A recent project required installing 3⁄8"-diameter dowels centered into the ends of a length of 1 3⁄8"-diameter dowel. Not being a turner, I didn’t own a proper center finder for locating the dowel holes. Instead, I made do with my combination square. I found that by clamping a small piece of square scrap to the tool’s blade as shown, I created a perfectly useable center finder. To use it, I place the end of the dowel against the square’s body and the wood scrap, and strike a line across the dowel. Striking a similar line at about 90° to the first locates the center at the intersection of the lines.
—Brad Mumford, Boise, Idaho
