Making Polygon Pencil Holders

These Polygon Pencil Holders make great gifts and craft show projects, and they are easy to make with a table saw.  In this video, I show how to make triangle, rectangle, pentagon, and hexagon pencil holders.  Check out my video showing the process below.

The Wixey Digital Angle Gauge makes it really easy to set the table saw blade to accurate angles.  I wouldn't want to try making these without it.  I put it on the table saw surface to zero it, and then put it on the blade to set it to the desired angle.  It's also backlit so it is easy to read.

There are two ways to add the bottom.  For option 1 on the left side of the picture below, I used the table saw to cut dadoes about 1/4" up from the bottom, then cut a bottom piece that fits inside the box.  For option 2 on the right, I cut a base that you can glue the top onto.  Both ways are easy to do, so it just depends on the look you are going for.

These Polygon Pencil Holders were fun to make and and they are perfect projects for small scraps that seem to pile up in the shop.  They are easy to batch out for craft shows too.  Try making a 7-sided pencil holder...I don't even know what that polygon would be called!

Make a Pencil Holder for Your Workbench!

If you are like me, you are always losing your pencils.  Here is a quick and easy Pencil Box that you can make for your workbench so that you can always find a pencil.

My pencil box is about the size of a 5" cube and it's made from a cedar fence board.  I started by cutting 45 degree bevels on both sides of the board.  Making these bevel cuts before cutting the board into the four side pieces saves time.

When cutting the four sides, I used my MicroJig Grr-Ripper as a spacer between the fence and the board to make accurate, repeatable cuts.  I pulled it away to make sure the workpiece did not get trapped, then I used it to drag the piece away from the spinning blade.

I made two passes on my table saw to cut a dado in each piece to accept a plywood bottom.  The depth of the dado is about half way into the piece. 

Before assembly, I sprayed the interior sides with lacquer being careful not to spray the glue surfaces.  I used electrical tape as a band clamp to hold the pencil holder together while the glue dried.  The electrical tape stretches and pulls the joints together tightly.

It is nice to have this Pencil Holder on my workbench so I can always find a pencil when I need one.  Now I just need to keep it filled with sharpened pencils!