I have just about had as much as I can stand with Carpenter’s pencils. Beside the fact that you can’t get them for free as often as you were before, they seem to have gotten very weak. Either the lead or the pencil itself is constantly breaking, especially when I am framing.
I am looking for alternative products or ideas. Any suggestions?
When deck posts exceed what the prescriptive code tables allow, it's time to consult a structural engineer for post sizing and possible bracing.
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Replies
Crayon. Wait, that's not sharp either. 16d nail.
Do it right, or do it twice.
wide chisel tip sharpee marker. Love 'em. (for framing. not so good on trim) :-)
"The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb " lyrics by Roger Waters
In my belt I carry a carp pencil, standard #2 shapened to a fine point, a very fine point Shapie, and an extra fine point Sharpie. Pick one for the occaision at hand.
;)
I know where you could go to exchange them.
Excellence is its own reward!
Try a mechanical pencil, I know this sound ludicrous, not the .5mm type but they also have a .7mm and I think a .9mm much thicker and stronger. Don't bother with the expensive type. The lead is relatively cheap and the one I lost held up great until . . . Wish I could find it again! Guess I will have to make a trip to the office supply store.
A few weeks ago after discussion here, i bot some of the big fat round preskool pencils. They are working great so far... For trim, and sometimes framing, I use a mechanical drafting pencil....big lead in them, maybe a little bigger in dia than the lead of a #2 pencil....sharpener is built into the cap to give it a quick point.
.7mm on trim. .9mm on the rude and crude stuff.
3 pack of pencils.... 4$... Last almost forever.
3 pack of polymere leads... 1$..
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
Also, try the double-ended Sharpie--one wide tip, one fine tip; all in the same pen.
I have found them to be worthless. Cap gets knocked off the fine point part.
I just get my pencils from the lumber yards. usually reg round pencils but cant beat the price ..free and they work.
Darkworksite4:
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I get my pencils from the lumberyard also; both the framing pencils and the round fatties. My gripe is that they just keep breaking, and I am constantly stopping to sharpen them with a utility knife. I use mechanical pencils too, but just for the finish work; 5,7,9, and 1.3 mil thickness. But for framing, the lead is still too small and brittle.
When I was in school, the teachers had a metal case that used to hold the chalk, so it wouldn't break. Doesn't anyone make a lead pencil like this. Doesn't this sound like a good invention?When all else fails, use duct tape!
Yes.
Go to a large art supply store. A real one, for artists, not one of those crafty places. You can usualy find some good art supplies in a university bookstore, as well.
They have graphite sticks that are held in plastic or metal holders. Loosen the collar, and slide the lead down, when it gets too short. The leads can be anything from about 1/8 of an inch thick, up to nearly a half inch thick. With holders to fit each size. You can get round graphites, or square ones, or rectangular ones. You can also get the entire variety of hardness'.
If you don't see what you want, describe what you want, to one of the store personel.
They're not cheap. Not real expensive, either.
........
There are also draftsman pencils. They hold a lead that slides out when you depress the plunger at the top. You can get the leads in a really soft variety, so it makes a good mark, even for framing. The leads are basicaly the same size as what is in a standard pencil. There are also several types of portable sharpeners for those type pencils.
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