mklotz
Well-Known Member
You guys seem to like some of my self-made tool oddities so here's a rehash of one that some you might find intriguing.
My woodworking buddy had problems getting the prick punch at the intersection of the scribed lines when he tried his hand at metalworking so I made this simple device for him.
The cylinder is drilled and reamed to accept the prick punch made of hardened drill rod.
One quarter of the cylinder is precisely milled away to leave a shape reminiscent of a partially eaten cheese wheel. (As a child, my daughter referred to this as "Daddy's cheesey tool". Out of the mouths of babes...)
The punch is inserted in the hole as shown and the cheese is oriented such that the two straight edges lie on the intersecting layout lines. A light tap with the hammer and the mark is placed at the intersection.
But wait, there's more, he screams waving his Ginsu knives in the air. If you have a piece of stock tilted in the milling vise, it's very difficult to locate to the exposed edge of the workpiece with an edge finder. Easy. Just pull the punch out of the "cheese" and drop it over the edge. Now you can use an edge finder to locate to the OD of the cheese and, knowing its diameter, know your location relative to the part edge.
I have to admit to seldom using the cheese for layout anymore though I frequently use it to locate to edges. In fact, I've made a couple of smaller variants sans punch.
My woodworking buddy had problems getting the prick punch at the intersection of the scribed lines when he tried his hand at metalworking so I made this simple device for him.
The cylinder is drilled and reamed to accept the prick punch made of hardened drill rod.
One quarter of the cylinder is precisely milled away to leave a shape reminiscent of a partially eaten cheese wheel. (As a child, my daughter referred to this as "Daddy's cheesey tool". Out of the mouths of babes...)
The punch is inserted in the hole as shown and the cheese is oriented such that the two straight edges lie on the intersecting layout lines. A light tap with the hammer and the mark is placed at the intersection.
But wait, there's more, he screams waving his Ginsu knives in the air. If you have a piece of stock tilted in the milling vise, it's very difficult to locate to the exposed edge of the workpiece with an edge finder. Easy. Just pull the punch out of the "cheese" and drop it over the edge. Now you can use an edge finder to locate to the OD of the cheese and, knowing its diameter, know your location relative to the part edge.
I have to admit to seldom using the cheese for layout anymore though I frequently use it to locate to edges. In fact, I've made a couple of smaller variants sans punch.
