3.

MARKING OUT

3.1 REFERENCE POSITION

Before marking out can occur, a reference position must be established. This position can be
a line, face, edge, or point to work from. Sometimes two reference edges are used at the
same time usually perpendicular to each other. A reference point is a specific point on your
work piece from which construction or marking out are made.

3.2 INTRODUCTION

Marking-out is an important operation for the fitter. It is one of the activities that he must
be able to carry out with care and precision. An experienced fitter usually insists on doing his
own marking-out of work for which he will be held responsible.
Marking-out may be defined as the scratching or scribing of lines on the surface of a work
piece. It is necessary because:
• Marking-out indicates the outline of the finished component that includes the position of
holes and slots.
• Marking-out controls the shape and size of a finished component by providing guidelines to
work to.
• Marking-out serves as a guide for setting the work piece up in a machine.

3.3 MARKING-OUT TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES

Marking-off tools must be treated with as much care as other hand tools. Scribers and centre
punches must always be kept sharp to produce neat, thin lies and small, sharp punch marks
respectively.

Steel rules
The steel rule shown in Figure 5.14 is made of
spring, stainless and comes in lengths varying from
150 mm to 1 000 mm. Steel rules are extensively
used for marking-off and measuring purposes. The
rule, like any other instrument, must be kept clean and lightly oiled. The edges of the rule
must not be damaged as this will make it inaccurate.

Measuring tapes
Steel measuring tapes, and example of which you see in Figure 5.15, are
available in sizes below 10 m and in sizes above 10 m. Those below 10 m, are
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referred to as pocket-type measures. Measuring tapes are used for measuring and laying out
of long distances.
Steel tapes are marked in millimetres with the meter graduations marked in a different
colour for easy recognition.
• Keep steel tapes clean, dry and rolled up when you do not use them.
• Do not twist, fold or crease the tape as these abuses can cause the tape to break.
• Never allow the steel tape to shoot back into the holder as the front end might break
off.
Scribers
The scriber you see in Figure 5.5 is used to scribe lines
required on metal surfaces to identify a certain position
where the workpiece must be cut or drilled. Scribers are
made from hardened and tempered steel. Each end is ground to a very fine point. The points
must always be kept sharp to provide clear lines. The bent end is used to access hard-to reach
areas.

Engineer’s squares
The engineer’s square which you see in Figure 5.16 is used to check surfaces at
right angles to each other and to lay out lines at right angles to a reference
face. The reference face is that face on the work piece which you must select
at the start of the marking-off operation as your reference face and on which
you must base the whole of you marking-off activity. It is sometimes necessary to have two
reference faces but they will always be in different planes and are invariably at right angles
to one another.

Punches
Punches are used to mark-off the centres of holes and
to witness-dot. It is important that you note the
difference in the points of the centre and dotting
punches shown in Figures 5.4 (a) and (b).
The point on the centre punch is ground to a 90º angle. It is used to make a conical impression
to start the drill in the correct position preventing the drill bit to drift off the mark.
The dotting punch is ground with a point angle of 60º or even smaller and is used to witness-
dot scribed lines and circles making it more visible during machining.

Dividers
The dividers that you see in Figure 5.1 are used to scribe arcs and circles. Dividers
are also used for setting-out or marking-off hole centres which are the same
distance apart on metal and other materials having smooth surfaces.
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Combination sets
The usefulness and versatility of a combination set make it an
essential tool to be carried by every fitter required to
fabricate parts.
The combination set that you see in Figure 5.6 consists of four
main parts. It has a strong rule in which a groove is cut along its
centre for the whole of its length. It has three different heads
which fit into this groove and each of which can slide
independently on the rule or blade. These sliding heads can each be locked in
chosen positions by tightening their respective lock nuts. The three heads
referred to are a 90º to 45º square, which incorporates a
spirit level, a protractor and a centre head. These three
heads are usually used independently of, and separately
from one another but in conjunction with the rule on which
they are able to slide. Each of the heads can be removed
from the rule completely or, as already stated, fixed in any desired position
along the length of the rule.

The square and blade in combination can be used to:

• Check and mark-off external right angles as you can see in Figure 5.7 and
internal right angles as you can see in Figure 5.8.
• Measure as a depth gauge, as you can see in Figure 5.9.
• Check and mark-off 45º angles as shown in Figure 5.10.
• Indicate vertical and horizontal positions or lines when you use it as a spirit level.

The protractor and rule are used for checking and

marking-off angles on work pieces as you can see in
Figure 5.11.

When the centre head is fitted to the blade, the side of

the blade is exactly in the centre of the V formed by the
two legs. The purpose of the centre head
is to determine the centre point on the
face of a round work piece as you can see in Figure 5.13.

Vernier height gauge

The vernier height gauge consists of a beam, which is firmly fixed to a
base and exactly perpendicular to it. This beam is marked and read in
exactly the same way as the vernier calliper. A movable slide or head,
which forms the vernier scale, can slide up and down the pillar and can be
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locked in position by a clamping screw. An auxiliary head is attached to the head by means
of a screw, which is used for fine adjustment, and can also be locked to the beam.
The height gauge is used for:
• The scribing of lines that must be parallel to an edge and accurate to each other.
• The accurate determination of heights.

Before using the vernier height gauge, always ensure that the zero on the vernier scale
coincides with the zero on the main scale when the scribing edge is touching the marking
out table

Support equipment
Some work pieces cannot be clamped in ordinary clamping devices, because of their shape. So
we use support equipment to clamp or support these work pieces which have different shapes.
These are some of the different types of support equipment that you will use
as a fitter.
(a) V-blocks
The blocks that you see in Figure 5.20 are used to support round work pieces
on the marking-off table for marking-off purposes.
(b) Angle plates
Angle plates are shown in Figure 5.21 and are used to support work pieces in a
vertical position for marking off on the marking-off table.
(c) Clamps
The G or C clamps which you see in Figure 5.22 are used to
clamp small work pieces together or to hold a work piece in the correct
position against an angle plate.

Notes:
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