Scribing Tips

Layout supplies are supplies used for scribing lines on flat surfaces of metal, wood, plastic, etc., or for operating punching work. Layout supplies include scribers, compasses, scribing blocks and punches. The tip of hardened layout supplies wear out as they are used frequently, but those with carbide tips are characteristically durable. Some scribers are pencil-shaped and convenient to carry; there are also scribers which have needle points that extend from and retract into the body like a pen. Precision scribers, which can also draw curved lines, are suitable for precision scribing. Additionally, layout supplies include scribing blocks for drawing lines at a certain height from surface plates or centering workpieces by sliding on surface plates. Normally, punches are used together with a hammer to make a dent at the center of a hole, but there are also tools called automatic center punches that can make a dent without using a hammer.