I use the point of a scriber for most hole-spotting in soft material, getting it centered and twisting it between my fingers. Sometimes, and always when drilling into harder metal such as soft steel, I use the same method, then follow up with a center punch. I have a General spring-loaded one with adjustable tension. You find the scriber dimple by Braille, with the point of the center punch.
Deano
graymatter Wayne Thanks for the post and thaks for the amazing picture.
Wayne
Thanks for the post and thaks for the amazing picture.
Thanks
T-h-a-n-k-s
Gots to spell better!
I use the pointy parts on a draughting compass, or set of dividers to "centre-punch" for drilling. The advantage to using the latter is that you can use it to "walk-off" identically spaced drilling points. In fact, after a #11 blade in my X-Acto, dividers might be my second most-used tools for modelling. They're great for doing layout work directly on a model - grabiron-style ladders on a freight car, for example: set them in relation to the car's end and use one point to guide the tool, and the other to lightly scribe a vertical line to define the mounting position, then adjust the spacing to scribe a second vertical line indicating the width of the needed ladder. Next, re-set the points to the vertical spacing required, and "walk" the dividers, in-turn, up the two scribed lines. The result is perfectly spaced and perfectly vertical ladders...
MRVP uses push pins
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I do a similar thing with a straight pin (with head clipped off), but just chuck it into a pin vise.
Ed
In the post discussing fixing a broken horn (which I presume is referring to the one on a diesel) one response involved using a sharp xacto tip to make a small impression in the plastic as a starter hole for the drill bit.
I use a different method with an easily-made tool. Take a pencil diameter-sized wood dowel rod and drill a hole in one end the diameter of a standard sewing pin. Nip off the head and glue the pin into the dowel rod. Then you have an easily held tool with which to make a precise impression hole for starting a drill bit. I use this when making grab holes and it always works. One other tip- when making starter holes I always use a piece of thin (Harbor Freight brand) plain masking tape to locate measured points on the tape with a very sharp #3 or #4 drafting pencil, then make my starter hole with my dowel and pin tool exactly where I want it. Then I drill. The tape protects the plastic shell against accidental slips when drilling.
Shades of the old "Kinks" column in MR!
Cedarwoodron