# Argh! Colored Pencil Woes



## kludge77 (Jun 23, 2014)

I got so close to finishing this one... 





I should have just switched to sandpaper....

I've lost count on my failures!


----------



## southernclay (Jun 23, 2014)

Insert how many pencils does it take to make a pen joke here.....keep it up, you'll either get it or make a great blooper video one, looks like it will be pretty sweet when done


----------



## glenspens (Jun 23, 2014)

i feel your pain ....glad to see its not just me..lol


----------



## kludge77 (Jun 23, 2014)

I think a carbide tool would really help. There are just too many edges to avoid catches.


----------



## skiprat (Jun 23, 2014)

Ouch!!
I've never used the coloured pencils, but I have made a few 'delicate' blanks before. Maybe try the '2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back' approach...
Drench with CA ( 1 step back)
Turn off the CA and a little of blank. ( 2 steps forward )
Repeat till you are finished. 

The theory behind this is that there will still be some CA soaked in deep enough holding things together after each step. 

Good luck.....


----------



## designer (Jun 23, 2014)

Did you use CA or Epoxy to glue the pencils together?

What about cross drilling and inserting some aluminum wire for decoration and support while turning?


----------



## sbell111 (Jun 23, 2014)

I haven't tried to make a colored pencil pen yet, but I would go with Steve's way.  Continually soaking 'weak' blanks with CA is how I generally handle the problem of blanks that want to blow up.  You might also ensure that your tools are super sharp and take it easy with super light cuts.  What I think of when turning this way is that I'm barely trying to take more off than the excess glue that I just put on.  It's kind of a pain in the can and it seems like it's going to take forever, but it works.

The other thing that can cause a problem is not having good enough adhesion between the blank and the tube.  Ensure that you are drilling with the proper sized bit, not just the one that the kit's instructions say to use.  If you drill too big, then the glue can't bridge the gap effectively to make a good joint.  If you drill too small, you are wiping the glue off the tube (with the blank) and starving the joint.  Also, consider how you are preparing your tubes.


----------



## Jim Smith (Jun 23, 2014)

These blanks are really tough to make successfully.  The wood is very soft and the lead tends to want to slide out of the pencil when you've got it almost down to size and it's spinning on the lathe.  To top it off, the paint on the outside of the pencils is prone to failing even when you use epoxy to glue them together.  They do make a very unique looking pen, but they sure aren't as easy to make as it looks.

Jim Smith


----------



## sbell111 (Jun 23, 2014)

I wonder if certain brands of pencils are easier to work than others.


----------



## JohnU (Jun 23, 2014)

They are very time consuming to make and not at all as easy as they look.  I cast my pencils at an angle in the blanks so I'm not cutting cross grain (so to speak) on the pencils.  I also cut the corners off on the band saw before I start turning them so I'm not hitting such large corners.  Never had a blow out yet, but I have had to glue lead back in the blank with thin ca.  I use a skew and sharpen it a couple times per pen.  I also saturate the blank with thin ca before I begin sanding so the colored lead doesn't get in the wood grain.  I clean it off with DNA prior to the thin ca.  Hope this helps out.  Good luck!


----------



## jzerger (Jul 6, 2014)

I've been able to fix the blowouts with lots of glue/re-glue.  I've made about a half dozen, lots of frequent thin glue while turning. Patience, sharp tools, and glue worked for me. Keep at it

John


----------



## Janster (Jul 6, 2014)

I was tempted to try and make one of these pens but I can find only round colored pencil. I wish to find the six sided ones? Maybe the blowouts can be controlled by sanding off the outside paint before gluing them together? 
Good luck.......Jan


----------



## carlmorrell (Jul 6, 2014)

I have made two now.  I can not find hex pencils, so I used round ones.  Cast them into epoxy resin.  I have had no problems drill, turning or finishing. Used my weapon of choice, 9/16" fingernail gouge. Standard sanding schedule, 100-400, 4 or 5 coats of CA, then micromesh, and finally Maguires scratchX.

I was not planning on posting after the copycat rant.  whatever.

Same pen, different views.


----------



## sbell111 (Jul 6, 2014)

carlmorrell said:


> I have made two now.  I can not find hex pencils, so I used round ones.  Cast them into epoxy resin.  I have had no problems drill, turning or finishing. Used my weapon of choice, 9/16" fingernail gouge. Standard sanding schedule, 100-400, 4 or 5 coats of CA, then micromesh, and finally Maguires scratchX.
> 
> I was not planning on posting after the copycat rant.  whatever.
> 
> Same pen, different views.


That is really great.  I think that I like your PR cast round pencils better than the original.


----------



## Rich L (Jul 7, 2014)

Peter, you've just got to make that work - that's so cool!

Rich


----------



## CrimsonKeel (Jul 9, 2014)

Id have switched to sandpaper at that point too.  It blurs the lead though so you have to be careful.


----------

