A Pencil Case. CNC Cut.

 A member of a router forum suggested I look into making a pencil box. 

A Pencil Shaped Box

As I designed the pencil shaped box I pondered what it might hold.  I concluded that a pencil box would most obviously hold a pencil.

Splits open to access a #2 pencil

This project though has provoke my runaway imagination to design a box that would hold much more. 

A pencil case at minimum only has to hold a single pencil.  I started out with a simple pencil shaped case that holds one pencil.  The hexagram body of the case was easy.  The conical tip was the challenge.  Sharpening the end of the case proved to be a challenge.  Half of a tapered cone cut from each side is what was needed. I figured out how to model the half cone, but not how to cut it.  I had to wait until both sides were done then clamped them together and vertically to use the moulding toolpath to cut the cone end. 

Alignment to the Y axis of my CNC for long skinny projects like this is a persistent challenge. Using my low profile vise to hold the first half of this single pencil case I took care to align the vise and board before cutting it. The vise was clamped down and not moved for the second half but clearly that was a mistake. The second half was slightly mis-aligned on one end.  Some sanding and a little trim router use cleaned up the mis-aligned edges.  

Many of these box projects have been excellent lessons on dealing with small projects and the precision needed.  Well worth the time.  Well worth the experience provided. 

4D