How to Easily Find the Center of a Circle for Drilling

3 Materials
$1
10 Minutes
Easy

How do you easily find the center of a circle for drilling without have to break out your protractor or dust of your math skills? I can help you with that!


If you've ever needed to drill the center of a circle for a home improvement or craft project and you've tried to eyeball it then you know things can go wrong really fast.

What You'll Need


  • paper larger than the circle you need to drill
  • a pen or pencil
  • scissors
  • blue painters tape
  • a drill

Lay the sheet of paper on the table and place the circular object you need to drill (in my case this wooden plate) on top of the paper.

Trace


Use your pen or pencil to trace all the way around the circle. Make sure you don't shift the plate while you're tracing or your center will be slightly off.

Cut Your Template


Cut out the paper template of your circle. Make sure you cut carefully on the line and not inside or outside the line.

Fold


Carefully fold the template in half by matching up the outside edges of the circle. Take your time and make certain the edges are matching all the way around before you crease the paper.

Fold Again


Fold the template in half again to form a triangle. Again, making certain that your edges match all the way around. The point is the center of your circle.

Apply Your Template


Using blue painters tape so you don't mark the surface of your project, tape the template to your project. Make sure your edges all line up before applying the tape. Make any adjustments you need so those edges are aligned or you will not be drilling the exact center.


A few millimetres either way may not seem like a big deal but please trust me it will bother you.

Drill It


Line your drill up on where the two fold lines intersect. That's the center so you are ready to drill.

You're A Pro!


There you have it! You now know how to find the center of a circle every time.


Thanks for reading and I hope this has helped with your project. For more tips visit my website.

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Stacy Verdick Case
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 4 comments
  • William William on Jun 15, 2020

    Super tip. When I got into woodworking back in the 70's I always used tips like this one. As my shop and tools grew I was able to afford or make my own jigs. But I still fall back on simple tips like these. Great share

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    • Stacy Verdick Case Stacy Verdick Case on Jun 17, 2020

       Totally!

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