10 Ways to Find the Center of a CIRCLE

Finding the center of a circle can sometimes to be challenging. So here are 10 easy ways to find the center very quickly.
You can use some of these on paper and some of these on a circle that is already cut out.

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#circle #center #centerofcircle

Mark 3:34

[PatCantos]

Thank you sooo much, this was so easy to understand and straight to the point.

[Carl_Jr]

Carpenter's square. Put the edges on the circle. Where they touch is the radius. An 8" circle will touch at 4" and 4". Draw two 4" arcs through the middle. Done.

[javieruza]

Maaan: what wonderful ideas for making circles. Thanks a lot for sharing them with us. Big hug. Javier from Venezuela

[lw]

Thank you! We can all use one of these techniques at some point. Appreciate your videos!

[AdrianA-pgfe]

Thanks for this clip. It's easy and effective.

[JGAJ]

Very educational 👍🏻👍🏻 Thanks for sharing, I never knew there were so many ways to do this.

[Birkguitars]

I learned the first way from my technical drawing teacher about 45 years ago. It works because any line 90 degrees to a straight line through a circle goes through the centre. It's a neat trick and very accurate.

[kencoleman]

Very interesting. Geometry was one of my favorite classes in high school.

[edwinbomb]

Saved me a lot of brain work dude thanks

[blueline]

Chapter marks would be useful for using this as a resource in the future. Thanks

[Bobbyg]

Nice. One more way - a variation on your last method. Use the same scrap piece and pencil - but butt the dowel against the side of the scrap and draw a line. Rotate the dowel slightly and draw another line - do this several times and the center will be obvious. It's very quick to do.

[Samson-EC]

These seem to work well for well defined crisp-lined circles. What would you suggest for a 3' long finial with a round bottom with no defined outer edges because it is rounded off?

[amdan]

Thanks! I saved this to a playlist so I can find it easily when I need it. I used one or another of these methods on a lazy susan project recently. I needed to route out the center of the circle to leave an even rim around the edge. Fun! Call me weird, but I love geometry and trigonometry and am not afraid to use them. :)

[timtully]

Clinton, please tell me where to find the update to the speed square holder you did in "20 More . . . #3." Thanks for all the great vids!

[sed]

Wow, you skipped the easiest, the compass method by itself! Set your compass to the approximate radius of the circle. With the point of the compass at any point on the line, scribe a short line in the middle of the circle. Repeat two more times about 120 degrees apart. The three lines cross in the center of the circle! If you have a tiny hole in the middle of the lines, you were over or under on the radius but it doesn't matter because, that's still the center and you can eyeball that easily 😊 If instead of an X or a small hole in the middle you get a triangle or diamond shape, you approximation of thirds of a circle is off. Try again with the compass point at 8am 12pm and 4pm positions on your circle.

[michaelcosta]

This is how a linoleum layer finds the center of a circle when making a pattern of a floor you mark the circle at three points. Using a pair of dividers or I guess you could use a compass. Adjust the dividers until the dividers touch all three marks from the center leg. That is your center. This is how we mark pipes floor drains, and utility covers.

[scottatkinson]

Measure the widest point from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock then and mark a short line in the middle then measure the widest point from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock and mark the middle done the lines will always meet in the middle from any angle as long as its the widest possible measurement edge to edge

[dsimmons]

I don't know why so many people get the first technique so wrong. You DO NOT need to draw the first two chord lines. You simply have to pick two arbitrary points on the circle to construct each of the center intersecting lines. i.e. You just imagine the chords are as illustrated, which are in arbitrary positions anyway.

[lincolndickerson]

I’ll try and do this without pictures. Use any ruler. Place the 1 in or 1 cm mark on the edge of the circle. Swing the ruler using the 1 as the pivot point. Watch the far edge of the circle. Wherever the number is the largest stop. That is the diameter. Radius is that number divided by 2. Mark the circle at that numbern your rule.

No ruler, no problem. Use a simple straight edge. Wood, paper… whatever. Find the greatest distance as described above except draw a line. Do the same thing anywhere else on the edge of a circle. Where they cross is the center.

[Usatoday]

I made my own way find the longest width get tape.measure half it then just go around it