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	Pencil

See the Wood Carving section for more instructions, hints and tips.

This is a good first or second project for most beginners.

If you are not quite ready for this, then sharpen a store bought pencil.

It is easier to make a bunch of these at a time than just one because of the setup time to drill the holes straight into the block of wood.

For beginning carvers, basswood is best because it is easiest to work. For more experienced carvers, use a prettier wood like butternut or mahogany.

The 2mm lead is sometimes known as drafting lead. It is becoming harder to find because computers are replacing the drafting table. Check office supply, drafting supply, art, and craft stores. You can get it on the Internet also, but it will be more expensive with shipping. 2mm lead comes in 6" pieces although there is something called compass lead that is 1 1/4" long. You only need a couple inches per pencil and can get by with the compass lead. The lead does not need to run the whole length of the pencil. After the pencil gets to be about 3" long it is almost unusable. If you can't get 2mm lead use the largest you can find and drill an appropriately sized hole.

The grain of the wood needs to run the length of the pencil to make carving easier.

Setup
• On one end of the block of wood, mark a line every 1/2" to mark where to cut the blocks. Mark the center of each 1/2" block (these will be offset by 1/4" from the lines). Use an awl or nail to make a small hole on the center mark of each block to make it easier to drill.
• Clamp the wood vertically to drill the holes with the drill press - this is important or the holes may come out of the side of the block. You can use a square or level or just lower the drill bit beside the wooden block to check for the alignment. If you drill the holes 2" deep, you can get three pencils per piece of lead. Now drill all the holes.
• Saw the blocks apart.
• Put a drop of wood glue on the piece of lead. Rub the glue all around on it with your finger. Put a drop of glue on the hole. Now slide the lead into the hole. Break off the lead at the end of the wood. Wipe off any excess glue.


Carving
• Now you are ready to start carving. Round the wood block into a cylinder by shaving off thin slivers. Rotate the block frequently to make it uniform. Check for high spots and take them off. Work from each end of the block. Either use a push cut (pushing the blade away from you), or if you have a thumb guard, the thumb pull cut.

  You will probably find some parts of the wood that don't carve easily because of the grain. That is, it is hard to make a sliver because the blade just seems to want to keep going deeper into the block. In this case, carve that area from the opposite direction.

• When you have the block smooth and nicely round, you are ready to start forming the point. Make sure you sharpen the end with the lead! Use the push cut. Rotate the pencil after every slice. Keep going around the pencil going deeper and deeper until you have a nice point. Don't forget to sharpen the lead, also.

If you want a really smooth finish use sandpaper. Start with something like 80 or 120 grit to smooth all the hills and get out all the imperfections. Then use 240 and finally 400 to really make it smooth and bring out the grain. Emery boards are ideal for this.

If you want, apply a coat or two of clear finish to really bring out the grain. Use a wooden spring clothespin to hang it up by the point to dry.

Do NOT use this as a neckerchief slide - it is too dangerous.

For some interesting information, see Wikipedia's history and manufacturing of pencils.