A scriber is a

hand tool A hand tool is any tool that is powered manual labour, by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutter (disambiguation), cutters, File (tool), files, hammer, striking tools, chisel, struck or hammered tools, ...

used in metal work to mark lines on workpieces, prior to

machining Machining is a manufacturing process where a desired shape or part is created using the controlled removal of material, most often metal, from a larger piece of raw material by cutting. Machining is a form of subtractive manufacturing, which util ...

. The process of using a scriber is called scribing and is just part of the process of

marking out Marking out or layout means the process of transferring a design or pattern to a workpiece, as the first step in the manufacturing process. It is performed in many industries or hobbies although in the repetition industries the machine's initial set ...

. It is used instead of

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...

s or

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. ...

lines, because the latter are hard to see, easily erased, and imprecise due to their wide mark; scribe lines are thin and semi-permanent. On non-coated workpieces marking blue is commonly used to increase the contrast of the mark lines. They are a rod with a tip made of

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

steel that has been hardened and tempered. The point is sharpened to an angle of 30 or 40 degrees. Some scribers have a point at both ends. It is used by dragging the point over the surface of the workpiece to leave a shallow scratch on its surface.

Scriber block

A scriber block is used to lay out lines at a set height from the base, thus its second name ''surface height gauge'' or just ''surface gauge''. The workpiece is held against an angle plate so that it is perpendicular to the

surface plate A surface plate is a solid, flatness (manufacturing), flat wiktionary:plate, plate used as the main horizontal datum reference, reference plane for precision inspection, marking out (layout), and tooling setup. The surface plate is often used as ...

; the scriber block is then adjusted to the required height and used to scribe a line parallel with the table, by sliding the block along the table's surface. The scriber block has pins that can be pushed to protrude through the base; these can then be used as limit pins to allow the block to press against the edge of the table, controlling its movement in that plane. The upright post can be adjusted to tilt back or forward, effectively moving the scriber point up or down in a controlled fashion; coarse adjustments are made by sliding the scriber along its clamping block. The scriber block may also be used in place of a

dial indicator In various contexts of science, technology, and manufacturing (such as machining, metal fabrication, fabricating, and additive manufacturing), an indicator is any of various instruments used to accurately measure small distances and angles, and w ...

to detect ''run out'' (a variation in

concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be ''concentric'' when they share the same center. Any pair of (possibly unalike) objects with well-defined centers can be concentric, including circles, spheres, regular polygons, regular polyh ...

ity) of a workpiece mounted in a four-jaw chuck. The scriber point acts as a visual reference against which any variation in the workpiece can be judged. It is also used to check the trueness of the flat surface.

References

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