Refrence lines on black walnut

[BillinO]

Hi all, occasionally I carve in black walnut and use a regular pencil for refrence lines. I find this very hard to see. Any suggestions of what to use that is easily seen and will not leach into the wood? Thanx for any suggestions. Merry Christmas to all and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Bill in Omaha

[sashadoc]

Get a cheap box of colored pencils and pick out the lighter colors (white,yellow,orange,etc.). They work for me.

Tim

[SeaLeveler]

I bought a set of soft pencils with black and white,the black are also useful on softer woods.
Tony

[Paul_Guraedy]

I had the same problem with black walnut. One day I was watching my wife use some colored paper to put lines on some cloth she was sewing. I cut a sheet of yellow into strips, used an old ball point pen and the marks were not only on there but they did not smear before I carved them off. Since then I have found it especially useful on relief carvings where I used to rub the pencil marks off as I worked.

[brent]

Tried white to saw a blank once. Light on the saw made it hard to see. Switched to yellow and had NO problems then.

[johncarves]

A trick I learned from Tom Gow. He uses a quilters pen to mark cottonwood bark with. It is a heavy duty mechanical pencil. In place of graphite (lead) it use tailors chalk. It feeds and works just like a lead pen. Different colors of chalk are available. Hobby Lobby or some fabric stores, anywhere that would carry quilting supplies.

[oldbearx2]

You could also try a soapstone pencil, thy're used mainly for metal work but might do alright on the black walnut.

[northwood bob]

There is a company out of montezuma Iowa called Brownells that sells a yellow pencil (marks on anything pencil 347-125-600) designed for the stockmaker. I used to use them quite a bit when working on stocks. the yellow would show up extremely well on darker woods like walnut et. These pencils are bright enough to see yet soft enough not to harm the wood surface. Check out their web site brownells.com

Bob

[BillinO]

Thanx for all the great ideas about marking. This board has such a wealth of information, and tips are so freely given. I picked up some of the pencils that northwood Bob suggested. I found those at Blicks another brand name but same results, all for about $1.50 each. Thanks again.

Bill in Omaha