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Mechanical pencils

4K views 24 replies 24 participants last post by  JAAune 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
What is your favorite mechanical pencil for woodworking?
 
#4 ·
These Pentel pencils are awesome, when you click the clip, the entire tip retracts with the lead, hit it again and the lead is back exactly where you left it. I would always wind up putting other ones into a pocket or the apron and break the lead off, not anymore with this one.. I found it because Stumpy Nubs Recommended it
 
#7 ·
#12 ·
I use whatever the local dollar store has for mechanical pencils. Usually you can find 2 to 10 for a buck.

I'm kind of liking the the Paper-Mate 1.3mm mechanical pencils that looks like regular pencils. The lead doesn't break if you look at it wrong. And for some reason I find they never seem to get lost or walk away. I guess no one wants to swipe an inexpensive pencil or it might be there probably a dozen to two lying around. Not the greatest for fine marking, but I never seem to cut on the line anyway.
 
#13 ·
ive always liked the rockler cabinet makers pencil but if you drop it forget it,the plastic mechanism breaks and it's toast so ive stopped buying those and just stick with a plain old wood pencil i sharpen.
 
#15 ·
For rough stuff, I have a Staedtler 2mm job, and for finer work I have a Graph Gear .7mm. Anything thinner than that doesn't work in my shop. Back when I did paper drawings I even had a .3mm pencil. I dropped my last one onto the floor in the dining area at my last house, and it stuck in the wood. I didn't look really hard, but I haven't found another. Of course, I use CAD now, so no point in buying one.
 
#16 ·
I really like these GraphGear pencils Chris Schwarz uses. The better ones have the retracting tip, which help from damage in the shop. Chris is right about using the thinner ones for "highlighting" knife lines and the thicker ones for general layout. Works much better than trying to use one size fits all. Read the full blog article here:

https://blog.lostartpress.com/2019/07/05/the-pentel-graphgear-1000-mechanical-pencil/amp/

- SMP
I use these almost exclusively now. I use the .9 mm for general layout work and the .5 mm for fine layout of highlighting marking knife/gauge lines as you mentioned.

I buy them in packs of three and try to put them everywhere I can imagine I might ever look for a pencil. I still sometimes come up empty handed though.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have about twenty Pentels in a few configurations. One is on my shirt collar throughout the day (my everyday carry). It uncaps to cover the point.

https://www.target.com/p/pentel-sharp-kerry-2-mechanical-pencil-set/-/A-17472645

All the shop pencils are all business all the time.

I use the .07 for rough, .05 for everyday stuff and .03 for the critical stuff.

The long tips allow me to trace around templates. My favorite (ignore the box of many price) is

https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Automatic-Pencil-Barrel-P207C/dp/B0026ZPWVO/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=pentel+mechanical+pencil&qid=1603417809&sr=8-6
 
#18 ·
One of my old bosses used the Pica on jobsites all the time. He swore by it. I nearly bought one at the IWF last time… but held off cause I needed other stuff more than a fancy schmancy pencil.
But we used the Pentel Twist Erase .7 and .9 in the cabinet shop all the time. I still use it occasionally in my shop, but I usually just pick up a regular wood pencil since I have a jillion of them lying around. I pick up the freebies whenever I can.
 
#24 ·
I use the Pentel Graphgear 800 (0.7) in the house where I tend to draw ideas out on graph paper.

In the shop I have a 2mm lead holder in my apron. I've never broken that lead, but I can sharpen it to a very fine line.

I also have numerous regular, wood pencils stashed at all of my machines and workstations. It never fails. I leave my lead holder over on the bench where I was laying out the cut, but I now I'm at the tablesaw and need to transfer the mark to the edge to line up my cut. I don't have to walk back to the bench to grab a pencil.
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
I keep a Zebra Delguard in my pocket for general purpose work. The "unbreakable" lead mechanism makes it easier to draw on oak with .5mm or .7mm lead. The tip is too fat to reach into tight corners so there are plenty of Zebra 301's around the shop to handle that duty.

We also label pencils to prevent "theft" from the various workstations.
 
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