Introduction: Centre Finder

In this Instructable I’ll show you how I have created a center finder.

I built this center finder to more conveniently find the centers of objects. It is made from 6 mm thick wood. No screws, nails, dowels or complicated joinery is required to make this.

Here are the materials used:

  • 6 mm thick sheet of wood
  • wood glue

tools that I used:

  • wood saw
  • sandpaper
  • clamps
  • file (optional)
  • hand plane (optional)

Step 1: Measure Twice Cut Once

I marked out the cut lines on the piece of wood. The laid out pieces are 2 to 3 mm bigger than their final dimensions as cuts made with the saw are usually not very smooth and will require a bit of clean up with some sandpaper or a file.

Cuts should be laid out in a way that it allows you to get to pieces easily with a saw, but also allowing the most efficient cutting. Pieces with the same width can be laid out in a line.

Step 2: Clean Up Edges and Plane to Final Dimensions

Now that cutting is complete. The sides and ends of the cut pieces might be rough. I used a hand plane to smooth out the edges. Alternatively a file or sandpaper can be used.

After the pieces are down to final dimensions, and the pieces are smoothed. The next step is the glue up.

Step 3: Glue Up

First layer

  • Apply glue to the edges of the first two pieces.
  • Clamp the onto a flat surface and allow to dry.
  • Ensure that the they are at 90°

Second layer

  • Apply glue to the faces and glue on the piece at 45°.
  • Use a clamp to hold the piece in place
  • Check that it is at 45°
  • The other two pieces can be glued on
  • Make sure they are square

Third layer

  • Glue the last pieces.
  • Check they are square

If you do not have enough clamps, large binder clips will do.

Step 4: Clean Up Ends and Fill Up Gaps

After gluing up the ends are uneven.A dovetail saw makes quick work of making them smooth.

Gaps created during the glue up can be filled with glue then with sawdust. Using finer sawdust will yield better results.

Step 5: Its Ready, Time for a Test!

It’s completed! After just 30 minutes we have a simple yet accurate tool that will save you lots of time when you need to mark the center of a workpiece.

It's especially useful for marking round pieces. Lay your workpiece in the corner against the two edges of the wood, mark a line along the 45° edge, rotate the piece and mark another line.

It will be stained and finished and ill show you how to do it in this instructable

https://www.instructables.com/id/Baking-Soda-Wood-Stain/

Hand Tools Only Contest 2017

Participated in the
Hand Tools Only Contest 2017