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WriteMaster™ Pencil Instructions

WriteMaster™ "twist" pencils use two barrels, both made from wood blanks measuring 1.75" (44mm) by about 5/8" (16mm) square cross-section. Both barrels are drilled with 0.315" (8mm) holes. WoodWrite, Ltd. pre-cut, pre-drilled wood blanks for WriteMaster™ pencils are sold in packages of ten (10) blanks, suitable for five (5) pencils. The blanks are marked to show grain alignment. Be sure to maintain the orientation of the top and bottom blanks as you proceed if you desire to have the grain match, top to bottom, in your finished pencil. The 8mm lining cylinder for the upper barrel is 2.01" (51mm) long, longer than the wood blank by about .26" (7mm). This extra brass protrudes from the lower end of the top barrel (when holding the pencil tip downward) and provides support for the three piece decorative ring. The 8mm cylinder for the lower barrel is the same length as the wood blank. NOTE: WriteMaster™ pencils use a third cylinder,7mm I.D., which telescopes inside the long 8mm cylinder. DO NOT use this cylinder as a lining cylinder for the wood blanks (see Pencil Assembly instructions, below).

Barrel Production

WriteMaster™ pencil barrels are turned on an 8mm mandrel WoodWrite, Ltd. KT-22.

Prepare a pair of blanks with lining cylinders, as described in Preparing Wood Blanks, paying particular attention for the upper barrel (8mm), that the ends of the barrels are flush.Be sure that you have used the 8mm cylinders for this purpose, not the "telescoping" 7mm cylinder, as cautioned, above. As for all WoodWrite, Ltd. blanks, be sure to let the adhesive cure overnight before turning, and, remove excess glue that may have hardened around the exposed end of the brass cylinder.

1. Place the glued top barrel on the 8mm mandrel with the exposed brass tube to the right. Then place the two level spacer, with the largest level against the brass tube. This is followed by the glued bottom barrel and the single level spacer. Secure this entire assembly with the knurled nut. Be sure the needle center of the tailstock is tightly engaged into the right end of the mandrel.

2. Move the saddle to the left so that the cutting tool is aligned with the gage point of the mandrel. Turn the micrometer dial counter-clockwise until the tool just touches the gage point ("0") then back the tool away by turning the micrometer dial four complete turns clockwise ("0"). If the micrometer dial does not read "0" when the tool is just touching the mandrel, reset your zero point.

3. Make your first cutting pass, moving the saddle from left to right. (0.732"[19mm] diameter) You will cut across the gap between the blanks, to turn both blanks to the same dimension.

4. Turn the micrometer dial counter-clockwise one full turn to "0". Make your second cut, moving the saddle from right to left. (0.632"[16mm] diameter)

5. Turn the micrometer dial counter-clockwise one full turn to "0". Make the third cut, from left to right. (0.532" [13.5mm] diameter)

6. Turn the micrometer dial counter-clockwise to "35" and make your fourth cut, from right to left. (0.502" [12.8mm] diameter)

7. Turn the micrometer dial counter-clockwise to "30" and make your fifth cut, from left to right. (0.490" - 0.492" [12.4 - 12.5mm] diameter) You have finished cutting the top barrel; the cutting tool is to the right of the bottom barrel. The remaining cuts will be on the bottom barrel only.

8. Turn the micrometer dial counter-clockwise to "40" and make your sixth cut on the bottom barrel only, from right to left, stopping between the barrels. (0.412" [10.5mm] diameter)

9. Turn the micrometer dial counter-clockwise to "30" and make your seventh cut from left to right. (bottom barrel only). (0.392" [10mm] diameter)

10. Turn the micrometer dial counter-clockwise to "27" and make your final cut from right to left, bottom barrel only. (0.385" - 0.388" [9.8 - 9.9mm] diameter) Stop the lathe and turn the micrometer dial clockwise three and one-half turns to "0". Now, move the saddle to the left end of the lathe bed to be out of your way for smoothing and polishing as described previously. (The tool is positioned to start another WriteMaster™ pencil, step 2, above.)

In summary, your tool settings are as follows, starting with the tool just touching the gage point of the mandrel:

CLK 0000 - CCLK 0 - CCLK 0 - CCLK 35 - CCLK 30 (both barrels)

Smooth and polish the barrels.

Pencil Assembly

The components of a WriteMaster™ pencil are shown below. You have already used the two 8mm lining cylinders in the two wood blanks to make the barrels. You will need one each of the black end cap, clip, small brass ferrule, 7mm cylinder, 3-piece decorative ring assembly, gold ferrule, one piece decorative ring, black tip, twist mechanism and gold tip. (Note: on first glance, a number of these components appear identical to their pen counterparts. Beware! Looks can be deceiving. Only the black end cap, clip and one-piece decorative ring are interchangeable between WriteMaster™ pens and pencils. Do not attempt to interchange any other components.)

1. Press fit the chamfered end of the small brass ferrule into the 7mm cylinder (countersunk hole in the ferrule faces outward.) With the ferrule end up, slide the 7mm tube into the top of the top barrel. (The ferrule will be at the "flush", or top, of the barrel.)

2. Place a dot of white adhesive (CN-12) on the exposed brass end, then press fit the three piece decorative ring (gold-black-gold) on to the brass. Remove any excess adhesive with a damp cloth to avoid marring the wood or metal.

3. Check the clip to be sure the angle between the loop and the stem is acute (less than 90E) to ensure proper pressure on the barrel after assembly. Screw the black end cap through the hole in the clip, into the ferrule, to secure the clip.

4. Place a gold and black decorative ring on a black tip. Add a drop of white adhesive (CN-12) and press into the tip end of the lower barrel.

5. Press a gold ferrule into the opposite end of the lower barrel.

6. Before completing assembly, screw the gold tip onto the end of the mechanism until it bottoms out, to remove any burrs that may be present. Remove the gold tip, insert the mechanism into the lower barrel, then replace the gold tip and tighten it against the black tip. Test the mechanism by turning it counter to the barrel to verify lead extension and withdrawal.

7. Slide the cap assembly onto the mechanism. The pen is complete.

To replace leads, crank the mechanism to full extension, to be sure that no lead fragments are retained in the clutch. Then, crank the mechanism to full withdrawal. Replace the lead with 0.7mm leads, approximately 2-1/2" (64mm) in length. Extend the lead until about 1/8" (3mm) emerges from the tip. Gently press the lead against a flat surface to seat it in the clutch. Turn the top counter to the bottom to verify that the lead is anchored in the clutch.

Occasionally, it may be difficult to get the lead to emerge from the tip of a WriteMaster™ pencil when the top is twisted. The problem is caused by a tiny burr inside of the screw portion of the tip, which prevents the screw tip from tightening securely against the pencil mechanism. The remedy is simple; remove the tip and mechanism and screw the tip onto the mechanism while it is not in the pencil barrel. The burr will be removed by the action of fully screwing on the tip until it "bottoms out" on the mechanism. Remove the tip and reassemble the parts normally. The mechanism should now work properly.