1:3 Scale Carpenter's Pencil
Introduction: 1:3 Scale Carpenter's Pencil
This is a hand tools only and limited tools build!
Make a tiny carpenters pencil for the sake of learning and cuteness!
Includes bonus instructions on how to make a tiny chisel/scraper tool!
Supplies
Tools:
* a t-ruler or speed square
* calipers (optional but very helpful because pencils have lots of round edges)
* a utility knife
* a marking gauge (optional, here's an instructable about how to make one from scrap if you don't have one)
* pencil (for marking with)
* Files and rasps (optional)
* a small vise that has at least a 3 inch capacity
* a small fine saw and miter box (like for model making)
Materials:
* thin scraps of wood
* a regular wooden (not carpenter's) pencil
* sand paper, at least a half sheet of various grits from 80 to 320
* some kind of finish for your pencil
* wood glue
* double stick tape
* a nail just under 2mm in diameter
Step 1: Please Understand, This Is a Cute Project But Also a Serious Project
Why make a tiny carpenters pencil?
1. cuteness
2. for a pocket size tool kit
3. to mark lines in tight spaces
4. as a way of practicing scale modeling which can be made with only a limited amount of tools and low cost materials
5. cuteness
There are a few makers of tiny wood working tools. Those who make scale model tools seem to most commonly use 1:3 and 1:4 scales. I chose to make this a 1:3 size tool because this is a size which is small enough to be cute but big enough to still be more usable (at least for me) as an actual tool.
I learned about one scale model tool maker of note, <PERSON>, from Mikhandmaker.'s mini anvil instructable. 74
Definitely check these both out! <PERSON> sells tools, but also blogs about the process of making mini tools.
Those are all complicated tools. I'm a newbie so I'm starting with this simple carpenter's pencil. In the process I have learned some things, like how when you are making a very small model, the small amount of wood that is removed while sanding can make a big difference. I will share some things that I did to compensate for that.
Step 2: Measure and Plan and If Necessary Break Things
I measured a full-size carpenters pencil so that I could figure out what the dimensions of a scaled model would be. You could probably do this with a ruler, but vernier calipers and/or a micrometer would probably be the best non-powered tools (this webpage gives info about how to use these tools).
I only have digital calipers but I used them without the battery so as to meet the "non-powered" tool requirement of the Hand Tools Only Contest. My calipers have 10ths of inches and millimeter markings on the stem. This is part of why I switch between inches and millimeters during the build.
I thought of the measurements this way because they were either the
closest marked lines on my calipers stem OR easiest to divide by 3, OR both.
Full-size external dimensions:
* 7 inches long
* 15 mm wide
* 3/10ths of an inch thick
Divide by 3 to get my goal external dimensions:
* 2 1/3rd inches long
* 5mm wide
* 1/10th of an inch thick
Did you know that carpenter's pencils have rectangular rather than round leads? They do! According to wikipedia this makes it so that you can do both thick and thin lines with the same pencil.
I broke apart a full-sized carpenter's pencil in order to measure it's lead. Yes, the fact that I am mixing mm and inches in my measurements alone might be reason not to trust my measurements too much, but we're also making a tiny pencil not a house or something so I don't think anything too terrible will happen if you go with these measurements, it's definitely safer than the way I broke down the carpenter's pencil to get the lead out.
Full-size lead measurements: 6mm x 2mm x 7 inches.
Divide by 3 to get goal lead measurements: 2mm x 2/3rds mm x 2 2/3rds inches
Okay, now we know what we are aiming for, let's do stuff!
Step 3: Liberate a Pencil Lead.
For the lead of my scale model, I used a regular round wood pencil lead. It was about 2mm around.
Be careful with these steps! 215