Woodworking Pencils, Mechanical and otherwise

[RONWEN]

Split from another thread because it is a good topic on its own.

Seth,

Forum co-moderator

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Ken / Ron - pencils are 5mm or 7mm?  Use mechanical pencils often?

Just thinking.

Peter

Yes, they are .7mm (that's POINT 7mm  [smile])  I generally use the .9mm with the Woodpeckers but for a buck each the .7mm's will be fine.

 

[jonny round boy]

Peter,

I measured it and it's 0.7mm although it doesn't say on them.  I know Gary Katz prefers the 0.9mm leads which are less likely to break, yet still give a sharp line.

Slightly off-topic (for which I apologise now!) but how can anyone consider a 0.9mm wide line 'sharp'? I use mechanical pencils for all my marking out - they're 0.5mm, and I sometimes find the lines too wide!

Maybe I'm just too picky? Maybe that's why I never rarely get anything finished! [embarassed]

 

[mouppe]

The Incra rulers take pencils with a 0.5mm lead.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

Peter,

I measured it and it's 0.7mm although it doesn't say on them.  I know Gary Katz prefers the 0.9mm leads which are less likely to break, yet still give a sharp line.

Slightly off-topic (for which I apologise now!) but how can anyone consider a 0.9mm wide line 'sharp'? I use mechanical pencils for all my marking out - they're 0.5mm, and I sometimes find the lines too wide!

Maybe I'm just too picky? Maybe that's why I never rarely get anything finished! [embarassed]

I was wondering the same thing.  I suppose it boils down to what kind of accuracy your work requires, and whether a mark nearly 1mm thick is fine enough.  I always understood that fine woodworking required marking with a knife.  Define "fine" however you like.  If you're doing carpentry it might not matter as much.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I've found that the fine lined leads that are 0.5mm and 0.7mm break on me frequently while inserted in the holes of the Woodpeckers tools, while being slid along the wood to draw accurate lines.  I've also found that the finer leads make marks in the grain a little deeper than the 0.9mm so sanding them out or erasing them is not as easy.

 

[RONWEN]

I've found that the fine lined leads that are 0.5mm and 0.7mm break on me frequently while inserted in the holes of the Woodpeckers tools, while being slid along the wood to draw accurate lines.  I've also found that the finer leads make marks in the grain a little deeper than the 0.9mm so sanding them out or erasing them is not as easy.

It also seems to be easier (for me) when hand sawing to split the heavier line leaving part of the line on each side than tracking down the side of a knife line (hard to see) or very thin lead line.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I forgot to mention that when recently using 0.5mm lead with one of the T-squares, while drawing a line down the length of some pine with the pencil inserted in a hole, the line was a little wavy in parts.  I would venture to guess that's because of the variance between the lead thickness, the hole diameter and my movement.

 

[Tinker]

Those 5mm leads drive me up the wall.  they remind me of those days of yore when we had to learn how to write with straight pens.  I am left handed and my handwriting is totally indecipherable.  With those ancient straight (quill) pens, I was constantly digging in to the paper and leaving either blots or spatters all over the page, let alone holes.  with the 5mm leads, i have to set the points so close that if i tip the pencil the lest little bit, the darned thing does not leave any mark.  If i leave lead with enough exposure that I can write, I dig into the page and break the lead off.  The computer was made for us southpaws to write comprehensively  :
Tinker

PS  you northpaws have no idea  [tongue]

 

[mouppe]

The 0.5mm leads drive me nuts, unless I am marking for inlay work, but the trade-off is that the incra rulers are really handy tools.

Maybe I will look at the woodpeckers stuff if they take 0.7mm.

 

[semenza]

The 0.5mm leads drive me nuts, unless I am marking for inlay work, but the trade-off is that the incra rulers are really handy tools.

Maybe I will look at the woodpeckers stuff if they take 0.7mm.

The Woodpeckers stuff takes up to .9mm. Which is perfect in the 1mm holes. Because the lead fills the hole as much as possible the line / mark is centered in the hole. Making it consistent and accurate. ie; you always know where the reference measurement is in relation to the mark... left , right, centered.  The lines are even width and smooth which makes it easy to line things up , such as guide rails.

Seth

 

[semenza]

Here are some pics of the pencils I use for the Woodpecker's T- Squares, and Incra rules.

I like the Pentel Graph Gear 500 pencils. They come in .3 , .5, .7, .9mm.  The nose is heavy and works great in the holes. The .9mm for the Woodpecker's, and .5mm for Incra.

I use Pentel 2B lead. The softer lead makes a nice visible line. Plus it requires very little pressure so reduces the chances of it catching on wood grain or imperfections, which can either break the lead or lead to wavey lines.

Seth

 

[fdengel]

The thinner the lead, the more easily it will break.

 

[fatroman]

I've got a number of pencils, drafting leads, and even some of the Woodpeckers pencils that just arrived.

But what I find works very well for me is the little scribe in the base of my Starrett combi square. Fits the Woodpeckers holes well, and never a worry about sharpening, breaking, or having to sand out a dark line.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I've got a number of pencils, drafting leads, and even some of the Woodpeckers pencils that just arrived.

But what I find works very well for me is the little scribe in the base of my Starrett combi square. Fits the Woodpeckers holes well, and never a worry about sharpening, breaking, or having to sand out a dark line.

Good option!  Never thought about trying that, although you have to be conscious of how hard you're pressing it into the wood so you don't leave an even deeper groove than the fine leads.

 

[GPowers]

What Lead Grades / Hardness should be used in these mechanical pencils ? 4H, 24, HB or something softer like 6B or 4B?

 

[AlexThePalex]

I don't like pencils for marking at all, they're too thick and inaccurate. I always use a box cutter or this thing below, dunno how you call it in English.

[attachthumb=1]

 

[Rob Z]

Hi Alex,  that's an "awl".  What is it in Dutch?

 

[Ken Nagrod]

What Lead Grades / Hardness should be used in these mechanical pencils ? 4H, 24, HB or something softer like 6B or 4B?

I did some searching and found my mechanical pencil and different leads from my college mechanical drafting course (been a long while since using these  [big grin]).

I tried the H, 2H and 4H and all were way too light to be used on wood.  The HB seemed perfect, though.

 

[GPowers]

What Lead Grades / Hardness should be used in these mechanical pencils ? 4H, 24, HB or something softer like 6B or 4B?

I did some searching and found my mechanical pencil and different leads from my college mechanical drafting course (been a long while since using these  [big grin]).

I tried the H, 2H and 4H and all were way too light to be used on wood.  The HB seemed perfect, though.

Thanks for running a test [big grin]

 

[Ken Nagrod]

[big grin]  No problem.  Finding the stuff was way more trouble than actually "running the test".  Maybe now I can make use of these leads again.  Heck, it is a German mechanical pencil so it should work well with the Festool collection.