Funnel bell punch

Problem: Mark the center point on the end of a 1/4" wooden dowel for drilling in a desktop drill press.

Conventional center finders, e.g....

https://www.amazon.com/KETIPED-Posit...64&sr=8-7&th=1

are unusable for such a small item. Even if you could hold it properly, the finest pencil lead is too broad to accurately mark a diameter.

Given that the object is cylindrical, a good choice would be a bell punch, e.g....

https://www.amazon.com/BLUEFOX-TOOLS...80&sr=8-1&th=1

but I don't have a bell punch and commercial types would be too large for this job.

It occurred to me that a funnel is a bell punch in disguise. Long ago, I bought some tiny funnels, the type used for refilling perfume bottles, for a now forgotten job. I dug one out and was pleased to see that the tube hole was cylindrical, not tapered as in many funnels. I didn't have a transfer punch to fit the tube but an 11/64" drill was a nice smooth sliding fit. A gentle tap with a small tack hammer left enough of an impression to highlight with a pencil. As the photo shows, it's centered well enough for my wood butchery.

Attachment 50735

The take-away here is to keep in mind the use of funnels for center finding. And, of course, making conical holes on a lathe is easy so building a homemade version of a bell punch is also a possibility.