How to Build an Oversized Compass

A compass is great for dividing lines and drawing circles with. Normally compasses are quite small, however I wanted to make one that could hold a permanent marker or a dry erase whiteboard marker. I also wanted it to feel like a nice old tool, that you could find in a classroom or something like that. Let's see how I built it.

First up the pen holder & the rubber pointer, the legs if you may. I made two pen holders that you can alter between two types of pens. For material I wanted something dark and substantial, so I decided to go with ipe. I had a couple of pieces, however you could use any wood you have on hand.

I used the lathe, and made curvy shapes and a tenon on the end. This basic step I repeated three times, slightly varying up the shapes. Then I drilled a hole, in another piece of ipe, and made sure that my tenon fit, and it did perfectly, measuring 5/8 inch.

I also drilled a 7/16 inch hole on the end of the pen holders, to fit a permanent marker, however the size you use here depends on what sized pen you're using.

Next up, the connecting pieces. They have mortises that fit the tenons of the round pen holder and rubber pointer, and they are connected with a screw at the top.

I cut these out on the bandsaw. I gave them a rough shape, then used a rasp to soften up the edges, and I resawed the part of them that connect together . Once I had my two pieces, I drilled a hole through both, and sanded them a lot to soften up the shapes and making the more round.

On top of the compass I made a round ball to hold on to when you use it. First I drilled a hole on the top of the holder measuring 1/4 inch. Secondly I made a tenon on the lathe, and a round ball connected to it.

To tighten and loosen the compass I decided to make a knob. I made a circle, divided the lines using angle bisecting, and cut it out on the band saw.

Next I chiseled out a place for the head of the screw inside the knob, and then epoxied it in.

I also chiseled out a hole in the holder where the round knob top is going, to fit a nut in there, and I epoxied that in as well.

Last but not least I epoxied in the round ball top to the holder.

To give the pointer a bit more grip, I cut out a piece of an eraser with a copper pipe, and hot glued it on.

To give all the pieces a nice finished, I went with shellac, which darkens the wood nicely and dries quickly.

Now when I had all of my pieces, all that was left to do was to assemble. I cut up some shipping material plastic to insert in between the knob and the other pieces for a little more friction.

For a more in depth look of the process, make sure to check out the video!