Pencil Trick

[Greenfield_Bob]

I was in Rick Hutcheson's website, has anybody been in there and seen the Pencil Trick?

Bob

http://www.scrollsaws.com/

[miamw]

Yes, I saw it and am guessing that since no pictures of the other end were shown, there must be a dowel in there somewhere. If you notice the end where the eraser is is solid, however, the end where the point of the pencil is has a hole and the point end of the pencil is in the hole. I would guess that a hole was drilled on that end and then a dowel with possibly close grain structure was put in place. But like I said, no picture was shown of that end.

Just my HO.

[CanadianScroller]

even drilling a hole that long is a challenge.
Both ends of the puzzle are shown and I dont see a dowel.
I am still trying to figure out how they drilled the holes and left the ends in tact if there are no glue marks.

Quite a challenge indeed

[Rick-H]

There are no signs of any dowels or plugs on either end. No signs of a tab being broken off and glued back on.
I have been getting tips that maybe it is steamed, crushed in a vise, then steamed again to get it back to original form, but I haven't tried it yet.

[CanadianScroller]

New theory on how the pencil was inserted but cant figure out how to drill the holes.
If you look at the grain on the block you could soak the block in water long enough to make it flex slightly.
It looks like the hole at the end of the block by the eraser is slightly larger and slightly more discoloured than the rest.
Wetting down the wood to flex it is common in puzzles, like the arrow through the apple puzzle.
Once the pencil was inserted in the puzzle you could clamp it in blocks and allow it to dry.

Just a theory.

Now I have tossed a theory out there someone tell me how to make the holes!

darn cross posting

[miamw]

I still say there is no picture of the point end of the pencil and there must be a dowel on that end.

Why don't we all give Rick a call? He'd go nuts with so many calls to see if he knows the secret....he probably does too!

The discoloration around the eraser part is normal for the metal if rubbed up against the wood.

[BobD (Archive)]

Is there any evidence that the pencil was cut up?

Bob

[utbva]

Must be trained termites.

[utbva]

Even if the pencil was cut up, how were the holes drilled?

[BobD (Archive)]

Could the holes be carved in with a dremel or gouge or something like that? How regular are they in diameter?

[utbva]

Bob, you are the carver; you tell me. I have done a little whittling like making chains out of sticks and carving a ball inside of a block of wood, but I can't figure this one out.

[BobD (Archive)]

Sorry...just brainstorming!

Can you tell what kind of pencil it is? Some pencils are made of a plastic compound that can take quite a bit of bending before it snaps...even more so if you heat it slightly.I you snapped the pencil in half, so the joint would be hidden...stuck it in, and glued it back together...

It wouldn't be hard to use a dremel or something like that to drill the holes undersized and ream out the edges to make it round (after making the inside large enough to get


Is that some sort of pine or evergreen, Rick?

[Jediscroller]

I'm having trouble picturing how the pencil was put in there. I'm only guessing, perhaps the holes were drilled with a flexible drill bit?
From the pictures it looks like you have about 1 1/2" of clearance from the back of the block to the first hole, I've seen flex shafts that would fit in that kind of space. I'll have to talk to some of the toolmakers here to see if they have any ideas.

[Grizz]

I think there has got to be a trick to it.

[Woodbutcher68]

I think there has got to be a trick to it.

It's amazng what you can do with a computer and Photoshop!