not worried about being to accurate. Because it is not far from using those kinder garten colors that are 1/2 inch in diameter for easy handeling by little hands. And sliding the center square around the perimeter and making several marks your perfect center will be the center of the multiple of marks. That will be very close if your circle is uniform. I just never had much luck holding 2 tools uniformaly with one hand.
yeah I mean this is fine but the deviation in the 30 thou-ish centre finder is absolutely negligible if you cannot guarantee the 'circle' you have is perfectly circular... I've also never known anything to be marked like this for a centre to be critical down to much less than about 0.040 anyway. If you want a centre to be accurate scribing lines just use a scribe... which will press right up against the straight edge of the centre finder giving
You could probably just use a regular ruler. Place the 0 on one edge of thd circle and then pivot on the 0 until you find the largest length to the other side. That's your diameter. Rotate the circle and do it again. The intersection is your center.
You just need one speed square. Use the longer side of the square as chord. Then it is very easy to make a perpendicular bisector. Do the same thing from another point and two perpendicular bisectors will meet at the centre of the circle.
Problem I have with the way you do this is more with your marking device. Drawing out two measuring tools and a fat marker to mark out the exact center but making eyeball adjustments to compensate for the marking device. If that much precision is needed you need to be using a knife or a metal scribe to make your marks. Even doing that leave room for error having to hold the two squares together and make your marks. I do this operation a lot. I just use a compass set at half the diameter, make three arcs from the outside of the circle about a third of the way around the diameter. Where the arcs cross is the center. That will get you a very accurate center. If more accurate center than that is needed probably should find a machinist to use some precision equipment to mark it out. They should be able to get it down in the .001 range or better.
It seems everybody has a different method of finding the centre of a circle, the easiest way is to measure across the circle and find the largest measurement, mark both sides and draw a line across, then bisect the line, there is your centrepoint.
use dividers 😀put point near outside of disc, swing an arc, repeat a few times. the centre finder and square in video too small to be accurate for that diameter ie with centre finder its only sitting on the points, so cant be accurate
Or, you can simply draw your line with a scribe to achieve a most accurate line closest to the blade of the center finder head, then flip the tool so that the blade is opposite your line, scribe another line, you will notice about 1/16" gap between your two scribe lines. The center of that gap is your true center. :)
Your way and his way are both good and will get it close, however what you're saying wouldn't work with somthing needing accuracy. You would never be able to get the exact center of that gap of 1/16th inch. You might get it super close but you'll never have a true center that way. Just saying
Nice trick! I do think if I'm that concerned about the accuracy of the mark, I would use something like a scribe or marking knife rather than a pencil.
13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (YHVH, El Shaddai, Adonai, God of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham). John 3:13-18
A far easier way is to draw a circle on a piece of paper with your piece of what ever you are using and fold the paper twice and put the paper on the object and there is your center, no need to thank me , it was a pleasure to help out 😂😂😂
@@elconquistador98fold the paper circle in half, then fold the half circle in half to make a quarter circle. The center of the circle is where the two folds intersect.
Bullshit....Use a carbide scribe to draw your line with the starrett center finder.... you can only be off by 2 thousands of an inch.... use a scribe to mark your lines... that what us pros do.... .
That Starrett made "center-finder" is intended to be used on smaller circles, and with a sharpened Tungsten-Carbide single-point "scribe tool", which scratches through a blue ink called "Dykem Layout Fluid".
I’m aware
Sure the centre finder makes you draw off-centre. So just flip it, draw again, and it'll make to extremely close parallel lines. Same for your intersecting lines. And you end up with a tiny parallelogram enclosing the true centre.
@charlesdusautoy6637, Great point. I referenced your comment in something I commented.
Pen is foolish
Use a scriber and starrett center head.
How much more accuracy can you get?
Absolutely brilliant. You just saved me a good chunk of change by using tools I already have. Thank you.
Update... Thanks to your idea, I found an old 24" framing square that was hanging around my tool shed being ignored, drilled two holes in the short leg, and with some hardware, I attached my Swanson Big "12" speed square to it. Presto-Chango, and 30 minutes later I have a centre finder that can handle up to a 30 inch diameter log. And with the wing nuts I can adjust the gap at the inside corner to accommodate different sized marking instruments. Thank you for making my day and for being the catalyst for helping me solve a tool problem without spending any money.
Glad to hear it. Thanks for the update.
Nothing to build or "buy" for the purpose of finding the center of a circle. I just went out to the garage and tried it myself. How Great!
Wow! This is the most useful video I’ve ever seen!! I can’t Thankyou enough 👍
Easy peasy, much better way than other methods, thanks.
After watching all these videos today, I just got a sudden urge to go to the garage and play with circles. 😎 All your videos (not just today's) are high quality content, but today you also passed the quantity test.
Therev is classical geometry software you can start with, great fun.
Nice trick! I use those Silver Streaks all the time at work to mark defects. Back when I was a welder, an older guy blew my mind when he showed me that the cap came off and had a sharpener inside. Made layout more precise. Most people I show that to- to this day didn’t know about the “hidden” sharpener.
I hate to admit this, but it took me almost a year after I bought my first one to realize the same thing.
@@txtoolcrib I think I was on a year or two myself! Haha
Bravo! An ingenious idea, without having to buy or build a tool to find the centre!
You don''t have to be spot-on; you're looking for the centre of a very small error. Great use for a speed square. Wish I'd been shown as an apprentice steel fabricator how damn handy those things are for marking around steel sections.
I like learning new ways to layout parts. These 3 videos were very informative. For more precise parts I will use layout fluid or a Sharpie and a scribe
You can also use a chalk line with a pump bob. Hold the circle vertically and set the chalk line at the circle's' top, then pop the chalk line. Rotate the circle(30, 45, 60, 90, etc.) and pop another line. Where the lines intersect is the center.
Great vid! Thanks for showing this. I'm gonna try this method with one slight modification to fix up the true centre issue:
I'm going to put a piece of masking tape where the centre approximately is, then with the true centre, I'm going to run a scalpel to ever so slightly score the tape area right up against the true centre. And do that 3 to 4 times to triangulate the exact centre.
Thanks for sharing. A clean, , logical presentation. Can tell you are not an academic. You survive in the real world.
Thank you, I appreciate the feedback.
Great video. Enjoyed your video on Thale’s theorem as well. Thank you for the great info and happily subbed!
Awesome, thank you! I appreciate the sub.
Outstanding ! You are a great source of info ! B.T.W. I have a leatherman Sidekick in near Virginal condition , that I will gladly gift to you . I gets little carry time , which is a Sin! Largely due to your input , my main Multitool battery is the Surge + Bit adaptor and Whia bits , for work , and Spirit X with a Leatherman adaptor which fits the Whia bits . Can’t beat the Spirit for elegance and compactness ! Again if you are interested the Sideclip is yours !
Oh wow, I’m definitely interested in the SideClip. It is one of the few I don’t own. Email me at txtoolcrib@gmail.com and I will forward you my mailing address. Thanks a ton!
I never thanked you for the SideClip. Let me take the time to do that now. It’s one of my favorites, and a wonderful addition to the collection, thank you.
@@txtoolcrib I figured it was a minor oversight , not a sentiment . Glad it found a good home !
@@txtoolcrib You still have me agonizing about ordering one of the Black Aussie Spirits , as a New Zealander , I hate to put Bucks in Australian pockets ( kinda like a Canada vs. US thing ! Off topic I think the plier less, minimalist Multitools are an Evelutionary dead end , Victorinox already covered that base ! Cheers and best regards !
Good method, simple and quite straightforward.
You could also use it for a flat plane circle by using the points of a divider placed on the circle and butting the square against the points.
That angle rule is designed to be used with a scribe, which has a very fine point on it.
thanks!! you have saved me so much time!!!
Glad I could help!
like it...another easy way is set the right angled piece as outside the circle to form two tangents. Then draw two right angle lines from the tangent contact towards the center of the circle. Where they cross is the center..
That's a pretty neat trick. Thanks for sharing this
Maybe use a tungsten scribe?
Much sharper point
This is great. I want to point out something you did naturally that worked in your favor. You held the two parts together and didn't reverse or flip them. If you would have clamped them and done that simple rotation around the circumference with the assembly, the square could have been off by a little bit (say 89.5 deg), or the speed square (say 44.7 deg). When you make three or more tick marks in the center, the tiny circle will be exactly the center of a perfect larger circle.
Similarly, i guess you could have used the Starrett and had a set of lines forming a tiny circle around the true center, a pencil width away, but the fat line is even fatter here.
All bets are off if the outer circle is not circular, but it should still be close to the average center.
That is a great tip. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you very much for sharing that was extremely useful
Fantastic video! Thank you so much for this!
You’re very welcome.
Now I know why my centers are always slightly off when I use the center finder of a combo square. Thank you. Would I have the same problem if I used a very fine point scratch marker?
No, using a scribe will eliminate that problem.
Your center finder tool for the combination square is accurate if used with a scribe
Man, I gotta tell ya, when I watched that first video for finding the center I spent the next 15-30 minutes thinking of ways how to pull this off at work (especially when my boss sees it, cause he's mr. Know-it-all). Now with the new video I want to show off even more 😆😆😆
Lol. That’s great! Hope you get the chance to use it.
All you really have to do with the commercial centre finder is repeat it several times and the lines will intersect to create a small 'circle' the centre of which is dead centre.
You tip is very relevant though... so long as you actually hold everything exactly the same!
Use a scribe, and Starrett is a precision tool, made to layout true circles, rotate the centering head multiple times and get the exact center!
Great and simple idea
very simple, very helpful
Looked like the edge your pencil was on moved enough right at the very end is what happened. Very slight movement. Thanks for explaining your method.
Carpenters usually work in eighths. but this was a good little trick I’ve never seen before.
This works fine if both your framing square and your speed square are accurate. You can also adjust your normal center finder with tape.
Awesome, so simple.
Nice !! That's it. Just nice and easy ....
I use a center finder and a scriber to locate the center of a round bar within a few thousandths of an inch. Then I use a center punch to mark the center and this is also off by a thou or two. Then I center drill which might be a little off as well. Then I mount the bar in a three jaw chuck which isn't perfectly accurate , and fix the outer end with a tailstock center. Now I take a trueing cut along the length of the bar and presto!, I'm now concentric with the lathe axis. Well, at least close enough for government work.
I use a t squuare to make a square around it and then cross diagonals of the exosquare.
Could you make a video of all the gear and clothing you wear to work? Specially for winter months
That’s a good idea. I will try to get something together.
@@txtoolcrib 💯💯💯
@@txtoolcrib thanks for watching
Dykem And a scribe will help with the writing tool width
I will stick to the center square. You do not have to hold two different squares in perfect alignment to get your perfect center point and if you are using the silver marker you are not worried about being to accurate. Because it is not far from using those kinder garten colors that are 1/2 inch in diameter for easy handeling by little hands. And sliding the center square around the perimeter and making several marks your perfect center will be the center of the multiple of marks. That will be very close if your circle is uniform. I just never had much luck holding 2 tools uniformaly with one hand.
yeah I mean this is fine but the deviation in the 30 thou-ish centre finder is absolutely negligible if you cannot guarantee the 'circle' you have is perfectly circular... I've also never known anything to be marked like this for a centre to be critical down to much less than about 0.040 anyway. If you want a centre to be accurate scribing lines just use a scribe... which will press right up against the straight edge of the centre finder giving
You could probably just use a regular ruler.
Place the 0 on one edge of thd circle and then pivot on the 0 until you find the largest length to the other side. That's your diameter.
Rotate the circle and do it again. The intersection is your center.
Great content Mr TX 👏🏽🇿🇦
Thank you.
What country Is that? Im from México
@@danielorozco1728 Texas, United States.
@@txtoolcrib sorry mate, I was talking to the guy up there who commented with an african flag
Ahhhh, no wonder I was confused. Thought I missed something.
Great video !
The perpendicular bisecters
of either a cord or tangent of the circle will intersect at the
Center of that circle.
Chord
You just need one speed square. Use the longer side of the square as chord. Then it is very easy to make a perpendicular bisector. Do the same thing from another point and two perpendicular bisectors will meet at the centre of the circle.
Do one for bolt hole pattern layout the old school way
Problem I have with the way you do this is more with your marking device. Drawing out two measuring tools and a fat marker to mark out the exact center but making eyeball adjustments to compensate for the marking device. If that much precision is needed you need to be using a knife or a metal scribe to make your marks. Even doing that leave room for error having to hold the two squares together and make your marks.
I do this operation a lot. I just use a compass set at half the diameter, make three arcs from the outside of the circle about a third of the way around the diameter. Where the arcs cross is the center. That will get you a very accurate center. If more accurate center than that is needed probably should find a machinist to use some precision equipment to mark it out. They should be able to get it down in the .001 range or better.
Good idea(s)!
You can get the leatherman bond off of the rei website
Excellent tip!
It seems everybody has a different method of finding the centre of a circle, the easiest way is to measure across the circle and find the largest measurement, mark both sides and draw a line across, then bisect the line, there is your centrepoint.
Thanks Very good.
Simple - thanks
I like that. Thanks
use dividers 😀put point near outside of disc, swing an arc, repeat a few times. the centre finder and square in video too small to be accurate for that diameter ie with centre finder its only sitting on the points, so cant be accurate
Why would anyone be bothered about the thickness of the pencil nice video
Gimme a pair of scribing compasses, a plumb bob & snap line, and a rule & level, and I can easily measure twice and only cut once.
Mostly.
That’s why you use a razzer blade to scribe metal.
THANK YOU
Or, you can simply draw your line with a scribe to achieve a most accurate line closest to the blade of the center finder head, then flip the tool so that the blade is opposite your line, scribe another line, you will notice about 1/16" gap between your two scribe lines. The center of that gap is your true center. :)
Your way and his way are both good and will get it close, however what you're saying wouldn't work with somthing needing accuracy. You would never be able to get the exact center of that gap of 1/16th inch. You might get it super close but you'll never have a true center that way. Just saying
My way will get you within 1/32". If that's not close enough, you must be working for NASA!! @@johnzadinya2181
so helpful
Thanks.
But... but... is it legal?
As far as I know!
Nice trick! I do think if I'm that concerned about the accuracy of the mark, I would use something like a scribe or marking knife rather than a pencil.
You sound remarkably like Dustin Hoffman.
Why didnt I know about this 35 years ago?
Awesome
Use the center finder, but account for the error when you make your center mark
A touch off = the thickness of the marker 😂😂😂
13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (YHVH, El Shaddai, Adonai, God of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham). John 3:13-18
Thank you
👌👌👌👌👌
Why not just divide it by 2
This method eliminates any measuring.
Thre is easy way for find center
the better way i think - i'm french steel carpenter-
See Tomahawk DIY for the correct method.
Which method would that be?
@@txtoolcrib Watch the video. I guess all y’all just want to do things the hard way. I’m out.
Use a scribe
A far easier way is to draw a circle on a piece of paper with your piece of what ever you are using and fold the paper twice and put the paper on the object and there is your center, no need to thank me , it was a pleasure to help out 😂😂😂
Huh?
@@elconquistador98fold the paper circle in half, then fold the half circle in half to make a quarter circle. The center of the circle is where the two folds intersect.
@@ohsoloco5113 I understand now, but it is the long way around for sure
Talk about longing it out ffs
So you need a compass to draw the circle with, a piece of paper and then the “procedure”. You’re right, no need to thank you.
Can you tell me how to find the center of this sphere?
ua-cam.com/video/FnQsow6iT5c/v-deo.htmlsi=yxJmBelI4LxvYcdz
So your writing instrument is a marker. Mystery solved.😂
Actually, it’s not.
A pair of compasses and plumb line finds the center in about 2 to 3 seconds. Have a nice day.
thats not perfect . . . .
Witchcraft!
An overly complicated method and you are still a 32nd off center.
Bullshit....Use a carbide scribe to draw your line with the starrett center finder.... you can only be off by 2 thousands of an inch.... use a scribe to mark your lines... that what us pros do.... .
⁉️🔴⛔
Jesus. Takes 2 seconds to explain.
You took 3 minutes what should have been said in 10 seconds...
Zzzzzzzzzzzz
Why not just draw a line across the widest part of the circle, then 180 degrees and do it again, thats it..
Well give it a try both ways, then get back with me and tell me which one was better and faster.
This comment has no value to the reader.
Negative.....learn how to properly use a marking instrument, namely, the one you plan to use to mark the center.....
Really cool
still took too long