Boston KS Pencil Sharpener

Overhaul

The planetary pencil sharpener in my shop is ancient.

It was a Reese's Piece that I came upon in 1986. It was old and well used at that time.

Since then it has sharpened many a pencil in three different woodshops.

The unit was a Boston KS. The image at the right is what it would have looked like when new...this model was put into hundred's of thousands of classrooms all across the country.

 

My sharpener is mounted on the wall behind my shop door and it is used often. It had gotten diffictult to spin the handle and suddenly it totally failed me. The handle and gears would not turn at all.

It was time for an overhaul and tune-up.

Knowing zero about the inside of a planetary gear sharpener, I simply began by taking it apart one bit a time.

Here I am removing the bolt that holds the sharpener onto the gear mechanism.

Here the cutters are removed from the unit...it was pretty nasty down inside.
First cleanup was to use a LPS F104° solvent degreaser,
With some scrubbing with a metal brush the mechanisms came pretty clean.

Next I pulled the handle shaft out of the gear mechanism. It was pretty scarred and rusted.

 

Cleaned that shaft with wet/dry sandpaper and oil up to 600 grit.
Then lubed the shaft with dry lubricant.
Used LPS Force 842° Dry Moly Lubricant.
Then reassembled the cutters.
Cutters and gears were in much better shape...cleaned up nicely and I had touched up some bad spots with a little filing...
I doused the assembly with dry lube.
Put the assembley back into the gearing housing.
And the ancient unit sharpens like a champ.

 

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