Need Help Finding a Circle Template!

What kind of sizes.  I have seen some PE brass ones, but they are for pretty small holes.

It sure is hard finding mechanical drawing supplies these days now that CAD is ubiquitous, but I would assume office supply and drafting supply places still have metal ones in the larger sizes.  Metal ones used to be popular because their thinness allowed more accuracy by getting tapered pencil points closer to paper.

Thanks Don, should have specified. I'm looking for holes under 1.5". What do you have in the way of brass templates? I've web searched office supply stores and amazon for stainless steel templates and have come up with nothing. Can't believe how hard it is to find a metal one...but then again I work with CAD everyday so I may be part of the problem LOL.

Circle templates are hard to use. Try investing in a circle cutter like this:

www.walmart.com/.../15407946

You can find them in the arts and crafts/scrapbooking dept.

That looks promising BlackSheep! They also make a "compass cutter" which can do smaller circles. I may have to give it a try. Thanks for the reply!

rooster513

Thanks Don, should have specified. I'm looking for holes under 1.5". What do you have in the way of brass templates? I've web searched office supply stores and amazon for stainless steel templates and have come up with nothing. Can't believe how hard it is to find a metal one...but then again I work with CAD everyday so I may be part of the problem LOL.

My stainless template is pretty small- all holes well under an inch.  My larger template is thin plastic.  I do have an old drafting instrument set in my workbench drawer, and often just lay out the circle on a part using the compass, though accurate setting of the compass is a pain.  Cheapness of modern digital calipers is nice for that job, though.

I have this one, and it works like a charm.

http://www.amazon.com/9911-CMP-1-Compass-Circle-Cutter/dp/B000BK7NWC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1437614790&sr=8-8&keywords=circle+cutter

Chrisk-k

I have this one, and it works like a charm.

That does look handy. How small of a diameter can that tool go to? Thanks for the reply!

About 8-9 mm is the smallest diameter.

Duh... if you clicked on the link I provided, it's the same product.

what's wrong with hole punches

Hole punchers come in only a few sizes.

Alright guys I think I've found a good solution to what I need. I just bought a cheap drafting compass from WalMart and put my Exacto knife in it.

I found that I get a better circle if I put the tape on a piece of paper and spin the paper instead of trying to spin the compass. I'm pretty happy with how it worked...now I just have to paint it

I'm doing this as practice for the Hurricane that I'm doing for the Battle of Britain GB where I hope to paint all the markings. Thanks for all the replies!

Try using the  Z Xacto blades instead. They're supper sharp than ordinary Xacto blades.

Nothing beats scalpel blades when it comes to sharpness.  I recently bought 200 scalpel blades for $9 on eBay.  That'll last for a long time.