The manufacturing of pencil slats begins with cutting logs into blocks. These blocks are then sliced into pencil slats using a rotary lathe. The pencil slats are dried in kilns to reduce moisture content.

Pencil slats are planed to a uniform thickness of 0.2 inches. A grooving machine cuts channels into the pencil slats for the core. The pencil slats are then coated with glue on the grooved side.

A graphite core is placed between two pencil slats. The assembled pencil slats are pressed together for several hours. The pressed pencil slats block is cured in an oven for stability.

After curing, the pencil slats block is cut into individual pencils. The cutting process uses steel blades that shape the pencil slats. Shaped pencil slats are sanded to remove rough edges.

Pencil slats for round pencils are carved on a lathe. The waste from pencil slats is collected and recycled. Pencil slats are packaged in bundles of 500 for shipping. A modern pencil slats factory produces millions of slats daily for global distribution.