![]() ![]() The better quality compass, made of metal, has its piece of pencil lead specially sharpened to a "chisel edge" shape, rather than to a point. Alternatively, an ink nib or attachment with a technical pen may be used. The pencil lead draws the circle on a particular paper or material. ![]() The needle point is located on the steady leg, and serves as the center point of the circle that is about to be drawn. This sort of compass is often known as a "pair of Spring-Bow Compasses". The better quality compass, made of plated metal, is able to be finely adjusted via a small, serrated wheel usually set between the legs (see the "using a compass" animation shown above) and it has a (dangerously powerful) spring encompassing the hinge. The hinge can be adjusted, depending on desired stiffness the tighter the hinge-screw, the more accurate the compass’s performance. The screw through the hinge holds the two legs in position. Each has a separate purpose the steady leg serves as the basis or support for the needle point, while the adjustable leg can be altered in order to draw different sizes of circles. There are two types of leg in a pair of compasses: the straight or the steady leg and the adjustable one. Users can grip it between their pointer finger and thumb. The handle, a small knurled rod above the hinge, is usually about half an inch long. Typically one leg has a spike at its end for anchoring, and the other leg holds a drawing tool, such as a pencil, a short length of just pencil lead or sometimes a pen. Today those facilities are more often provided by computer-aided design programs, so the physical tools serve mainly a didactic purpose in teaching geometry, technical drawing, etc.Ĭompasses are usually made of metal or plastic, and consist of two "legs" connected by a hinge which can be adjusted to allow changing of the radius of the circle drawn. By the mid-twentieth century, circle templates supplemented the use of compasses. Prior to computerization, compasses and other tools for manual drafting were often packaged as a set with interchangeable parts. Compasses can be used for mathematics, drafting, navigation and other purposes. As dividers, it can also be used as a tool to mark out distances, in particular, on maps. A bow compass capable of drawing the smallest possible circlesĪ compass, more accurately known as a pair of compasses, is a technical drawing instrument that can be used for inscribing circles or arcs. ![]()
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