Thread: Marking wood

If the finish is important, I use a scribe. it not, I use a common
pencil, I have a good sharpener mounted on a small block of
wood I can clamp in my vice and I keep a can with a couple
of dozen sharpened in my tool tote.

If it is a critical cut I make sure the pencil is sharp.

If it is a reference line where the piece will be finished
I put a piece of masking tape where the mark will be
to prevent having to sand off the mark later.

A Pentel .5mm drafting pencil with



an Incra T-Rule



Accurate measuring to .25mm

Mike

I use a marking knife if the cut is important.

Other wise a 0.5, 0.7 or 0.9mm 6B drafting pencil. (depends on which one I grab)

The softer the pencil the easier it is to sand off and you don't have to press to hard when making the mark thus no indentation in the timber.

Steve

I use in order of finesse required, Artline 70 texta, Keno pencil, 0.5mm mechanical pencil, Scribe, then Marking Knife. I have the Incra rules, which I find very easy to get accurate measurements.

If I am not worried about Finesse, the first implement I can pick up gets used

Originally Posted by Pat

....If I am not worried about Finesse, the first implement I can pick up gets used

Yup - a screwdriver for a mark on a rough board that needs crosscutting - an old nail for (slightly) finer work.

For a serious answer, the same as others have said.

For anything that denotes an edge, like a sawcut: a marking knife or scribe line. There are good reasons for this - for a very fine & accurate line, it prevents fraying of the fibres from the saw teeth, & when you shoot the cut or plane to the line with a shoulder plane, etc., you are left with a very clean, sharp corner for mating with whatever it meets up with.

For fine marks in places where I don't want any residuals: a pencil. I tried propelling pencils & they are ok, & save sharpening, but the .5mm leads break so easily when they catch, which they always seem to do for me. So I went back to what I know best. I buy a 12-pack of cheap B (or HB if can't find Bs) pencils. These are sharpened to a very fine chisel point (with a chisel - good test of your chisel sharpness!). The lead point can be touched-up with sandpaper to keep the edge very fine.

Depending on the actual job in hand & the various types of cuts required, I might use nothing but a knife, only a pencil, or both - it's pretty obvious which tool is required, usually. There's a school of thought that likes to leave layout marks on the job, (makes it 'authentic' & shows the hand of the maker, yadda yadda...), but I come from the school that likes to end up with blemish-free surfaces - even on drawer sides. You might find the occasiional stuff-up buried inside, though - like a mortice marked on the wrong side of a table leg, for e.g.
But you'll have to find them for youself!

I use an ear prop (pencil) for un-planed work and a knife for planed surfaces. I gace up on expensive marking knives after a few lost their tips on hard floors. I find one of the small plastic snap-off blade knives does the job admirably.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I use an ear prop (pencil) for un-planed work.

You don't wear glasses yet, WW??

For close to 40 years I kept my pencil behind an ear, but now it won't sit there because of the specs. How can something so obvious (I always buy those cheap, bright yellow things!) conceal itself so effectively - even on an uncluttered bench?

Actually I do wear glasses now... how am I going to manage! I think I'll drill a big hole in my ear.

Designed with a computer.

Marked with a spray can.

Cut with an axe.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Actually I do wear glasses now... how am I going to manage! I think I'll drill a big hole in my ear.

Didn't know you was into body-piercing, you old punker, you.....
Tell you what - I'll turn you up a nice piece of cow bone to wear when the pencil isn't needed.

Let me know how it works out, cos I'm sure fed up with wasting time looking for pencils. I've tried having two on the go, but one always gets broken, & that's always the first one I pick up, every time.

And once we solve the pencil problem, we'll work on tape-measures. I have a couple of bright yellow ones of those, two, but somehow they seem to be able to metamorphose into yellow pencils when I turn my back.

Unless, of course, it's a pencil I want when I turn round.

I use a chalk on rough sawn wood and the rest of the time I use a HB pencil. There is nothing wrong with using a ball point pen as long as you can remove the marks later.

Marking knife = no tear out and pin-point accuracy. I use a knife for all cross cuts and an awl for marking points.

Like others I use a pencil (propelling pencil HB lead) or a builders pencil sharpened to a chisel point when I don't want the mark to be seen or don't want to plane/sand it away.

Like Mr Wong, I use chalk on rough sawn for marking rough lengths and labelling.

Biros are for taking phone messages

Originally Posted by IanW

Didn't know you was into body-piercing, you old punker, you.....
Tell you what - I'll turn you up a nice piece of cow bone to wear when the pencil isn't needed.

Let me know how it works out, cos I'm sure fed up with wasting time looking for pencils. I've tried having two on the go, but one always gets broken, & that's always the first one I pick up, every time.

If your glasses have ferous legs, you could stick a piece of magnetic tape to the pencil and voila! (Or stick a piece of magnetic tape to your glasses and use a steel propelling pencil.)

Little OT.. but My Grand dad used pencils until they were 1/2'
long, for you mates. that's about 12mm. I have a couple that were
in his tool box when he passed away. Priceless.

I have a hammer he used to open crates at the train depot, he
was a freight agent, that is engraved with the rail freights logo,
I passed on a $10,000 offer. It dates to about 1920. I also have
the sign off his truck.

Here;

http://www.answers.com/topic/railway-express-agency

and here;

http://www.prewarcar.com/show_prewar...p?car_id=50410

The little house in the picture is where my Mom was born, 1925.
Pacific Junction Iowa.

Sorry to get off topic, I will do it again I am sure!