Lay out pens?

[stuckinthemud]

So, for carving, I like to lay out the pattern on the wood with a pen, usually a biro or roller-ball nib as the ink doesn’t soak into the timber. The problem with this is the roller ball needs constant refreshing on a bit of paper as the ink won’t flow properly. Anyone able to recommend a good lay-out pen?

 

[Bingy man]

How about a carpenter’s pencil or a graphite pencil- doesn’t wear down easily..

 

[Ollie78]

Fibre tipped drawing pens maybe.

 

[Cabinetman]

Not something I’ve tried but a quick think came up with this, draw what you want on a sheet of carbon paper then put it onto the wood and use a hard point to transfer it onto the wood.
Is carbon paper even still made? Lol.

 

[niall Y]

Many folk now glue paper to the surface to draw on This often stems from the fact that they are using a printed image, especially for lettering. I found this method quite handy when working on a small intricate table lamp recently - not carved in this case - but inlayed and tapered. It was so much easier to see the lines on this ,than on the Sapele I was using.
As for using Biro, I remember being given a boll%king in a school woodwork lesson for marking my wood with one. A friend suffered similar experiences when he was an apprentice if he even left a pencil line on his work. Funnily enough, I was once in a small manor house in Kent, looking at some oak wainscot carving. It had been done back in the 1920's when the house was renovated, but there were still distinct pencil lines clearly visible.
I have to admit that I am quite addicted to fine felt tip pens - such a revelation after struggling with Rotring pens for years.. They are a lot better for drawing than pencil as you have to be a lot more assured of the marks you make. With my poorer eyesight they are a lot easier to make out, and I now often use them for marking my wood as well. I purchase them half a dozen at a time, with the nibs of this present batch being 0.8mm. They don't always take on the surface of some woods, but if you have a cluster of them to hand you can just switch pens.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Sounds like a job for a Space Pen

 

[recipio]

A 2B pencil. Harder pencil marks can be a bu##er to remove.

 

[Sideways]

I get that the OP wants to avoid fibre type ink pens as the ink wicks in the grain of wood and spreads like drawing on damp paper.
Hard pencil is a no no as @recipio says above.
Biro is a no no to me as the steel ball will indent the wood just as easily as hard pencil and thixotropic ink still smudges and needs to be sanded off.
If you are not going to do precision marks with a knife, I don't know of anything better than soft pencil, sharpened often, or those coloured deep hole pencils if you need to mark on something dark, including rusty steel.

In Japan, etc, ink lines are common. Used like chalk lines but more widely and making a better, finer crisper line. I imagine those lines must still bleed like a fibre tip pen's line.

 

[stuckinthemud]

For different jobs, I use different methods for marking out. Sticking on a pattern and carving through it for some jobs, tracing around a stencil, or pricking through a pattern and dusting. It all depends. Laying out a lettering project on a 2m tall cross in a dark coloured timber in this instance means pencil doesn’t show clearly enough, prick-through doesn’t work, and neither does carving through paper. Pen can indent the wood, so don’t press too hard and no problem…those fine felt tips might be worth a shout but ordinary “colouring “ pens wick into the wood like it’s going out of fashion. Isn’t the space pen the same as a Parker pen?

 

[MikeH]

How about tracedown paper (bit like carbon paper but graphite) and an embosser tool (small metal nib). Lay the tracedown onto the wood, lay your drawing over that then use the embosser to trace the drawing. The harder you press the embosser the darker the imprint. The tracedown paper can be used many times. You can use a pencil instead of an embosser if you want.

This is an approach i have seen recommended for pyrography.

Also worth taping along the top of the template, and tracedown onto the wood. This allows you to lift it all to see the result as you trace but still reposition exactly. Just a small lip from the template onto the tracedown so both are secured to the wood.

I use this as well for watercolour outlines. Works really well. Just be careful not to press down with your palm/hand as well or that will trace through.

 

[ShavedSpoke]

Maybe a sewing layout pencil? Bohin mechanical pencil can be used with a number of different coloured chalks.