Swapped out soap stone for a carbide scribe on boiler tube sheets last month

I was using soap stone for marking tube sheet layouts for years but kept getting lines that would smear or wear off before I finished drilling. Switched to a carbide scribe and the difference is night and day. Those fine scratch marks hold up through all the handling and now my layouts stay accurate to the 1/16th inch every time. I went through three soap stone holders on a single drum project down in Baton Rouge. Has anyone tried a different marking tool that worked better for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

avery_carr572d ago

I mean yeah, I tried switching to a carbide scribe a few years back on some copper tube sheets and it was a huge improvement. The soap stone always seemed to dust off on me when I'd handle the plates too much. The only thing I had to get used to was keeping the scribe at the right angle so the line would be fine enough but still visible under the lights down in the shop.

walker.robert2d ago

Yo did you have to swap tips often to keep that line crisp or just stick with the same one?