This is a very simple and easy project to make, but very useful for our woodworking workshop. I no longer have a compass in the workshop, as when I did have one, it didn’t fare very well (I think I need to start making cabinets to store hand tools in the workshop), so when I need to draw a circle, I often look for something with more or less the desired diameter. Only if necessary do I go into the house to get the compass. But since this is a DIY blog, it’s time to see how to make a homemade compass.
(Review: Well, now I have a homemade beam compass.)
The most common need might be something to draw large circles, for which a beam compass is very useful. But with that type of compass, the beam compass, it’s not easy to draw smaller circles, so it’s worth making both models to draw all the circles we need. In the translated article, you will find the video with Spanish subtitles where you can see how John makes the compass, as well as a PDF file with the measurements that you can download and print. The materials needed to make this small compact compass are very basic and you probably already have most of them in your woodworking shops. The only slightly special thing is the two-component epoxy adhesive, but if you don’t have this type of adhesive, I can tell you that it’s also very useful to have and easy to find in hardware stores or DIY centers.
In the video included in the article on his website, he explains step by step how to make this wooden compass from the paper template. He uses his band saw and disc sander, but a project like this can be done with a scroll saw, a block of wood with sandpaper wrapped around it, and a hand drill.
You can find the link to the article in Spanish about this small compact compass by John Heisz in the woodworking projects tab of this blog, and there go to I Build It translations (number 3).