Heavy Duty Pencil Sharpener....Advice Please.

[Matt Sollars]

I teach 7th grade math and science. we use pencils....lots of pencils.
Lead pencils, colored pencils, etc.

My sharpeners crap about about every 4-6weeks. I'm toying with the idea of building the ''ultimate sharpener''.

I'm trying to get some input on a few things:

Motor: I'm trying to think of a motor or an object that would have a decent electric motor that wouldn't be horrible loud.

Blades: I'd like to be able to use the blades from my broken sharpeners. think screw down, boston-esque, spiral cutter blades.

i'd love for there to be a way to attach the spiral type blades to the motor fairly easily, build some type of casing to house it all, and flip the switch to operate.

i don't want to create a vortex that pulls kids into it (hmm.....) but i do want to be able to sharpen any type of pencil and i want it to last a while.

thanks for the input,


Matt

[Brent Leonard]

Binford Tools has what you need!

I suggest at least something larger than 10hp.

[Dustin Lane]

Something like this?
http://allseasonsrent-all.com/images/chipper_12inch.jpg


How about a small vacuum cleaner motor? Would be all ready for plugging into the wall, and should be easy to source as far as finding free broken vacuum cleaners. Maybe it would be a bit too loud.

[Eddie Watkins]

i don't want to create a vortex that pulls kids into it (hmm.....) but i do want to be able to sharpen any type of pencil and i want it to last a while.
Matt
Matt, staying sharp has more to do with the hardness of the lead. I'm not sure what the solution to that would be other than asking the sudents to get a harder lead. Of couse, the harder the lead, the lighter the print. Have yo checked with an architectuaral and engineering supply store to see if they might have somehting or at least a recommendation?
Sorry, I know thisn't answering what you asked but just a thought.

[Tom Gooch]

Have you heard of something called a mechanical pencil??

[David G Baker]

Issue each student his own plastic pencil sharpener. They are cheap. The problem would be getting rid of the waste. I can not believe that there is not a heavy duty pencil sharpener that would stand up to almost continuous use. I went to the Staples web site and found this:
X-ACTO Model 41 Commercial Electric Pencil Sharpener Metallic Beige

[Martin Shupe]

Issue each student his own plastic pencil sharpener. They are cheap. The problem would be getting rid of the waste. I can not believe that there is not a heavy duty pencil sharpener that would stand up to almost continuous use. I went to the Staples web site and found this:
X-ACTO Model 41 Commercial Electric Pencil Sharpener Metallic Beige

I think that is the one that Kelly Mehler has in his shop. He uses it for pencils, as well as making square pegs have a round bottom, so they can go in a round hole. I want one of these, but $135! Wow!

[Guy Roland]

This thread brought back an old memory. I remember seeing a cartoon years ago where someone had put an electric pencil sharpener in a "stuffed" cat.
You just lifted the tail and put the pencil in. I remember having one big laugh at that one.:D

[Matt Sollars]

you would think that any electric sharpener would do the trick. maybe i'm too quick to assume that everybody knows what kind of savages 7th graders can be......my mistake.

anyway. a teacher down the hall just had the ''100$ wonder sharpener'' as we called it. it failed shortly after christmas.

again, i just want ideas for a decent electric motor, a way to connect a sharpening blade to it, etc.

the vacuum cleaner was a good suggestion.....but yeah....very loud.

any other recommendations.

matt

[jeremy levine]

http://www.leevalley.com/gifts/page.aspx?c=1&cat=4,104,53200&p=51090

This might be a start

[Robert Reece]

Can't 7th graders use the manual sharpeners like we used as kids?
I know kids these days are lazy, but good grief.

I've always wanted a pencil sharpener with a 1/4" hex drive so I could put it in my drill. I've never looked for one, might be out there somewhere. Seems like a $100 cordless drill with two batteries would last a long time. You could mount it somehow so kids weren't terrorizing each other with it.

[Bruce Page]

Not to be a party pooper but I would stick with a commercial, UL listed sharpener for the classroom.
Stuff happens and kids can make it happen quickly!

[Herbert Wallace]

I use my 6"x48" Geizz belt sander to sharpen my pencils. Haven't bogged it down yet. You gould also hook it up to the 3 hp DC. Would that be too loud?:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Wes Bischel]

Matt,
Funny how things work - I'm in the market as well. I came across a unit on eBay - search: The Quietest pencil sharpener

I need a unit to mount on the wall, maybe this might work for your situation.

Wes

[Matt Sollars]

funny how things work wes. i'll do it.
thanks.
matt

[phil harold]

For liability issues I would use a store bought pencil sharpener with kids

look at these

http://www.bostitch.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=BOS_PENCIL_SHARPENERS&TYPE=CATEGORY

[James Mooney]

For liability issues I would use a store bought pencil sharpener with kids

look at these

http://www.bostitch.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=BOS_PENCIL_SHARPENERS&TYPE=CATEGORY

And these ones (http://www.bostitch.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=BOS%5FPENCIL%5FSHARPENERS&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=EPS10HC-PRL&SDesc=Quiet+Sharp+6%26%23153%3B+Commercial+Pencil+ Sharpener) have a three year warranty

[Stephen Tashiro]

I use one of these:
http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/Pencil-Sharpeners/Boston-1670-School-Pro-Electric-Sharpener.htm

It works well. The container hold lots of shavings and you can see when it's getting full.

The name has the word "school" and word "pro" in it. What more could you ask?

(It doesn't cost $100, so I'm assuming this isn't the $100 wonder sharpener that broke.)

[Dustin Lane]

The man wants to build something! We can't go discouraging that!
Some other ideas for motors could be windshield wiper motors. They run off of a 12V DC supply which might be an additional issue, but I'm sure they could take a beating. Also, check out allelectronics.com site under motors, they have a ton of motors of many sizes there. A lot of those are DC, but there are AC ones in there too.

As for connecting the blades, I'm really not sure about that. I guess I just can't see the blades so I don't know where to start. Belt driven or direct drive is about all I can come up with. Or a direct drive system with those worm drive things would let you place the motor and blades easier.