Metalwork year 8

Metalwork tools
Name:

Marking out tools

Scriber
Scribers are used to mark sharp
clean lines on metal surfaces.

Dividers
Dividers have two sharp-pointed steel legs joined by a pivot and bow string. The
distance between the points is adjusted with a screw and nut.

Dividers are used for:

 drawing arcs and circles.

 marking out equal spaces along a
length of material.

How to use dividers to scribe an arc:

 Establish the length of the radius or

other distance required.

 Set the dividers to this distance using a steel rule.

 Locate the dividers by positioning one leg at the
centre of the circle. This should be a centre punch
mark.

 Swing the other divider leg around to scribe the arc

required.
Squares
The two main types of squares used in the metalwork workshop are the:

 Try square

 Flat square

Try-square
They are made up of a stock and
blade and the blade is always accurately set at
90° to the stock.

How to use an engineers’ try-square

 guide a scriber when marking out a line

at right angle to one edge of the work
 check the flatness
 check the squareness of internal or
external right angles (90° angles)
Flat square
The flat (plate) square is used for marking out on
large flat plates and sheets.

Care of squares

 Do not drop a square.

 Do not use a try square for any other use, especially as a hammer.

Centre Punch
A centre punch is used to locate a centre position.

 Always use a hammer and not a

mallet to strike a punch.

Answer the following questions

1. What is the appropriate use of each of the following tools?

a. Scriber A scriber is a hand tool used in metal work to mark lines on workpieces, prior to
machining. Some scribers have a point at both ends. It is used by dragging the point
over the surface of the workpiece to leave a shallow scratch on its surface.

b. Dividers In their simplest form, dividers consist of a jointed pair of legs, each with a sharp
point. They can be used for geometrical operations such as scribing circles but also
for taking off and transferring dimensions.

c. Flat square The square refers to the tool's primary use of measuring the accuracy of a right
angle (90 degree angle); to try a surface is to check its straightness or
correspondence to an adjoining surface.

2. How do you adjust the size of a set of dividers?

By unscrewing a screw on the side of the dividers.

3. Apart from scribing lines square to and edge, what is another use for a try
square? Another use is to see how straight the edge of the line you created is and if it is
perpendicular to the edge of the metal.

4. Which tool would you use to strike a centre punch?

Hammer
5. Why wouldn’t you use a mallet to strike a centre punch?

As the mallet head is made of soft plastic which decreases the power of impact whereas the
hammer has a hard metal head good for producing power.

Measuring tools
There are two main types of measuring tools that you will use in the metalwork
workshop.

 Steel rules
 Calliper’s

Steel rule
Steel rules are used for measuring lengths and are described by their length. Those
used in metalworking range in length from 150mm to 2m, with the 300mm the most
common.

Correct use of a steel rule is necessary for accurate reading.

Proceed as follows.
 Position the rule at right angles to
your eye so the graduations are
clearly seen. These graduations can
be as fine as one millimetre or even
half a millimetre.

 Place the square end of the rule level

with one edge of the metal.

 Make sure the rule is at 90° to this

edge.

 View the scale squarely so an accurate reading is obtained.

Other uses for the steel rule
 guide to draw or scribe a straight line.

 straight-edge to test the evenness of a flat surface.

 scale for setting dividers and other marking out tools.

Calipers
Callipers are classed as either:

 Inside calipers

 Outside calipers

 Odd leg calipers

Inside Calipers
The inside caliper is used with a rule to measure the
internal dimensions of parts.

Outside Calipers
An outside caliper is used with a rule to measure
the external (outside) dimensions of parts.
 Odd leg calipers
An odd leg caliper is used to draw a line parallel to
an edge of a piece of metal.

Using calipers
 Since calipers do not have a scale,
they must be used with a steel rule to
measure the dimensions of a part.

 Place the leg of the caliper on the end of the rule.

 Move the other leg until you obtain

the measurement you want.

Answer the following questions

1. Which tool would you select to measure each of the following?
a. The internal size of a hole. Inside Callipers

b. The length of a piece of metal Metal ruler

c. The diameter of a round piece of metal bar. Metal ruler

2. What is the correct procedure to read a steel rule?
Align the 0mm/cm mark to the edge of the thing you want to measure, so that your
measurement can be accurate instead of measuring from the end of the ruler which doesnt start
from 0mm/cm
3. What is another use for a try square other than marking lines square to an edge?
To also measure if the line you have created is 90 degrees

5. Why is it important to place a centre punch mark at the point where you are going
to drill a hole? so the drill bit has a small indent that it can rest in.