Some time ago, I ordered a few of these Artist Sketch Pencils. They have a nice, soft, 5.6 mm lead and there is a sharpener in the tip. One of my earlier posts is a Mahogany blank, and I had enough to do another one, but this time, I decided to try something out. Before I drilled the hole in the blank, I cut the blank down the middle with my scroll saw in a wavy line. Then I took a piece of a copper sheet from my glass studio and glued it between the pieces of the blank. Then I trimmed off the copper that was sticking out the side and then prepared the blank normally. The result is a ribbon of copper that you can see in the picture. As a first time, I think it is a neat idea. I think The wave needs to be tighter (i.e. more waves in the blank). I would also like to try it with 2 parallel lines and perhaps some other materials like coloured plastic sheeting. Finally, I need to be careful on the ends that I press the pencil kit on this blank. I reversed the ends accidentally and there is quite a ridge where the kit ends meet the wood. I will try to knock these pieces out (what I really need is a tiny bearing puller) and re-press it.
- Mahogany Sketch Pencil with Copper strip inserted.
This evening, I took the pencil apart and rebuilt it. In the correct ends, the pieces are nice and flush with the wood. I had to take a large drill bit and a ball pien hammer to get the pieces out, but it was worth the effort.
To Everything, Turn...Turn...Turn 