Plastic Circle Templates

That are weirdly and utterly essential to my work.

Though I rail against the plastic in our lives, I think polymers have two good uses: medical equipment and transparent circle templates.

I bought these inexpensive transparent templates years ago when I got frustrated trying to draw small-radius arcs when designing chair parts and mouldings. I bought a set that has two templates (the set now has three), and they have become essential bench equipment.

They hang on our tool wall in the bench room and are used constantly as we work out the decorative details on chairs, stools and casework.

What makes them perfect for benchwork is that they are flexible and transparent. You can lay out an arc on a curved bit of work with ease. The rigid green plastic templates of my youth are crap in comparison.

Also, having circles in many small graduations allows them to work together with a set of French curves to produce almost any furniture-sized shape I need on the fly. In the two-piece set of templates, the circles start with a 1/16" diameter (which is totally useless) up to 3-1/2" diameter. Above that size, a compass can easily take over.

The other detail on these templates that is worth mentioning is that on the circles above 1/8", the template has marks where 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° are located. These marks help you transfer arcs to other pieces of work. (A couple people have commented that some of these marks are inaccurate on their templates. Not on mine.)

The templates are surprisingly durable, too. I throw them in my toolbox when traveling. They have been trod upon, stretched and bent over backward – plus many other indignities.

Honestly, the best $7 I have spent on a tool in forever.