Sigh....propelling pencil for marking up? Which size lead?

[David]

Just tried to sharpen a builder's pencil and the two wood halves came apart.

Pencil sharpener for normal pencils is blunt.

I am now considering a propelling pencil with a thick lead for use in marking up work.

Anyone else doing this?

If so, which lead thickness?

Cheers

Dave R

[Brian Gaff]

I never had much luck with those either, they bloomin well have such short bits of pencil lead they kept on falling out.

Would it not be easier to buy a decent sacrificial pencil and a good sharpener? Brian

[Chris Hogg]

Shirley the thickness of the lead in a PP is defined by the size of the hole through which it's propelled. If you mean hardness, then I note that many carpenters' pencils are 2H.

[newshound]

There are several styles, here is a 2 mm one where you use an external sharpener to create a point

I quite like the Pentel 0.9 mm which I use with 2B leads for marking up draft reports and writing on engineering drawings, this is OK for "delicate" woodwork but not suitable for studwork, etc.

[David]

Ummmm....yes.

However I am trying to ask which sized hole I should opt for.

That defines the thickness of the lead, as you so astutely noted. :-)

Carpenters pencils are normally thicker than school kids pencils but sharpen down.

So what is the best thickness for marking up?

Cheers

Dave R

[David]

Thanks.

So larger than 0.9 mm.

Some "Art" pencils go up to 5 mm which seems a bit large.

I'm just considering this as an option.

I'm also lusting after a spiral pencil sharpener that I remember from school yeah these many moons ago. A quick twiz and the pencil was pointy again.

So good and fun that we had to be threatened to stop us endlessly sharpening pencils and watching them being eaten by the machine. :-)

One issue with a pencil sharpener would be finding one that would fit the oval carpenters pencils.

Which brings us back to propelling pencils. :-)

Cheers

Dave R

[Tim+]

Can?t advise on thickness but if you do want a thick one, how does 5.6mm sound?

KOH-I-NOOR 5.6mm Diameter Mechanical Clutch Lead Holder Pencil - Yellow

Tim

[David]

Angle or smart phone App?

[David]

:-)

Yes, I did some research before asking the question.

[Tim+]

I would just buy one and try it. Gotta be a reason why carpenters pencils are so big.

Tim

[newshound]

[Bob Eager]

I have one of these (for non DIY use), and the matching chromed ball pen:

Might appeal to DIYers anyway!

[Harry Bloomfield]

David explained on 06/04/2018 :

A bench grinder works well :-)

[Chris Hogg]

Doh! Yes, sorry, brain not switched on! :-)

[Rob Morley]

But I expect not as well as a belt or disc sander.

[Rob Morley]

I have a clutch pencil (rather than "propelling") with approx 2mm lead that withstands vigorous use quite well (and has a sharpener in the other end). Not sure how well it would work on rough sawn timber, but for that I might strike a line with a knife to make it easier for the pencil.

[Max Demian]

I haven't seen one of them for years - most mechanical pencils are the kind where pressing the end advances the (thin) lead by a fixed amount.

Presumably the OP is using the term "propelling pencil" in a loose way to refer to any kind of mechanical pencil. True propelling pencils you screw to end to advance the lead - usually the lead is loose as there is no clutch.

[nothanks]

I think mine are 0.5mm (and about HB - they're mostly hotel freebies), but it depends on the surface and the accuracy you want. For marking on planed hardwood or plaster then 0.5mm seems OK, for sawn timber you probably want something a little bigger, and maybe softer. If you go larger than 1mm then either accuracy will be a little, errr, inaccurate or you'll need to sharpen.

[dennis]

A marking knife?

If its just first/second fix a biro will do.

[Steve Walker]

I thought that they were just normal thickness, but wider to stop them rolling away.

SteveW