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In order to make the oval tabletop for my arcade cocktail table, I needed an adjustable compass capable of drawing large radius circles. My mind immediately went to the compass my high school geometry teacher used to draw on the chalkboard. It’s really a simple affair with two arms: one for holding firmly to a center point and one to holding something to draw with. You can buy a woodworking compass for less than $20 on Amazon, but I made this one in about 5 minutes and it gets the job done for free.
Woodworking Compass Materials
- Wingnut with 3/16″ bolt at least 2″ long
- ¾” sticks, 26″ long (the length of the stick will roughly govern the maximum radius you can draw)
- Carpenter’s pencil
- Duct tape (Fancy Florida Gators duct tape on Amazon)
- Double-threaded screw (swag hooks typically come with one of these for screwing directly to a stud. If you don’t have one laying around, I’m sure you can figure out another solution)
Drill a 3/16″ hole through each stick about an inch from the top. Push the bolt through the hole and loosely tighten the wingnut. Attach the carpenter’s pencil to the other end of one stick. Drill a shallow hole slightly smaller than the diameter of your double-threaded screw in the end of the other stick. Screw in the double-threaded screw and you’re ready to roll.
