Roto Tape Compass | Rotating Tape Measure Beam Compass Alternative Circle Drawing Tool to Draw Arcs (Not 2 inches Short!)

I bought this just so I could draw a crescent moon on a canvas. It is easy to use and light weight. The only issue I had was sometimes it wouldn't turn when drawing the arch but that could just be user error.

good

The case is poorly constructed plastic (not metal and the name "RockSteel" might imply). The locking mechanism broke after I had drawn two circles. The metal pin is a much smaller diameter than the hole it slides through, which causes the pin to fall out every time you handle it. Although simple, t's not that easy to use in practice, unless you have three hands. The set screw that locks the pencil into place is also plastic and locks like it was 3-D printed.

The order I got was missing the pin needle from the package, but honestly I wouldn't have kept this even if it was. The build quality on this is quite bad with a weak plastic construction, and the design has some odd quirks too - for example the button sticks out loosely and exposes the internals slightly whenever the tape measure is not fully retracted. I ended up returning mine.

For what it is, seems a bit over priced. Works well, though.

I thought in photo it showed the pin with it. Some say they received the pin I did not. Checked the bag it was in and box. Nothing. No way I could've thrown it away cause I didn't move from the bag or box at all. Pen tightened yeah you use a socket. Should be thumb grip no need to use a socket on something that is plastic and shouldn't be tighter then finger grip. Works decent. Can't really say if it is accurate though should've included a ruler continuation to the pin hole. Cheaply made product for the price of it. All in all. Probably gonna make my own or something in the future. This will suffice for now. Till it breaks of coarse. Really peeved about the pin though. Now I have to use a drill bit which means it'll cut into the circle a bit and I'll have to put something on top the bit to hold it in place

One of those items that most of us use very infrequently, but makes circle marking in woodworking or crafts so much easier than looking for the right sized lid, glass, etc. If you’re considering it, order it now and you will use it and be glad you had it.

I use this to layout circles in logs that I am going to chainsaw into blanks for my lathe. It allows me to set the depth to smallest edge of the log but yield the largest blank. Love it. I wish it had a holder built in for the pin you use to hold the center. If you loose it, you can just use a small nail.