I use trammel points almost every day to scribe out large arcs. One of my biggest frustrations with trammels is that many hold standard wood-body pencils only.
Because of this, my line is always thinner at the beginning of the mark and fatter at the end. The difference in line width can make a difference to the end result.
So I sought some trammels that would hold a mechanical pencil with a fine lead so that the line thickness would remain the same. I couldn’t find one that satisfied me.
But before I started designing my own for Crucible, I decided to see if I could modify a cheap pair of trammels to do what I wanted. And that’s when I stumbled on the Micro Mark Clamp-on Trammels.
These will not win any beauty contests. But the pencil holders can be filed to accept a mechanical pencil. The tool’s body is likely some sort of zinc alloy, so it took only a few minutes to do the job (I think the paint was harder than the metal).
With this small modification, I have the trammels of my dreams. And for less than $15.
— Christopher Schwarz
To read previous entries in the gift guide, click here.
did you ever find a set you like that use a pin or knife to scribe the line?
nope
Have you ever found a good compass that will hold a mechanical pencil?
Nope!
May I recommend Pentel Automatic Sharp pencils? My absolute faves. I use the .09 (yellow) ones for construction projects, and the .07 (blue) ones for finer work. I’ve never used a .05 lead size that doesn’t constantly break, but these two pencils are really sturdy. I have a half-dozen of each, always on hand.
At the risk of spoiling a future gift guide post – do you have a favorite mechanical pencil?
Nope. Oops. Yes.
See my comment above. They are great.
I just noticed it’s the same one Chris is using in the accompanying photo. Great minds think alike!