Woodworking Pencils, Mechanical and otherwise

[semenza]

[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.

Staedtler?

Seth

 

[semenza]

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

For use in the T Squares I like 2B. But HB is pretty good too.

Seth

 

[semenza]

Hi,

Here are  2mm leadholders that I use for other marking..........

The Staedtler has HB lead and I use that for drawing along a straight edge, or general purpose marking.

The Alvin Techmatic is a cross between leadholder and mechanical pencil in that it is styled like  a leadholder and uses 2mm lead but it  has a click advance. I keep either 2B or B in that for labeling pieces etc. I leave it blunt works great that way.

Seth

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Yes, Seth and Austrian lead.  Twenty-five years ago, the instructor gave me a list of required items (nothing brand specific) and the store to go to.  These are what they sold me.  I'm pretty sure you didn't go to TSC so they're probably just a popular brand?

 

[tbellemare]

You need a lead pointer for those lead holders. It's also a good idea to roll them as you're drawing them along a straight edge.

I like to use a 9mm Pentel mechanical pencil with HB lead. If you hold it almost perpendicular to the work, you'll get a very consistent line. I can see the line easily and for accuracy, I always line up with one side or the other of that fat line.

Another thing to note with a mechanical pencil is whether you are referencing the barrel that holds the lead or the lead itself. Either works but you have to be consistent.

Tom

 

[AlexThePalex]

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

Thanks for enlightening me Rob. We call it a "priem" (pronounced "preem" in English).

 

[jmbfestool]

Jezus lol! Pencil crazy you lot lol!  

Simples !  I just use this lol!  

http://demo.kevintm.com/uploads/num2pencil.jpg

And have one of these for sharpening it

http://www.woodpeck.com/besseyknife.html

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Jezus lol! Pencil crazy you lot lol! 

Simples !  I just use this lol! 

http://demo.kevintm.com/uploads/num2pencil.jpg

And have one of these for sharpening it

http://www.woodpeck.com/besseyknife.html

...as your mates on the island would say, NEANDERTHAL  [tongue].

 

[Brice Burrell]

JMB is on the right track, I use one of these.

Okay, I'm kidding but you guys are getting carried away........ [big grin]

 

[GhostFist]

Ha i do use a carpenters pencil for rough marking but have used them for finer lines in the past if you can find ones with good hard leads, which seems more and more a rarity. expose the lead with your knife than sharpen to a chisel point with a scrap of sandpaper great for ruler work. Quick little scratch with the sand paper to resharpen. now I use the .5's though just cause I got a bundle of them.

 

[semenza]

You need a lead pointer for those lead holders. It's also a good idea to roll them as you're drawing them along a straight edge.
I like to use a 9mm Pentel mechanical pencil with HB lead. If you hold it almost perpendicular to the work, you'll get a very consistent line. I can see the line easily and for accuracy, I always line up with one side or the other of that fat line.

Another thing to note with a mechanical pencil is whether you are referencing the barrel that holds the lead or the lead itself. Either works but you have to be consistent.

Tom

Yup. I have a little drafting in my background. I catch myself rolling ball point pens!  [smile]

Seth

 

[Steve R]

Good topic,

I think we all have a bunch of things we use depending on the material projects needs.

for wood if I can't us an awl

I love a wooden pencil, but the tip breaks too easy and in your belt it is one height when new and soon you can't find it because it is too short.

I have the mechanical pencil from drafting but don't find them helpful on site as you have to have a sharpener.

I found a .9mm pencil from Pentel  but it was had it's own issues. The erasers fell out too easy and then you lost all the lead. Also the shape was fat were the fingers held it and that made it a pain to get in and out of tool belt leather Holder.

About 8 months back I found at Paradise Pen at the Mall of America in MN (they also have a web site www.paradisepen.com) the Retro 51 Tornado Stealth Mechanical Pencil

It is about 5 and 1/8" long and about 7/16" diameter, it uses 1.1 mm lead that I have only broken by dropping or using the lead is extended way too far to reach some odd space.

It fits leather tool belts well also.

I knew I had winner when after I loaned it to one person on the crew for one one mark that was was holding..... and then others in the crew started asking to use/try it. Yea we still have pencils but those are only for destructive marking situation and to loan outside the crew.

It seems that 1.1mm lead really makes a difference for durability.

At $30 it is great. I have to say this is the first mechanical pencil that I have found that works on and off site wood working and something I carry for day planners, notes, lists...etc.

I love it and have bought a backup...

Cheers,
Steve

 

[RONWEN]

JMB is on the right track, I use one of these.

Okay, I'm kidding but you guys are getting carried away........ [big grin]

It's not green but it's sort of an important hand tool Brice.  [smile]

 

[Ken Nagrod]

JMB is on the right track, I use one of these.

Okay, I'm kidding but you guys are getting carried away........ [big grin]

It's not green but it's sort of an important hand tool Brice.  [smile]

Yeah Ron, with all the videos he's done for Festool and all the pencils they've paid him with, you think he could make an effort to act like he's using them.  [tongue]

 

[Sparktrician]

I've been using the Pentel 0.9mm drafting pencils, model P209G, with great success.  They work very well, and they're quite inexpensive. 

[smile]

 

[tiralie]

Here's a guy with a real problem...look at all those pens!

[attachthumb=#]

 

[jonny round boy]

I've now got some of these:

[attachthumb=#]

They were going to be for Peter's gift, but didn't arrive in time [sad]. Luckily someone else managed to get some sooner [smile]. I've had them for a few days, but didn't want to post before Peter got his.

There's no indication on them as to what hardness they are, though [unsure].

 

[irvin00]

There is an entire industry built around the desire of woodworkers (mostly hobbyists like me, to be honest) for unprecedented "precision". Simple squares that cost $100.00, rulers going for $45.00, etc. The truth is that a pencil mark with a sharpened pencil is good enough, as are most cheap squares from the Home Depot. They are accurate enough for guys doing their cuts by eye with Festool or Dewalt (or any other of the run-of-the-mill) equipment.

Worrying about a .9 mm line being too fat is frankly foolish. We are wasting a lot of money looking for precision that is not needed at all.

If we care about such things, we would not use any of the Festool stuff - the table, the guide rails, the circular saw. We would have custom-made plywood that doesn't warp or bend beyond .1 mm. We would not be using router tables or lousy $200 routers with bits made in China.

We would not build our workbenches or use hand planes. I feel that, sometimes, the process of collecting nice-looking tools is more important than actually building something with them. At least it has been for me (as a hobbyst) sometimes, but I have learned that re-visiting my shopping cart after 4 or 5 days has saved me a lot of money!

That's my Memorial Day rant - but I have to stop now. There are sales everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I have edited this post to better convey my opinion - thanks!

 

[mouppe]

Well, I respectfully disagree with you but this is one of those debates where you will never convince the other side so why bother trying?

Here's an example of where a 0.9mm line is way too wide- marking for inlay. You could be left with a very noticeable gap between the inlay and the surrounding wood. Here you need a lot more precision and a smaller pencil line.

Many times I have used the micro adjust feature on the OF1400 and the edge guide and I am sure I am not alone. I can feel with my finger a lot less than 0.5mm.

But the point about the shopping cart is spot on. I often remove items a day or two later when the euphoria has subsided!

 

[irvin00]

I agree with you, Richard, that there are occassions where utmost precision is a must. I stand corrected on that front. That said, I still maintain my bigger point that the overwhelming majority of woodworking tasks do not require
the ultra-expensive and *supposedly* ultra-precise tools I see advertised everywhere.

But the temptation is there, I admit

Well, I respectfully disagree with you but this is one of those debates where you will never convince the other side so why bother trying?

Here's an example of where a 0.9mm line is way too wide- marking for inlay. You could be left with a very noticeable gap between the inlay and the surrounding wood. Here you need a lot more precision and a smaller pencil line.

Many times I have used the micro adjust feature on the OF1400 and the edge guide and I am sure I am not alone. I can feel with my finger a lot less than 0.5mm.

But the point about the shopping cart is spot on. I often remove items a day or two later when the euphoria has subsided!