How to Easily Find the Center of a Circle for Drilling
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.
- 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.
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 out the paper template of your circle. Make sure you cut carefully on the line and not inside or outside the line.
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 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.
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.
Line your drill up on where the two fold lines intersect. That's the center so you are ready to drill.
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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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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