In short: Darken the metal with permanent marker, then scribe your lines with a fine steel scriber against a rule and use spring dividers for circles, parallel lines along an edge and equal spacing. A scribed line is finer and more permanent than a pen line, so your saw, file and drill follow exactly what you drew. Mark drill points with a small dent so the drill cannot wander.
Most cutting mistakes are really marking mistakes. A thick pen line that rubs off halfway through sawing, a circle traced around a coin that was never quite centred, holes spaced by eye — the saw and drill simply follow what you gave them. Marking out with dividers and a scriber takes a few minutes longer and gives you lines a fraction of a millimetre wide that stay put. Here is the kit, and the handful of techniques that cover nearly every job at the jewellery bench.
The kit
A scriber
A scriber is a hardened steel point in a handle, used like a very sharp pencil. The 120 mm marking-out scriber has a fine ground tip set in a turned hardwood handle. Use it against a steel rule for straight lines and freehand for transferring design details.
Spring dividers
Dividers look like a compass with two points. A spring bow at the top holds the legs apart and an adjusting nut or wheel sets the gap, so the setting stays put while you work. 3-inch scribing dividers with a centre adjustment wheel put the wheel between the legs where your thumb falls, which makes fine, one-handed setting easy. A 3-inch spring divider with a knurled side nut does the same job with the adjustment on the side. If you mark out a lot of harder metals, layout dividers with tungsten carbide tips hold a fine point for longer.
Something to measure from
A steel rule, and a pair of calipers to read the setting of your dividers accurately. Our measuring & marking collection has dividers in several sizes alongside calipers and gauges.
Prepare the surface
A scribed line on bright silver can be hard to see. Colour the area first with a permanent marker and let it dry. The scriber cuts through the ink and leaves a bright, crisp line on a dark background. When you have finished cutting, the ink cleans off with a little solvent or in the pickle and polishing stages.
File one edge of your sheet straight and square before you start. Many of the techniques below work off an edge, and a wavy edge gives you wavy lines.
Five techniques that cover most jobs
1. Straight lines against a rule
Hold the rule firmly, tilt the scriber so its point runs right against the rule's edge, and draw it towards you in one steady stroke with light pressure. One light, clean stroke is better than several heavy ones, which wander and leave a ragged groove.
2. Lines parallel to an edge
Set the dividers to the distance you want. Run one leg along the filed edge of the sheet and let the other scribe a line on the face. It is the quickest way to mark a border, a strip width or a bezel height, and it is exactly parallel every time.
3. Circles and arcs
Mark the centre, make a tiny dent there with the scriber point so the divider leg has somewhere to sit, set the dividers to the radius and swing a circle. Lean the dividers slightly in the direction of travel and let the weight of your hand do the work. For a disc you plan to saw out, scribe the circle and saw just outside the line, then file down to it.
4. Equal spacing
To space holes or decorations evenly along a line, set the dividers to the spacing and "walk" them: pivot on one leg, swing the other to the line, pivot on that, and so on. Each step leaves a small mark. If the last step does not land exactly where you want it, adjust the dividers slightly and walk the line again. Walking a circle the same way divides it into equal parts, which is how to lay out evenly spaced claws or a pierced rosette.
5. Finding the centre of a disc
Set the dividers to roughly the radius of the disc. With one leg against the edge, scribe a short arc near the middle. Repeat from three or four points around the edge. The arcs form a small shape in the middle, and the centre of that shape is the centre of the disc. Mark it with a dent.
From marking to cutting and drilling
Every drill point should start as a small dent made with the scriber point or a centre punch. A drill bit placed on a smooth surface skates; placed in a dent, it stays where you marked. For piercing work, scribe the design, drill a pilot hole inside each enclosed area, and saw along the line with the line just visible on the waste side. File to the line, not past it.
Looking after your points
- Keep points protected when not in use. A cork or a piece of plastic tubing over a scriber tip stops it being blunted in a drawer.
- Do not use dividers as a lever or a prise; the legs bend and the setting will never be true again.
- If a point becomes blunt, touch it up on a fine sharpening stone, keeping the original taper. Replaceable legs on some dividers make this easy.
- Check the two points meet exactly when the dividers are closed. If they do not, measurements walked along a line will drift.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between dividers and a compass?
Dividers have two hardened steel points, so both legs can scribe a line or sit in a mark. A spring bow and adjusting nut hold the setting firmly while you work. A drawing compass usually has one point and one pencil, which is too coarse for marking metal.
How do I make scribed lines easier to see on silver?
Colour the area with a permanent marker and let it dry before you scribe. The scriber cuts through the ink and leaves a bright line on a dark background. The ink cleans off afterwards.
How do I space holes evenly along a strip?
Set your dividers to the spacing and walk them along a scribed line, pivoting on alternate legs so each step leaves a small mark. If the last mark does not land where you want it, adjust the dividers slightly and walk the line again.
How do I find the centre of a metal disc?
Set the dividers to roughly the radius, rest one leg on the edge and scribe a short arc near the middle. Repeat from three or four points around the edge, and the centre of the small shape the arcs make is the centre of the disc.
Related guides
- Piercing & Fretwork: Cutting Designs from Sheet
- Calipers & Sizing Gauges: Measuring at the Bench
- Drilling holes and using burs at the bench: a beginner's guide
Careful marking is the cheapest accuracy you can buy: a few minutes with a scriber and dividers saves an hour of filing. Free UK delivery from £30, and unused tools can be returned within 30 days.