Marking out or layout means the process of transferring a

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...

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 setup is designed to remove the need to mark out every individual piece.

Manufacturing

Marking out consists of transferring the dimensions from the

plan A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal ...

to the workpiece in preparation for the next step, machining or manufacture. Typical tools include: * Surface plate or ''marking out table'' — provides a

true True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

surface from which to work * Angle plates — assist in holding the workpiece perpendicular to the table * Scriber — is the equivalent of a pen or pencil. It literally scratches the metal surface leaving behind a fine, bright line * Height gauge or ''scribing block'' — allows lines to be scribed at a preset distance, from the tables surface * Surface gauge — an ungraduated comparison measuring tool that performs much the same function as the vernier height gauge. It is often used in conjunction with a dial indicator and a precision height gauge. *

Marking blue Marking out a metal bar Marking blue or layout stain (sometimes called ''Dykem'' after trademark erosion of a popular brand, or ''Prussian blue'' after the blue pigment) is a dye used in metalworking to aid in marking out rough parts for furth ...

— to provide a usable

writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...

surface by covering any existing scratches and providing a contrasting background * Profile gauge *

Protractor A protractor is a measuring instrument, typically made of transparent plastic or glass, for measuring angles. Some protractors are simple half-discs or full circles. More advanced protractors, such as the bevel protractor, have one or two sw ...

— to assist in the transfer of angular measurements * Combination square — an alternative tool for transferring angular measurements *

Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

— to transfer 90° angles to the workpiece * Punches — either prick or center punch to create permanent marks or dimples for

drill bit Drill bits are cutting tools used in a drill to remove material to create holes, almost always of circular cross-section. Drill bits come in many sizes and shapes and can create different kinds of holes in many different materials. In order ...

s to start in ** Automatic center punch — a spring-loaded punch that creates prick punch marks without the need for a ball peen hammer *

Ball peen hammer A ball-peen or ball pein hammer, also known as a machinist's hammer, is a type of peening hammer used in metalworking. It has two heads, one flat and the other, called the peen, rounded. It is distinguished from a cross-peen hammer, diagonal-pee ...

— used in conjunction with the punches to provide the striking blow needed *

Dividers A caliper ( British spelling also calliper, or in plurale tantum sense a pair of calipers) is a device used to measure the dimensions of an object. Many types of calipers permit reading out a measurement on a ruled scale, a dial, or a digital ...

or measuring compass — used for marking out circles of any desired radius,

Welding

As welding does not always require the use of fine tolerances, marking out is usually performed by using centre punches,

hammers A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

tape measure A tape measure or measuring tape is a flexible ruler used to measure length or distance. It consists of a ribbon of cloth, plastic, fibre glass, or metal strip with linear measurement markings. It is a common measuring tool. Its design all ...

s and

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Cha ...

. The "chalk" is actually a small pre-cut block of

talc Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thickening agent ...

(

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

). These talc blocks can be sharpened to a stronger point than the softer

blackboard A blackboard (also known as a chalkboard) is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulphate or calcium carbonate, known, when used for this purpose, as chalk. Blackboards were originally made of ...

chalk. The color of the chalk provides good contrast against the dark color of the hot rolled steel that is generally used.

Woodworking

Illustration showing how to use a marking gauge

In carpentry and

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by Woodworking joints, joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a Carpentry, carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ...

y practice a pencil is used for marking while in cabinetmaking a marking knife provides for greater accuracy. A storey pole is used to lay out repeated measurements such as the location of joints in

timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

, courses of siding such as wood shingles and clapboards, the heights of doorjambs and the courses of bricks in

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

.Frane, James T.. Craftsman's illustrated dictionary of construction terms. Carlsbad, CA: Craftsman Book Co., 1994. 339. Carpenters typically mark out framing members ''on-center'', the measurements are to the centers of each member.

References

{{Authority control Metalworking measuring instruments Woodworking