That contractor who showed me the pencil trick still sticks with me

I was running cat6 in a new build outside Columbus about 6 months ago and this old timer contractor walks over while I'm wrestling with a tough pull box. He didn't say much at first, just watched for a minute. Then he pulls a regular wooden pencil out of his vest and starts running it along the edge of the drywall where I was trying to get the cable to seat into the raceway. I thought he was messing with me. But the pencil graphite actually made the cable slide right in without snagging on the rough edge. He just said 'sometimes the cheapest tool is the best one' and walked off. Ever since then I keep a pencil in my tool pouch for tight spots where the cable keeps catching. Has anyone else had an old timer teach them something that simple that actually works better than the fancy tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy_ross7h ago

You're talking about a #2 pencil, right? That's the exact trick my grandpa showed me back when I was helping him with some old wiring in his barn. It's wild how something so basic can save you from buying those expensive cable lube sprays they push at the supply house. I still keep a dulled down pencil stub in my pouch just for that reason, works every time on PVC conduit too.

morgan.logan7h ago

Does that work as well on the old cloth-covered wire everyone's scared of now?