My First Lathe - HF 9" x 20"

[C-Bag]

Truly old school in every sense of the word.

 

[wachuko]

4B's are really soft!

Yes! But they glide so well over drafting paper while leaving a nice and dark line…

But looks like along the way I changed to using 2B…and can’t remember when!! I am loosing my mind

 

[woodchucker]

I'll see your one pencil and raise you two.

 

[wachuko]

So those are mechanical pencils that you still need to sharpen the lead!?

I was not familiar with those…

 

[C-Bag]

I'll see your one pencil and raise you two.
View attachment 412844

I used to have a spare but my son made off with it and my sharpener for a while. Then he went to the fine line pencils because he said the old rotary sharpener was broken. It was the user, not the tool. Luckily I found it buried in the detritus of his room after he moved. I was glad I never let him have my old Mars as it would disappeared into the mess.

 

[matthewsx]

My dad used those, not sure where the sharpener got to but I remember it well.

 

[C-Bag]

So those are mechanical pencils that you still need to sharpen the lead!?

I was not familiar with those…

Yup, the round thing with the hole in the top is the sharpener. You extend the lead by the button on the end of the pencil and stick it in the hole and rotate the pencil. There’s a diamond coated cone inside that slides around and sharpens the pencil.

 

[wachuko]

Well, was not able to buy it last night. Their system was down and I did not have enough cash on me to get it...

I did compare their Yukon line and the ones at Lowes (went there afterwards) versus the US General. The US General is thicker gauge and with better construction. Definitely the one to get... I will try again tomorrow...

Okay, but what really picked my interest from the recent posts, is that pencil and sharpener setup... I want to try that.. I am a sucker for vintage tools... and this is one that I can use often...

Found a few sharpeners on Ebay... and bought one...

Now to find a good mechanical pencil and leads that works with it...

EDIT: Well, noticed there are different variations of the sharpener... bought a second one that is slightly different. There were inexpensive, so not a big deal... Now I can have one on my desk and one in the garage...

EDIT:EDIT: Well, if it works for @C-Bag ... Not risking it... just got the same one in a kit and some spare 2B and 4B leads...

 

[Steve-F]

The toolbox is the HF US General 44", correct.

But wow! I was planing on doing this today! hahahahahahhaha... I would have to buy all that and build it and then... Wife is looking the other way and I need to sneak all this during the afternoon...

I was just thinking of using a 1.75" thick butcher block and bolting everything down to the toolbox... is this a good alternative??

View attachment 412820

Yup, I have the same thing, works great!

 

[woodchucker]

I used to have a spare but my son made off with it and my sharpener for a while. Then he went to the fine line pencils because he said the old rotary sharpener was broken. It was the user, not the tool. Luckily I found it buried in the detritus of his room after he moved. I was glad I never let him have my old Mars as it would disappeared into the mess.

kids... man they never learn the value of good things...
That includes us, we're old and don't know anything, until they get old enough to realize maybe we did/do know a thing or two... but then we're too old and forgetting 5 - 10 things per day.