Compass (drafting)

: This article is about the drafting instrument. For other senses, see compass (disambiguation). A compass (or pair of compasses) is a technical drawing instrument used by mathematicians and craftspeople in for drawing or inscribing a circle or arc.

In geometry, ruler-and-compass constructions often involve only theoretical conceptual devices rather than physically drawn circles.

=External links=

*[http://museum.nist.gov/object.aspObjID=9 beam or trammel compass] (variant form); [http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspxp=32629&c=1 another example]