Pencil question

I was probably one of the last to take mechanical drafting in high school.

I like the sharpeners where you inser the lead holder and spin it in cirles, like a crank, and electric erasers. I saw both of those in use as of a few years ago at engineering company. the owner was fast on the computer, but even faster with a pencil and rolling ruler for quick sketchs.

lead is still easy to get at any decent stationary store in Chicago. I've not seen the good sharpeners though. The booklet of sandpaper on the wooden board is still available though.

the coolest one I have has a window in the ferrule. You turn it to show the type of lead currently installed.

Heh! Haircuts?

Some guys even shave.

I still have most of my hair, slightly taller forehead than when I was in high school. I get a haircut at least twice each year, need it, or not.

Haven't put a razor to my face since 1964. Don't expect I'll be doing it in the near future, either.

Harold

Jeez, it only took you two topic changes. d8-)

-- Ed Huntress

Hey now, don't blame me if your mind wanders...

Thanks for the tutorial Ed - they are still available, nice sketching pencils, easier to manage than the tiny small diameter plastic modern ones (they break too easy) Didn't know about the custom sharpeners though, I use me pocketknife. As an aside, I did a unit at school on "mechanical drawing" , ie how to do sketches to aid making things, perspective drawing, use of engineering symbols and notation, drawing re-assembly sketches, marking out angles, circles, dividing same. Interesting, the very first exercise on page 1 was practising drawing (freehand) straight lines - which sounds easy until you try it, takes a while to get the precise muscles in your hand used to the concept....so, their still teaching the "old way" - I did it last year... Also did an "intro to Autocad" - wow, 25 commands to draw a straight line - wont have enough years left to master it...

Andrew VK3BFA.

My Dad cut a square of upholstery foam and put a hole partway through the center the size of the Mars sharpener and put the sharpener in the hole. Then you stick the sharpened point in the foam to clean the dust off it. Karl

They are called clutch pencils ,and you can still get the lead ( graphite ) refills for them.Mine has a sharpener in the other end .

True! I used them in school, and then bought my own. I was still in junior high then. I'm almost 69 now.

Steve R.

LOL! I can produce a drawing the old way faster than a professional cad operator! The only advantage of cad is easy distribution of copies, and corrections/modifications.

Steve R.

And precision and data interchange and material takeoff and cam and...

Not that I don't appreciate the convenience and elegance of hand drawing...

Used to drive the teacher nuts in school - as a first class assignment the teacher handed out an Isometric Breakdown (Here are three views, now go draw it as an Isometric, or vice versa) and figured it would take a whole period and he could go back to the Sports Section of the paper. Three minutes later, I'm done.

The second one, he stood there and watched. Chin on the floor. Easy A course.

And people wonder how I fix things without the instructions. ;-)

Well hell, if you put the hydraulic fluid in a hole here, it has to come out over there if they cross-drilled from here to here (see the plug for the check-valve access)...

Finally scored a K&E Paragon drafting machine, now I have to remember how to work it again...

And there's a nifty portfolio around here somewhere with a miniature drafting machine riveted to it. Add an 8-1/2" x 11" graph pad, and you have an instant studio on your lap.

-->--

I very nearly doubt that, Steve.

I can still draw with a stylus in hand, but after years of drawing with CAD, I sketch with a mouse - pretty quickly.

Mostly that's because I don't use Autocad (which as Andrew rightly pointed out creates a high quality vacuum!)

Richard

Or stab the cigarette filter centrally mounted for this purpose - can even be one retrieved from the urinal. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

"I don't need lead in my pencil - I don't have any letters to write!" Gerry :-)} London, Canada

I should've done that! Gerry :-)} London, Canada

You are only as old as you feel so I only have birthdays in odd numbered years. Both Junior and I are 35 this year. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

At 80, former Landlady had to regularly prove her eligibility for senior's discount. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

The young ladies at supercuts keep trying to trim my eyebrows but I explain to them that if they did that, I might have to buy sun glasses, and I wouldn't be able to intimidate anyone. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Most I can get away with is about 4 months before SWMBO starts making broad hints. OTOH she objects to anything around my mouth that grows wild at the other end of the digestive tract. Gerry :-)} London, Canada