Shop-Made Center Finder for Round Stock

Center Finder Photo I made this jig to easily find the center on round stock, such as dowels. It’s just a triangular frame with a thin plate attached over one half that’s used as a marking guide (Photo, right). To find the centerpoint, you simply butt the round workpiece into the 90° corner of the frame and mark a line. Then rotate the stock, and draw a second line. The intersection of the lines is the center of the stock.

Center Finder Diagram The frame and the plate are both made from ¼″ plywood. Lay out the angles on the frame as shown below. Then cut it to shape with a jig saw or scroll saw. The plate is simply cut to size and then glued to the frame.

Good woodworking,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench

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Printer-Friendly Version Shop-Made Center Finder for Round Stock I made this jig to easily find the center on round stock, such as dowels. It’s just a triangular frame with a thin plate attached over one half that’s used as a marking guide (Photo, right). To find the centerpoint, you simply butt the round workpiece into the 90° corner of the frame and mark a line. Then rotate the stock, and draw a second line. The intersection of the lines is the center of the stock. The frame and the plate are both made from ¼″ plywood. Lay out the angles on the frame as shown below. Then cut it to shape with a jig saw or scroll saw. The plate is simply cut to size and then glued to the frame. Good woodworking, Wyatt Myers Online Editor, Workbench View a free online preview of Workbench magazine More Tips & Techniques Index of Tips by E-mail More Tips & Techniques WoodNET, Woodworking on the Web Subscriber Links Update your Email Preferences Subscribe
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