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Boys and Girls,

Found with the introduction of C19, I'm starting to regress as I find using my fountain pen

progressively challenging. With all this bloody politically correct propaganda, I could no longer find a reliable supplier of Indian Ink

for my pen(s)... yep, that's real blotting paper in front of the black... (and the biro blotting paper is in front of the blue).

Poor diet and two much alcohol has put me in the Delorean with Marty McFly and made me reach for the chalk and blackboard only to find I have developed a C19 "panic grip" and kept breaking my chalk,

Having no crayons and whiteboard marker tips got abraded by the texture of the blackboard… I needed to stiffen up my chalk… perhaps put some lead into it?

I was forced to resort to the keyboard as my primary mode of literacy. Unfortunately, a keyboard under my armpit in the workshop needed a better portable alternative… even when I replaced my keyboard with a wireless one.

♫ To set the mood music, let me explain why this project came into fruition due to C19... ♫

Lockdown has forced me into making some pens and quickly realised my old sponge sanding pads for acrylics needed replacement… the before and after,

(Shizen, that's worse than my ROS discs were before I discovered Abranet and started to extend disc life .)

While ordering a couple of sets of the pads, I came across these "Chalk Holder Kits",

and I didn't have to call to Alexa to,

and it miraculously finished up on the order… bugger, another set of bushings I had to find a slot for,


Ignoring SketchUp as the build was already preordained, chucked up the lathe and walked away with a curvatious blank, made out of my favourite Black Palm material,

along with a practice pine,


Bypassed my traditional SketchUp first stop, did a bee line (past the Manuka),

and headed straight for CorelDraw where the design for LBD

using the Brushed font was framed.

Exported to the laser and made several cuts in the test pine blank, to determine positioning,

which was a total waste of time as I screwed up centering on the main blank,

(I repositioned the laser manually by 10mm to the left to better center the letters… and then the vino made me move it another 10mm through the program. DOH!²)

While I love Black Palm, it's a bugger to work with and does tend to leave hairline gaps on the surface. On hindsight I should have filled these gaps with a mix of ebony, walnut and jarrah wood filler, as they finished up getting filled with the white filler used for the lettering. Not that it was that bad, however, there was one gap that needed to be scraped out and re-filled,


The filler (white) was sanded flush with the surface, coated with 20 layers of CA and BLO mix finish. It was then sanded with the 6 grades (two sided) of these sanding pads designed for acrylics,

and finally polished with auto cutting paste.

This picture with better lighting may reveal why I like the Black Palm,


At the end of the day, or end of the morning on the other side of my planet, this Chalk Holder will come in handy for all those panel mark-ups before glue-ups and countless other workshop uses it can't be used for.

Keep safe jocks... or keep jocks safe, if you venture out and run the C19 gauntlet.

Gallery

Comments

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Looks good, yes it would be a handy tool in the shop. Great job.
 

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Very nice! My girlfriend is a teacher and while they aren't actually at the building she might like one of these. But then I have to get a motor for the ShopSmith which would mean finishing that restoration….well there is always Christmas 2021 I guess.
 

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well ducks your presentation was intriguing but since im not a school teacher and too old to play with chalk ill have too pass on this one,this time.but as i know you as i do, i do know there will will be more too come!so ill "chalk" this one up to others needs-!
 

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You need to take your meds as the Dr. prescribed. LOL. You've been locked inside too long …

This morning
I shot six holes in my freezer
I think I got cabin fever
Somebody sound the alarm

J. Buffet
 

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Nice build, do they make one for crayons???
 

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I know CA, but what is BLO Alex?
 

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Cool pan…man..very personalized!!
 

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Looks good, yes it would be a handy tool in the shop. Great job.

- Eric
Thanks Eric... After wiping down all my bull********************, making pens are a quick, yet constructive short projects during C19 restrictions… This just happens to be a useful, though not absolutely necessary, item in the workshop… I wrote this blog (which feeds back into this post) and it does have some degree of credence in my workshop… even though chalk was harmed in making the post.
... My girlfriend is a teacher and while they aren t actually at the building she might like one of these… well there is always Christmas 2021…
- sansoo22
C'mon sansoo, a bloody chalk holder for a Christmas present for 2021… Hell even my fleas aren't that poor needing 13+ months to save up $6.95 ($US)...
Actually I remember being a trainee teacher back in 1968… with the little imps, it was common to toss the chalk at them to wake them up… Tossing one of these could get a teacher in trouble… just like tossing a loaded blackboard duster did me a few times… but I was young, kids were resilient and litigation hadn't percolated down to Australia.

... im not a school teacher and too old to play with chalk…
- pottz
Nor am I (a teacher)... they sacked me before I graduated… I used to use permanent markers to mark up my raw timber… but even in raw timber, I used a ********************load of sandpaper to get rid of the black… even Fe$tool chalk is cheaper.

You need to take your meds…
- Madmark2
It was my meds (prescription casked vino) that prompted me to surf the net and buy something I didn't need but can afford.
... do they make one for crayons???
- woodbutcherbynight
Yes if you have a lathe… Just turn the crayon down to the chalk's diameter and slip it in…
... but what is BLO Alex?
- Dutchy
Sorry Dutchy, should have said GL (Gekookte Lijnzaadolie)!... unless a fly snuck into the bottle,
 

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Thanks for the morning wake up laugh.
 

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I also though you were a crayon type of guy!

I remember those from the early days. Only the drafting instructor had one, everyone else had to do without.

time to break out the box of colored chalk and commission holders for them all!
 

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Measure with a micrometer, mark with chalk, cut with an axe.
 
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