Pencil question

Ha-ha! You probably were born too late for that stuff.

I have a half-dozen or so of them, and several other brands. They're drafting pencils, also used by graphic artists. You can still get lead for them at a good graphic-arts supply store, but stock up, because there's no telling how long it will be before you have to order them online.

They come in at least two different diameters. They're quite thick; you need a special sharpener to produce a conical point on them (Staedtler makes a good, compact one that uses an internal file to sharpen. I also have a Boston desk model that uses sandpaper cones. They both work fine.)

But in use, they often were NOT pointed to a conical shape. Like any other drafting pencil, they often were filed or sanded to a single- or double-sided wedge shape, for drawing long straight lines with less wear.

Here's some info but I don't think they show how to sharpen. Maybe I just missed it:

The nice thing about them is that they're much more rigid than modern mechanical pencils. Artists and draftsmen both like that. The bad thing is that they have to be sharpened a lot. With a Mars sharpener (mine is a Model

502), the device is compact and takes only two or three spins to give you a fine point. Then you give the point a quick wipe with a tissue to keep the graphite dust off of your paper.

-- Ed Huntress

Didn't you try a pencil sharpener? There's sometimes dark stuff in the middle of the wood. A sharpener will work on either end.

Write down these instructions:

If you download the manufacturer's setup/operating, and service manuals, you'll find out whether your specific model requires unleaded or leadfree.

With a mill, a sine plate and an indexer it's a fairly easy procedure to create a 6 faceted point. You'll need a precision level or a tube with antifreeze in it. With a lathe, it can be very complicated.. do not attempt this complex operation without coolant. It's best to use the stinky kind. Check the lathe with a test bar first, then paint it.

A: yes

It might not even be safe to consider any of this without first posting in numerous NGs.

Find an auction with a pallet of pincels and win it. A couple of them will probably have stuff left in them, but they might not be the right colors. Find out what colors to paint them.

If they don't tell you what you wanted to hear post stories about strangers in the news or stock tips, etc.

Anamolus90210

Don't rile him Ed. He can get sarcastic.

:)

--Winston

What the heck are these things. I learned drafting when 0.3 to 0.9 Pentels were were the rage then. The only bare lead (graphite) I sharpened was for a compass.

Wes

That's a great idea. I'll stick this in a pencil sharpener.

I forgot he was a kook. Damn, I'm going to stop trying to be helpful.

-- Ed Huntress

Listen, young fella, if you were over 60, you'd know better. d8-)

-- Ed Huntress

Wes wrote in rec.crafts.metalworking:

That dates you pretty well.

Personally, I prefer my lead holders (often with 6H, HB, and 4B leads) for doing my planning.

I also use one with a thin long-shanked knife blade for cutting stencils.

CAD is handy when you have enough power to run the 'puter but it's easier to use "old tech" when doodling at the coffee shop.

Only 51 and got carded yesterday.

Wes

Being able to sketch something so I can make another is a pretty handy skill I retained.

Wes

'Didn't believe you were really a senior citizen, eh? That's happened to me in reverse several times. They offer me senior rates. I angrily decline.

-- Ed Huntress

"Ed Huntress" wrote in rec.crafts.metalworking:

He's not a "kook", Ed, since that term would elevate him lightyears above his actual position.

I, personally, thank you for your excellent post.

BTW, the Hobby Lobby chain carries a limited range of lead hardnesses but, at least, they DO carry them and the holders.

FWIW, the sharpener/pointer I use is an A. W. Faber "Mentor" 50/58 which has 3 openings and blades: 1 for gross sharpening of lead pencils [leaving the lead exposed], 1 for putting a fine point on the exposed lead and refining the taper of the pencil, and 1 strictly for leads used with a holder. The body is a 9mm thick disk (flattened on the side with the holes) with a coin edge.

Kept in its leather? case, it goes into my pocket as soon as someone askes what it might be!

Ha! I have a couple of toys like that. Nobody else gets to touch them.

One is my Dietzgen duralumin drafting set, pre-WWII. It's complete, and it's going to stay that way.

-- Ed Huntress

-- Ed Huntress

On Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:57:06 -0400, the infamous "Ed Huntress" scrawled the following:

I'm pretty gray at the ripe old age of 55, so I take the discounts, telling them I'm a youngun only _after_ I've paid.

I let them get angry instead of me.

-- The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man. -- Euripides

On Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:56:43 -0400, the infamous Wes scrawled the following:

Yeah, those old technical/mechanical drawing class skills still come in handy, don't they?

-- The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man. -- Euripides

Hey , I'm under 60 (a little...) and I learned to draw with a T-square and triangles . And lead holders ... I learned to sharpen the leads with a piece of sandpaper glued to a flat piece of wood .

Ed, here in PA (Pure Apalachia), it is still possible to buy Eagle Turquoise dozen-packs (on a three-week order, mind you) in just about any hardness you wish- I use 2B for nearly all my drawings, shop layout, and just plain writing. The sharpeners available are the sandpaper cone thingie (which I never liked because I am an "artist", not a common draftsman), flat pads of sandpaper on a little paddle just like they sold a half-century ago, and a neat little plastic thigie about !/8" x 1/2" x 1-1/4"with a sharp ( ouch, dammit ! ) little steel blade.

Flash

Smart. I take the discount for haircuts. It's only fair. There isn't much to cut these days.

-- Ed Huntress

Huh. I didn't know you could swap them. That's why I hated them. I got a Mayline, instead, and it was useful for graphic arts as well as drafting. It's also good for cutting out fancy paper airplanes and kite panels.

Luckily, I never had to do complicated drawings. The machines were great for that.

-- Ed Huntress