Getting Centered

I love tools.

There have been times when I've made flimsy justifications, 

giving myself permission to spend money on a new workbench tool.

I didn't even pretend to hesitate when I saw this nifty tool at a recent bead show.

This wonderful piece of plastic that cost around $8.50 is a center locator.

I can hold any size disc within the V-shaped guides and mark a centerline which is quite useful when I want to cut out inner discs and drill holes for earwires and/or dangles.

I used to operate just fine without my new, super tool,

and would locate my cutouts and drill holes by eye.

Sometimes 'by eye' failed, and I would end up a tad off-balance...

probably something that only I would notice but that would be enough to make me toss the tad off-balance piece into the scrap box.

No toss outs in the batch of discs that I'm working on right now!

A central guide line helped me position the etched brass pieces in my disc cutter.

I used the guide line again to mark the drill hole location with a center punch.

The circles were then set on a solderite board and heat treated with my propane torch.

The small discs that were cut out were added to my container of interesting metal bits,

ready for use in a future project.

Some doming, some sanding and some wire wrapping of amethyst and labradorite...

and new earrings are ready to be delivered later this week.