Thread: Where do pencils go?

I made the stupid mistake of drilling a hole in the stub end of a pencil and attaching a 3' loop of bright yellow string. Tucked behind my ear, the string got in the way... looped over my neck, the pencil got in the way. So, I left it on the bench. It should be easier to find, with so much bright yellow string hanging off it, right? Wrong... by the next week-end it had disappeared. Never to be seen again.

Working on the principle that it'd been knocked off by an envious fellow woodie, I made another prototype, incorporating some minor improvements. I wasn't going to "wear" it this time, so I attached my trusty old square to the other end of the string. Now, I know that any time I pick up my square, there'll be a pencil handy.

So, if any of you come across a well-loved Marples Rosewood square with double brass facings and attached to a pencil by a length of bright yellow string... please tell it to come home. It's sorely missed and it's younger brother, Stanley, is just as useless as it ever was.

my wife usually finds my pencils, unfortunately by that time they've been through the heavy duty wash and spin dry so most of them are broken

Originally Posted by Ashore

Glad I went and washed the car and had a beer , you said it much better that I would have. :eek:

Quite! I may have been a little more, ahem! forthcoming :eek:

After a very ordinary day at work, i looked at this thread for unknown reasons and am very glad that I did, haven't had a laugh this good for a while so thank you to all those pencil deprived woodies out there.
I have actually got a solution for you all. I have a pencil that is 6 foot long and has a diametre of 10 inches. I usually find it easier to leave the pencil on the bench and move my timber along the point to mark out my lines. Never lost the pencil yet. If only I didn't keep losing the timber, it all seems to just lose all molecular structure somehow and ends up in little piles on the floor........
Maintaining the pencil in a sharp condition can be troublesome though. Last time I had to sharpen it I smashed a flouro tube swinging the axe. I could tell you a story about that axe, had it for years, still the same as the day I bought it, only replaced the handle three times and the head twice.......
Glad someone did revive this thread, just because something has a little age does not mean that it is no longer valuable or relevant. Something that some self appointed neat freaks seem to have lost sight of perhaps.........

I get my revenge on the kids with pencils and the like. In particular, the Idiot Child has provided me with many pencils, a stick of gum (for sticking the sandpaper to the spindle, and sandpaper to hold-down jigs), two pencil sharpeners, a calculator (that was a big coup!), those modern, coloured plastic drawing pins (to stick skethces and plans up whilst measuring out), a cork board, a document folder with the plastic sleeves (for storing machine manuals and the relevant reciepts for warranty) and a dressmakers tape to measure bandsaw blades.

I look on innocently when she accuses Thuggo (her brother) of these thefts.

Its the first taste of revenge before beginning some serious SKIING (Spending the Kids Inheritance)

Another possibility is that they go sightseeing. Going to places of significant and important pencil related places and exhibits.
(These photos came from a link posted herea couple of years ago)

I love the second pic... it shows quite clearly that pencils have been going walkabouts for a loooong time.

(I'll bet that carpenter was ... back then pencils would've been worth quite a bit more than they are now. :eek: )

The pencils go to the same place as paperclips. Paperclips metamorphise into wire coathanges and clearly the pencils change into the wooden ones that infest my wardrobe.
See, it is simple.:confused:

Have you checked behind your ears (for the pencils)?

What about office spoons? The CSIRO recently did some research on the disappearance of spoons. It appears that they will last longer if in a tea room used by like-minded people (a bunch of scientists) than if used by administrative staff (a bunch of clerks). The research started with a dozen spoons for each tea room and within a month or so all spoons were gone. The research was unable to come to any conclusion regarding where the spoons went however!

Originally Posted by Spindleshanks

What about office spoons? The CSIRO recently did some research on the disappearance of spoons. It appears that they will last longer if in a tea room used by like-minded people (a bunch of scientists) than if used by administrative staff (a bunch of clerks). The research started with a dozen spoons for each tea room and within a month or so all spoons were gone. The research was unable to come to any conclusion regarding where the spoons went however!

Thank God our taxes are being well spent by the men in white lab coats.......typical boffins, they study the problem and come to a conclusion but can't provide any useful information like the whereabouts of the missing spoons.
It is a good thing that black holes in space are said to be infinite, if they weren't, they would have filled up long ago with all the odd socks, missing pencils, teaspoons, cheque books, wallets, assorted coins, documents that the boss wanted urgently yesterday and all other manner of things that seem to conspire against the human race by sneaking off and hiding the very second we turn our attention elsewhere....

Love the thread! It makes me feel all warm-and-fuzzy to realise that I'm normal after all!
Of course, the easiest way to find something that you lose is to go and buy a replacement... 30 seconds after walking in the door, there's (whatever) sitting for all to see while you swear it wasn't there before.
As point of interest (or, proof of my stupidity..) I thought I lost my mobile phone once. Checked my pocket where it is always clipped on, checked the work area, checked the top of the toolbox. Not to be found.
Suddenly realised I was on it!

Have the same problem with a shed that eats pencils. The small pencils used to write out "keno" are thrown out after a few sharpens by the clubs and pubs where this game is played.

If you know some one within the establishment instead of throwing them out you might score a hundred or so which I have done and oddly enough with a good supply of pencils I do not loose them like I used to. They are great to use for wood working.

Its a form of recycling and your shed will not eat any more pencils with such a supply!!

Regards Mike.

Your pencils are all out having a good time with my engineers chalk