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Home / How to Use a Compass Drawing Tool

How to Use a Compass Drawing Tool

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A drawing compass is a useful tool. It can be used to draw a perfect circle in an art project or to help solve a problem in your geometry homework. If you don't have a drawing compass of your own, an easy replacement can be made with the help of a few household supplies and this wikiHow.

Steps Download Article

  1. 1

    Determine and draw the radius of the circle you intend to make. You can measure it out with the ruler if it needs to be precise.

    • Remember that the radius of a circle is only half of the circle's total length. The circle drawn with your compass will be twice as large as the radius you just determined.

  2. 2

    Line up the tip of each writing utensil with one end of the drawn radius. The two utensils should be opposite each other.

    • Be sure the actual writing part of your utensil is touching the paper at this point. If you're using a pencil, this is the graphite tip. If you're using a pen, click it so the ballpoint is out or remove the lid. If you're using a marker, remove the lid.

  3. 3

    Cross the bodies of the two writing utensils to form an X. Be sure to not allow the points of each utensil to move on the paper so that the size of the radius doesn't change.

    • The X shape may be thinner or wider than the one in the picture depending on the radius of your circle.

  4. 4

    Hold the place where the utensil bodies cross each other tightly and wrap your first rubber band around this cross. Try to wrap the rubber band around this point as tightly and as many times as you can.

    • You can put the lids back on your pens/markers before doing this to avoid getting ink on your fingers.

  5. 5

    Place the popsicle stick between the two writing utensils. It should rest on top of the utensil in the back and under the one in the front.

  6. 6

    Wrap your remaining rubber bands around both places where the popsicle stick and a writing utensil cross each other.

  7. 7

    Adjust the compass by sliding the rubber bands along the popsicle stick. You can use the radius you drew previously as a reference.

    • Moving the rubber bands toward each other results in a smaller circle and moving them away from each other results in a larger circle.

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  • With a homemade drawing compass like this one, it's easier to hold the compass in place and rotate the paper around it than to hold the paper in place and rotate the compass. It helps the circle stay centered.

  • Try using a thicker rubber band at the place where the writing utensils cross each other (to keep them steady) and thinner ones where they cross the popsicle stick (to make it easier to adjust the radius of a circle).

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Things You'll Need

  • Two writing utensils of similar thickness (a thinner utensil is preferable to a thicker one)
  • Three rubber bands
  • One popsicle stick
  • One ruler (optional)

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How to Use a Compass Drawing Tool

Source: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Drawing-Compass