Inside a pencil factory

Those photos are just too cool. I'm a guy who can stand and look at old manufacturing equipment run and be amazed that some guy in 1930 or when ever thought of how to accomplish those tasks with machines that still run today. I remember as an apprentice taking gear blanks to a shop down the street from where I worked as a machine tool rebuilder to have the teeth hobbed. The entire shop was wood framed with a wood floor that had paths worn in it where people had walked for many years. Some machinery was still central shaft driven but most had been converted to individual drive. The place did amazing work but sadly the whole place was lost in a fire and never rebuilt. I remember the owner taking me outside and uncovering the old farm engine that powered the plant when his grandfather ran it. I wish I had gone there and taken photos, I have the memories but man I wish I had taken the time to take pictures. Thanks for posting this
 
There used to be a pencil manufacturer here in my hometown. The Eagle Pencil Co. I had a tour of it as a Boy Scout back in the 50s.
The girls in the final stage of stuffing 20 pencils in a box would pick up exactly 20 without counting. Every once in a while they would deliberately drop one out of their hand if it felt like they had picked up 21 pencils. They did that all day so they got to have a very delicate feel for the weight and diameter of 20 pencils. It looked like magic to me at the time.
 
I liked that:encourage:
 
Very cool, and also very thought provoking. Amongst all of our present day modernizations, when even currency has become largely digital, a company has survived for nearly 130 continuous years making, of all things -- wooden pencils. Bravo!

Thanks for sharing that, John.

-frank
 
Thanks for the video. Finally I’ve found out how they get the lead into the wood. Fascinating.
 
Now...if any of you really wanna know about that simplest tool, in depth: read this book...

The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, by Henry Petroski.

Published almost 30 years ago (1990), it's a classic, and certainly widely available used on eBay, Amazon, etc.

A wondrous tale, very well told...as are others by Henry P.

Warren
 
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