First off, for all those who know, this is not a compass, it is a divider. A compass is used for drawing circles. A divider is used for navigating and measuring for drafting purposes, but if I just said Divider in the title, many would have no idea. So, there it is.
I have decided to put up a quick post about the divider I use for Pub Battles. This divider originally had needle sharp pointers which held it firmly in place, but also left marks in my map which I wanted to avoid. Upon examination I found that those sharp needles could be removed by loosening the nuts and I replaced them with push pins that have the rounded plastic ends. Before tightening I made sure to allow enough of the pins to stick out that the rest of the compass did not interfere with the blocks when measuring.
The other reason I wanted the round ends is so that I could pack it in the tube with the rest of the game components and it wouldn't be damaging anything with the pointy ends. Now if you noted the scale, this divider is rather small. It is around 4". Expanded to the maximum degree it will just measure 1/3 of an infantry move. That is fine for me. Almost every distance I need in PB: Brandywine is measurable with that increment. When I move my cav block I'll use a stick. For everything else, there's this divider. Note also that this divider uses the screw adjustment. The plus side is that it doesn't move in or out unless I turn the screw. The down side is it's a little more effort to change the measurements, but since I only use it for one increment, that is fine.
Interesting. I haven't seen these kind before. My brass ones don't lock like that but they are pretty stiff. So they pretty much just stay where you put them.
ReplyDeleteIt takes heavy, intended pressure to move them from mounted to foot speed. Once there, they hold pretty well.
The plastic points like you have are definitely an advantage.