Axminster Scribe 'n Trace

[graduate_owner]

Hi everyone,
I get regular emails from Axminster informing me of their latest offers, (if you don't get these, sign up because there are often very good reductions on nice stuff) Today's offer is a scribing tool. It is a pencil contained in a holder, with 4 plastic wheels for different offsets, and is offered at £19.96 reduced from £34.96, so I'm wondering - am I missing something here? A pencil, holder and 4 round plastic disks for nearly £35? (Oh, and a sharpener). Trend also make these, available on Amazon for about £36. Now these may be very nice pieces of kit and totally indispensable for kitchen fitters and carpenters etc, and I'm not trying to rubbish them - I haven't even seen one - and I'm not trying to rubbish Trend or Axminster tools either. I am thinking though that I could make something like this, perhaps with plywood wheels, for practically nothing.

I am sort of comparing this with other stuff at £35, for example I could get a set of jaws for my evolution chuck for that sort of price - but I would not entertain the idea of making those jaws. On the other hand they sell button jaw plates for about £70 and again I'm sure I could make those.

Do any readers have experience of using professional scribing tools? Have any readers made their own scribing tools? Is it as easy as it looks or as I said above - am I missing something here?

K

 

[undergroundhunter]

Just use an appropriate sized steel washer and a pencil - costs nothing!

Matt

 

[Jacob]

Or just a pencil and your finger as a spacer.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

or a pencil and anything for a spacer, come to that.

 

[paulm]

All of the above :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It doesn't surprise me that people buy things like this - people buy bench hooks.

 

[worn thumbs]

Just use an old fashioned pair of compasses-adjustable to almost any sensible gap and if you don't allow them to rotate you are applying a more accurate translation of the desired shape.

 

[Glynne]

Starting to think Axminster are losing it. Shame really as I've bought some really good stuff from them in the past and had always used as a general guide to prices - but not any longer.

 

[blackrodd]

Just use an old fashioned pair of compasses-adjustable to almost any sensible gap and if you don't allow them to rotate you are applying a more accurate translation of the desired shape.

As above, Compass and pencil! Rodders

 

[porker]

Glad I wasn't the only one to think that this is probably something I could live without or make myself. I would use some old compasses.

In fact one of the pictures on the advert highlighted the shortcoming (that a compass wouldn't have). It shows scribing to a block wall. Where they pass the mortar fillet the radius of the 'guide' means it can't follow the profile accurately.

 

[Jacob]

All of the above :lol:

Cheers, Paul

Except the Axminster gadget of course! The only thing you don't need.

It's a real problem for beginners - if there is something advertised for sale for a particular purpose there follows an assumption that it could be necessary.
This is one. Another is a "flush cutting saw". Then there is the huge sharpening jig industry. Then there are sets of chisels (nobody needs a "set").
One of the craziest I've seen is Honerite (extremely expensive) which you add to water to make it non rusting. We always use oil instead of water.

 

[Ghengis]

+1 for a compass

 

[bugbear]

Well, the illustrated gadget has some merits - the pencil is kept dead central, and dead vertical, the discs are a precise size, and the rolling design means that it fast in use.

So far so good.

But the marginal benefits in speed and accuracy don't justify the price, and it doesn't really look as if the
manufacturing process justifies the price either.

BugBear

 

[Doug B]

Is it only me who thought scraps of 18mm MDF, a holesaw kit & your could do the same for cumquat all :?

 

[n0legs]

Is it only me who thought scraps of 18mm MDF, a holesaw kit & your could do the same for cumquat all :?

I've seen that done. Works perfectly well.
Doug you beat me to it :lol:

 

[bugbear]

All these people using fancy expensive compasses; a washer from the nut 'n' bolts coffee jar does the job perfectly well.

BugBear

 

[gidon]

Mind you, it's cheap compared to this:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-transfer-scribe

Although I guess slightly different ...

Gidon

 

[Jacob]

http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-transfer-scribe
I don't believe it!
I think that must be tops for Veritas total b.lox.
Even more stupid and expensive than the "bevel setter" (which can't set angles between 0 and 30º - the wording in their ads is a downright lie)
http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-metric-bevel-setter

 

[paulm]

Mind you, it's cheap compared to this:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-transfer-scribe

Although I guess slightly different ...

Gidon

Mmmm, shiny brass bits, I'm tempted 8) :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[Phil Pascoe]

About 10 weeks too early...