I grew up with a father who was a Fitter & Turner but who would have been a carpenter if he had a choice. He started an apprenticeship with Victorian Railways during the Great Depression and stayed with them until his retirement. The only break was when he was seconded to work on airplane construction during WW2.
Amongst my collection are a number of tools related to his trade. And quite a few of these were made by him as part of his apprenticeship.
In this blog I’m featuring the trammel points & beam compass he made.
Trammel Points & Beam Compass
Trammel points are a tool used in woodworking and drafting to draw and replicate ellipses and other curved shapes. They consist of two adjustable metal points connected by a bar or rods of variable length. One point remains stationary while the other moves, allowing the user to draw curves of varying dimensions by adjusting the distance between the points. This tool has been used historically for precise drafting and layout tasks, particularly for creating ellipses and oval shapes with specific dimensions.
Beam Compass is an alternate name and is based on the bar (or beam) to which the metal points are attached.
Key Features of My Father’s Trammel Points
One of the points is fixed to a slider that can be moved along the bar – this one would most likely be used as the centre point.
The other point has some lateral adjustment in addition to being able to be slid along the bar. (this is the one shown in the photo). In setting up the trammel points – the 2 points would initially be slid to the required separation (radius). Then on the adjustable point the bottom screw would be used to get a level of fine adjustment and the precise separation required.
These trammel points were made for metal work, hence they are hardened steel and would scribe/scratch a circle on the metal to be worked. If used for woodworking it is likely that one of the points would be replaced by a pencil.
Considering that these were made in the mid 1930’s – they are in exce3llent condition. They are probably also an indication of how times change as I doubt whether today’s apprentices would make their own instruments like this.
