How Pencils are Made

The picture at right illustrates the steps involved in the manufacture of a wood pencil.

• It starts with a block of cedar (1) which is then cut into slats (2).
• The slats are then stained (3) and grooves are cut into one surface (4).
• Prepared leads are placed into the grooves (5) and a second slat is placed on top and bonded with the first (6).
• This 'pencil sandwich' is then passed through a milling process (7) to separate the individual pencils (8).
• The pencil is painted and finished (9 & 10), a ferrule crimped onto the end (11), and finally, an eraser is crimped into the ferrule (12).