Or if a small microwave, perhaps break the pencil in half, and stick them upright in a kneaded eraser? or un-baked potato.....erg...... Linda ______________________ Linda M. Feltner Studio, LLC. P.O. Box 325 Hereford, AZ 85615 (520) 803-0538 On Dec 8, 2005, at 11:03 PM, Kathleen Garness wrote: on 12/8/05 3:25 PM, botanicalart at [log in to unmask] wrote: I always warn students in my colored pencil workshops, of the dangers of dropped pencils/broken leads. At my most recent workshop, a participant passed on this tip to repair the cracked up contents of a broken waxed based colored pencil. The advice was from a presenter at a Colored Pencil Society workshop: Zap the pencil in the microwave. If you heat it in the microwave sideways, won't the hot wax melt and drip rather than fuse? Unless you find a way to stand it on its end opposite to the point? How would it be possible to do that? Hmmm... I know: get a small block of wood a couple of inches on each side, drill some holes perpendicular to the bottom, almost but not quite through, just a hair wider than pencil diameter. Stand pencils up in that. You'd need a good-sized microwave, tho, to accomodate the length of the pencil. My guess is 10 or 20 second increments, and just until you smell the wax softening. Kathy