Here’s one of those beginner projects that I just love. I’m all about making my own tools, even if they can be purchased for a fraction of what it costs me to make them in terms of man-hours. Why? Because I get a renewed sense of satisfaction every time I reach for a tool that I’ve made. My handmade tools are a constant reminder of how satisfying this hobby can be.

Mike White from the Franklin Technology Center in Joplin Missouri sent in this set of plans for a nifty collapsible scribe. What’s neat about this particular scribe is it’s ability to collapse down and nest inside itself. It reminds me of those hammer/screwdriver combos where the screwdrivers are nested inside the handle of the hammer. However, like many combination tools the ham-driver was never a good hammer or a good screwdriver. It was a mediocre combination of both. But I digress …

This scribe design solves the problem I have with my current $5 scribe – it protects me from getting jabbed with the point when not in use. Sure my $5 scribe came with a protective rubber tip. But I lost it within a few days somewhere in a pile of swarf. With this setup I’ll be able to slip my scribe into my bib overall pocket next to my scale and never poke myself!

My only question for Mike is what method do you recommend to harden the scribe? Keep in mind that people making the scribe may have no experience whatsoever in hardening. So an explanation of the cheapest/easiest/safest technique would probably be best.

Mike also shared plans for a machinists hammer (ball peen style) which I’ll post in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing your plans with us Mike!

If you’re an instructor like Mike and you’d like to share your student plans with the site, please feel free to submit them using the “Submit Your Plans” tab at the top of the page. I’ll provide a link (and thus free publicity) back to your school or website. Every submission helps this site grow. Thank you for your support!

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Tags: Beginner, Lathe, Tools, Units (in)

This entry was posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 1:00 PM and is filed under Lathe Projects, Tools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.