Back to the drawing board - DIY Pen Marker

[Corfabrication]

Well, not really.
i made a marker holder to work with my floating z.
Total investment, about 15 minutes and scraps laying around the shop.

[muzza]

Sometimes it's the simple things that work the best.
Thanks for sharing
Murray

[tnbndr]

Mind if I ask the application for this device?

[muzza]

Not sure on the OP's intended use but probably the reason most have it is to check a design 1:1 before cutting, much easier to erase a sharpie line than a plasma cut but what I am setting up with a sharpie for is writing text, ie fabrication details, welding and bending specs etc. where you don't want a permanent scribe line. Also my son does some metal art with a swaging or wiring jenny, he draws something up and gets me to mark it on his sheet and then he just follows the lines.
Murray

[beefy]

Mind if I ask the application for this device?

I did something similar when I first built my table. Used it to draw out the extreme perimeter of the cutting area, then measured all distances (longitudinally and diagonally) to make sure the table/rails were accurate, straight and square.

Apart from that, whatever the mind can conceive. Along the lines of what Murray said, one potential use could be using a piece of metal which already has cuts out of it and you are tightly squeezing a new cut into what's left. Assuming the pen tip is mounted at the same position as the torch nozzle, you could draw the outline of the cut to make sure it won't go into the existing cuts. Of course you'd have to have you finger on the stop button in case that happened so something doesn't get busted. Assuming everything is OK the pen line would get burned out by the cut.

Quite a useful tool really.

[Corfabrication]

As of now, I haven't had a "real" need for it. Occasionally I get a plate welding job that needs bosses welded on . I figured I could use this method to lay out locations.

[btburn]

I do similar for making a cardboard relate to check fit on window well covers. I just zip tied my sharpie on but i plan on making a spring loaded tube to hold my sharpie later.

[beefy]

I do similar for making a cardboard relate to check fit on window well covers. I just zip tied my sharpie on but i plan on making a spring loaded tube to hold my sharpie later.

For any thinking of making one, use the weakest spring you can. Doesn't take much pressure to scrub the end off a fine sharpy, especially one a surface that isn't smooth. That also means it needs to slide very freely in the tube.