Pencil Replacement Parts
Background
I started machining replacement parts for my own Pentel GraphGear 1000s in the spring of 2023 using my high school engineer club’s neglected mini-lathe. After hearing from strangers online that they would really like to buy these things from me, I started selling them via eBay come summer.
I started with a batch of just 10 units, 5 in aluminum, 5 in brass. Those sold in a few hours, so I made more. I had just turned seventeen at the time, and was taking concurrent enrollment night classes for Calculus I & II at Pasadena City College.
In between problem sets for class, I would machine parts. I personally machined every unit sold up until late fall 2024, all to a soundtrack consisting of music by Jack White, The Hives, and Green Day. When I moved to Chico for college, I built up my own little baby’s first supply chain. While I still machine some of the SKU's (namely, the more exotic metals) by hand, or with my now operational CNC lathe, the majority of the machining work is done by a handful of manufacturing partners. Despite the help, I still hand-finish and inspect every unit sold.
I got really good at making these things on a manual machine. You wind up memorizing every dimension pretty quickly. Of the 300'odd parts I did by hand, the first hundred or so are noticeably a little messy. But those last 200? A lot of them might actually have better finishing and tolerances than the CNC turned versions.
Right Now
I am working on expanding my ability to keep up with demand. I've steadily improved my shipping flow to bring down how much hands-on attention each order needs. New packaging, a new database, new packing slip software, written QA standards, et cetera.
I owe everything to my incredibly supportive customer base. The praise and positivity that radiates from my eBay inbox and reviews is downright incredible. My customers have product ideas, they have feedback, they have questions, and it's my job to pay attention. I love it!
Oh, and uh, fountain pen! I am doing a fountain pen. It will be pink. It's real, I have prototypes; hopefully, it's something I can get into people's hands soon.
