Frienda 300 mm/ 11.8 Inch Round Center Finder Compass Lathe Centering Tool Circle Gauge for Drawing Circles, Lathe Work and Woodturners, Round Template Clear Acrylic Drawing Circles Diameter

This is the best centre finder I've used for entering on wood turning.

Nice and solid. Thicker than i was expecting. Good quality.

Almost all the other circle templates only went up to 10", and this one goes up to 11.8". The only downside for some may be that it is only in metric, but for me, I am really just trying to maximize a piece of lumber for turning on the lathe, so I just need to get reasonably close to draw the circle.The plastic is thick enough to inspire confidence in its durability, but I'll know more after using it for a while. I will be using this to mark out turning blanks from larger pieces of wood that I have cut or milled with the chainsaw, and then after marking, I cut as needed on my Laguna 18BX bandsaw. My lathe is only a midi lathe, a Laguna 12/16, so I need to make sure the blanks I put on are sized appropriately for the lathe ( I do have the outboard side extension, so I can turn up to 16" diameter, but only 12" over the main bed).I also have manual compasses, but this is much faster for me to find the center and maximize a particular piece of lumber. Once I know the center, I put my drive center in that position and give it a quick tap so that it can register to that location on the lathe if I turn between centers, or to drill the hole for my worm screw if I want to use my chuck first.

First the negative.. There were some slight blemishes and a scratch on one side, almost as if it had been used before. The other thing is that the markings are etched into the plastic, so are pretty light in color. A little hard to see when laid on a piece of light colored plywood.... Had they been inked black, it would have been easier. But in spite of those negatives, it was laid out well, with degree markings all around the outside edge (which is the main reason I wanted it). There are concentric circles marked out at 1 centimeter intervals to a final 4 centimeter circle in the center. There is a center hole, of course, and small holes at each of the centimeter circles. Not needed for my particular project, but potentially useful in future projects. The fact that it was 11.8" in diameter rather than 12" was an advantage for me as well. Over all, in spite of the small complaints at the beginning, I would give it 5 stars. It is well made, thick plastic, so pretty solid, and did exactly what I purchased it to do. I would buy another one if I needed it, and would recommend it to anyone else needing such a device.

The thickness of this itme was the first thing I noticed - VERY sturdy. And here is the BUT... It would have been nice to have each set of radial holes at different measurements - all three are mark out Centimeters (10mm). How about one set starting at 5mm and going 10mm each. I can only do circles in increments of 10mm. What if I need one at 155mm?The other small item, as some have mentioned, is the very light color of the markings - VERY hard to read.With those changes, I'd give it 10 stars. :)