Workshop Pencil Kits

[islandturner]

I just assembled a Rockler workshop pencil kit and wasn't too impressed. It's the one here:

At their website here:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=19561


You have to cut a tenon on the top of upper barrel, and press on the thing that looks like a nut. Then you have 'glue' the clicker into place. I managed to get a bit too much glue in there, and 'froze' the clicker mechanism. Got lucky and freed it without ruining the pen. And you can look between the clicker and the 'nut' and see the end of the brass tube. It's fairly 'mickey mouse'. They're asking $13 for them.

At Penn State, they offer these...

for $7.45. Has anyone used these? Are there others with this fat graphite refill that are better?

Thanks
Steve

 

[toddlajoie]

The sketch pencil version that everyone (PSI, CSUSA, Woodcraft are ones I've used, but I'm sure all the other places have them too...) use the same 5.6mm led and are much nicer and drop dead simple to assemble. The mechanism is self contained, so there is a threaded insert that goes in one end and a clip top that presses into the other end, then the mechanism threads into the insert and sticks out of the clip end. The one's I got from Woodcraft and CSUSA have a separated clip that you can chose not to put on (I did on the first and never did again, it's not the kind of thing I see putting in a shirt pocket or something...) the PSI ones I got have the clip integrated into a much larger top end, but they also came with a cool little pen kit that you could put in rather than the pencil lead. I haven't assembled one of them yet tho so I can't say too much about it...

 

[Brooks803]

This is the PSI Pen/Pencil with a clip. It's very simple to assemble.

 

[islandturner]

Brooks and Todlajoie -- thanks guys -- I've gone ahead and ordered some of these...

Steve