How to make a pencil

1, Logs are milled into 3 X 3 inch lumber called “pencil stock”. The pencil stock is kiln dried to ensure dimensional stability, and then cut into blocks.

2, “Pencil blocks” are sawed into “slat”, each one-half the thickness of a finished pencil.

3, Pencil slats are saturated with a non-toxic emulsion of wax and stain. This mixture gives the slats their distinctive color, and makes the pencil easier to sharpen.

4, each stained slat is machine-grooved to receive the pencil lead.

5, pencil “lead”, a fragile mixture of clay and graphite, is placed into the grooves of the bottom slat.

6, a second grooved slat is glued on top of the leaded slat, forming a “sandwich”. Each sandwich slat is held tightly together in a hydraulic clamp until the glue dries.

7, high-speed machinery shapes and cuts the sandwich slat into individual pencils.

8, each pencil is sanded to a smooth, satiny finish. After sanding, the pencils are ready for finishing.

9, several coats of non-toxic finish are applied to each pencil. After the finish has dried, pencils are foil printed with many different logos and designs.

10, a shoulder is cut into one end of the pencil to accept the “ferrule”, a metal device that secures the eraser tip.

11, the ferrule is inserted onto the pencil end, and is pierced to the wood.

12, an eraser is inserted into the ferrule. The ferrule is then pierced again to secure the eraser. The finished pencil is now ready for sharpening and use.