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I’ve got to find a source of cheap (free) carpenter pencils. Volunteers will generally forget they have them in their pockets when they go home. We can never seem to keep any at our site. Do you know of any source of “seconds” for carpenter pencils?
Peace,
Martin
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Most any lumber supplier will give 'em away. The superguys at HD want 50 cents for the damn things.
*Took the wife to a local (San Antonio) flea market one day just to kill time (better than cutting the grass) and found a guy selling plain white pencils at 6 for $1. Probably could have bargained for a better price if I'd bought more.
*DO NOT BREAK THE GOLDEN RULE OF CARPENTRY which states: Never, ever, ever buy carpenter pencils or baseball hats, these things are free, available from your suppliers, and should be given to you and your crew whenever the sales weiners visit the site to bother you. They should be plentiful, and FREE! Commit this to memory, there WILL be a test later. Keith C
*I second the motion! Even if you(as I am) are too small to have the sales weiner visit you.......DEMAND THEM at the desk BEFORE you pay for the lumber! And tell HD and Lowes to shove their pencils! And I don't mean behind their ears! True story.......feeling kinds feisty one day.....on a far side of town.....at a local chain lumber yard, still a real lumber yard though.....I was paying for a pretty big load, and I figured since I'm a new face to this branch....must be why they didn't throw in a few pencils with the load. So, I ask for a few. The guy says they don't give them, but they'll sell them for however many cents! So, I said....well I don't "give" my business away....so unload the van! I'm going where the pencils are free.....and now I want a box! The manager gives me a dirty look, and throws a half a box up on the desk, and says take how many you need. So I took the box! Grandad and Pa woulda been proud.....they're cheap too! Jeff
*Guys- Don't forget nail aprons they are supposed to be free too!!!!!!!!!!!!Seriously though, HD is big into Community support, and you mentioned volunteers. Is this a habitat project or something??? If it's community oriented, just tell the manager of your local HD or Lowes that you would be happy to put up a small "sponsored by . . . " sign in exchange for a few boxes of pencils.
*Thank for the comments...I contacted a pencil manufacturer and they are sending me a box gratus...yeah. As for contacting the HD Manager I've never seen him on the floor. Plus, I'd rather hit him up for something big, like insulation, sheet rock etc. As for the Lumber Companys we already get a nice discount because we are Habitat, I'd hate to push our luck with asking for pencils. But, if you guys have extras and wanna get rid of them, lets talk.Peace,Martin
*Martin, If you get desparate, I just saw an ad in Harbor Freight flyer for 12 pencils for 99 cents. Don't know how it compares to buying by the gross, but seemed cheap to me. Hope this helps. Rich.
*One problem with the cheap pencils....They fall apart. Useless.near the stream,aj
*I'd pay someone not to give me those cheap pencils. $4.00 Canadian buys three British made pencils that don't fall apart and the lead doesn't break whatever I do with it.Four the cost of a couple of cups of coffee...why bother with the cheap ones.
*Martin - you may have seen the HD manager without realizing it. They wear the orange aprons too, and are usually out on the floor (most often by the registers) all (most) day. They do have this tendancy to be cleaner than the regular help, but they're there. Just ask for one next time.
*Paul. I'm sending you a box of cheap pencils. Unless of course, you send me some fast cash.blue
*Paul, Send the cheap ones to me. As long as they can strike a line better then a fingernail, we can use 'em.Cheers,Martin
*I guess I've been told!Don't you find that you break more pencils than I lose?By the way, a 65 cent Canadian Dollar is even more useless than a cheap pencil.Paul
*I am looking to purchase a stair stringer routing jig like Porter Cable use to make. Any Ideas where I can find one or know who still makes such a think.
*I am loking to purchase a stair stringer routing jig like Porter Cable use to make. Any Ideas where I can find one or know who still makes such a think.
*Bill....they are easy to make...of wood....I made two so far and am far from a rocket scientist....I can send ya one...but I am not too reliable across the net...yet.near the stream,aj
*Are you the Bill Doucette that I know?Anyway, Like aj said, they are easy to make. There was a good piece on building stairs with housed stringers in FHB abour two years ago written, I think, by the bwana of this board, Andy Engel. (The sahib of the site?)
*RE: Carpenter pencilsMartin -You can't keep enough in stock to keep up with the demand. We save ours for our crew leaders. We issue golf pencils or cheap ball points to the Saturday crowd. Even get some back.Wish Habitat would produce a branded pencil for the advertising value. Naah.ToolBearH4H: Orange County (CA)
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I've got to find a source of cheap (free) carpenter pencils. Volunteers will generally forget they have them in their pockets when they go home. We can never seem to keep any at our site. Do you know of any source of "seconds" for carpenter pencils?
Peace,
Martin