Carpenter's Pencil and level in one. Not only that it has a magnet and ruler

[johnfrwhipple]

I was going to start out today by saying that this guy at the lumber desk yesterday gave me a "Chubby" but that doesn't sound right. But the fact is he did! Seven inches. In his hand he was holding a nine inch "Chubby".

Before you go and flag this thread as "****ography" I'm talking about a new carpenter's pencil.

Here is a peak.



The Pencil is a proper carpenter's pencil invented by "Chubby" and I used it day one to set an alarm pad out in UBC.





My pencil is both Green in colour and Green is material selection. It is not made from wood but some sort of composite material. I think I will enjoy this new tool so long as I don't sit on it!

I showed my daughter's and they all want it. Now I better order a box for the kids. I'm sure my Journeyman will pinch my new toy when I'm not looking. David if your reading this - you better not touch my "Chubby". LOL

JW


Measuring the pitch on a shampoo shower niche.

If your looking to order some of these pencils you can do so here

[johnfrwhipple]

JW

[leejosepho]

I showed my daughters and they all want it ...

I need six for my grandchildren!

[johnfrwhipple]

My daughter wants ten for her friends at School.

I ordered 40!

I broke this one yesterday. You need to be a little extra careful because the level is the weak point for the pencil but it is a very handy tool. I'm hooked.



Get your Chubby ordered here

[hj]

The Swiss Army Knife of carpenter's pencils. Now, if I could just hold the Chubby level and find a "carpenter's pencil" to draw the line. You have to sharpen Chubby on both ends to get full usage out of him. Eventually, you will wind up with a lot of 1 1/2" "levels", which might be good for something.

[johnfrwhipple]

The Swiss Army Knife of carpenter's pencils. Now, if I could just hold the Chubby level and find a "carpenter's pencil" to draw the line. You have to sharpen Chubby on both ends to get full usage out of him. Eventually, you will wind up with a lot of 1 1/2" "levels", which might be good for something.

That's funny HJ. Yes you will need two pencils. Excellent point.

JW

[mtcummins]

Ha, that is funny. I guess its useful for many things though... I don't actually mark level that often, at least not when using a torpedo level. I just throw it on a piece of trim, or tile, or electrical box, or whatever, and secure it. Then again, I tend to lose pencils left and right, so I usually carry about 3 anyway...

JW, you said it has a magnet in it... where is that? Embedded in the wood? Does it stick to a metal surface like many levels?

I might have to find these, if nothing else just for the novelty when BSing with other contractors... not sure if I want them all talking about my Chubby though...

[leejosepho]

JW, you said it has a magnet in it... where is that? Embedded in the wood? Does it stick to a metal surface like many levels?

Nah, that is prob'ly a special magnet for wood.

[johnfrwhipple]

Measuring wood with a Carpenter's Pencil

Was milling up some edge grain fir todays back for a nice custom door job in UBC. Wiped out the "Old Chubby" to check my thickness. I wanted to keep the finished stock between 3/4" and 7/8" - man was the planer noisy. Stopped at 7/8"!

The magnet is on the underside of the level and flush with the pencil. It does work just like a magentic torpedo but sadly the magnet does not work on wood.



The magnet is very strong.


I spoke to the owner of the company yesterday morning and was raving about his invention. Turns out the dude is a brick setter and runs a masonary company. His boys always looking for a torpedo level and their pencils always behind their ear.....

Hmmmm.

And bang a great new job site time saver is born. I find the pencil a tad harder to sharpen over my English Carpenter's pencils but what I discovered is if I slice off first the recycled plastic coating first I can get a killer edge on this pencil. So sharp it's like working with a standard or school pencil. Love it.

I ordered a wack of them and am going to give them away to my favourite clients and subs at Christmas. My favourite subs will have it taped to a bottle.

JW

[hj]

Back in the old days, during my apprenticeship and we still used 6' folding rulers, I always bought the expensive Lufkin with the 6" slide extension, but it seemed everytime I went to check the crews on a job, somebody needed a ruler. I got tired of buying them, especially when I started "losing" the ruler right after I bought it, so I started buying tape measures because NOBODY liked them during that era. The same thing might start happening with your Chubby, so you probably need to buy a lot of them.

[johnfrwhipple]

I don't want anyone touching my "Chubby", well maybe my wife can use it. That's it. I will stock them in my Truck and give a wack to my Journeyman. If not having to search for the torpedo, go back and find the tape saves me even 20 minutes a week I'm making money on these things. 20 minutes is only 4 minutes a day and sometimes it can take longer than that just getting to the truck , especially if we are working in a high rise building in Vancouver.

[johnfrwhipple]

Some finishing work today out in UBC. Step one in a three part baseboard detail.

Used my "Chubby" to check my inside corner. Checking more that the tops where on the same plane here.



Carpenter's pencil with built in level

Showed my mom last night and she loves them. Like me she ordered a wack for Christmas Gifts and Stocking Stuffers. I'm told that Mark's Work Wharehouse is going to stock them in Western Canada. Not sure if you boys in Seattle have a Marks Outlet.

[leejosepho]

The Chubby's developer is fixing me up with a few of these high-tech wonders for my grandchildren, and here is his sneak preview of a version he says will be stronger:

[johnfrwhipple]

The Chubby's developer is fixing me up with a few of these high-tech wonders for my grandchildren, and here is his sneak preview of a version he says will be stronger:

Will the new generation carpenter's pencil still have the ruler and the magnet? Did he say?

I left my pencil and tape measure at the job site and some one mixed up the 1x5" and 1x6" stock. I went to pull out my "Chubby" and was joked I didn't have it in my pocket. Took 2 minutes to track down a Yard guy. Took 1 minutes to explain that he could stop asking me questions I'm OK. And another 1/2 minute to return the tape. Lost minutes in a busy day.

JW

UPDATE

The new pencil design looks like this;

[leejosepho]

Will the new generation carpenter's pencil still have the ruler and the magnet? Did he say?

Not specifically, but I believe that would be a logical assumption and that the pic he sent is a prototype ready for graphics and a magnet.