View source for Optical Center Punch

http://kitplanes2.com/blog/2016/09/a-clever-gadget-optical-center-punch/

<big>A Clever Gadget</big><br/>
Posted on September 2, 2016, 12:31 pm, by Paul Dye, under Kneeboard Notes.

[[File:optical-punch-2.jpg|350px]] 

One never stops learning! Although I have been working on airplanes most of my life, I still smile when I get to learn something new–which is almost every day, as the building world is huge, and the amount of accumulated experience and knowledge vast beyond comprehension. Take, for instance, this neat little tool–an optical center punch.

I am sure that the machinists among our audience will say “oh that? I use one every day!” But I somehow had never encountered one until a friend showed me just how he locates holes with unbelievable accuracy. I am used to measuring for a hole, drawing two fine, intersecting lines, then using a mechanical center punch carefully placed to make a dent for my drill bit. The optical center punch makes the punched spot an order of magnitude more precise. You peer through a magnifying lens inserted in a hole drilled all the way through the black base of the device. The lens has a dot, or a pair of cross hairs (depending on the model you have), and you center it up on your measured spot, which is highly magnified. When you have the tool centered, you pull out the lens, insert a steel center punch in the now centered tool’s hole, and give it a little tap with the hammer.

[[File:optical-punch.jpg|300px]] 

''About Paul Dye:''
''Paul Dye, Kitplanes Editor in Chief, retired as a Lead Flight Director for NASA’s Human Space Flight program, with 40 years of aerospace experience on everything from Cubs to the space shuttle. An avid homebuilder, he began flying and working on airplanes as a teen, and has experience with a wide range of construction techniques and materials. He flies an RV-8 that he built in 2005, and an RV-3 that he built with his pilot wife, as well as a Dream Tundra they recently completed. Currently, they are building a Xenos motorglider. A commercially licensed pilot, he has logged over 5000 hours in many different types of aircraft and is an EAA Tech Counselor and Flight Advisor, and a member of the Homebuilder's Council. He consults and collaborates in aerospace operations and flight-testing projects across the country.''


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