1. Tools and How to Use Them
Week 1
Tools and How to Use Them

2. Objective
This lesson discusses the tools needed for manual drafting and how to select and use them

3. Introduction Drafting projects are best done with the proper equipment
The advent of computer-aided drafting has made drafting as fine art largely unimportant
Today’s board drafter can utilize a more streamlined set of tools the predecessors used

4. Introduction (cont’d.)
Figure 2.1 An assortment of tools is needed to draft.

5. The Basics Drafting Board Chair or Stool Lighting and Magnification
Parallel Bar
T Square

6. The Basics (cont’d.) Triangle Protractor Scales
Working with Pencils and Leads

7. The Basics (cont’d.) Tape Ames Lettering Guide Compass Dividers
Irregular and Flexible Curves

8. The Basics (cont’d.) Technical Pens Templates Drafting Media
Construction Calculator

9. Drafting Board
Minimum size of 2' x 3' with tilt and height adjustment and a replaceable vinyl cover
Do not use a kitchen table or other makeshift surfaces
A pencil needs the cushion of a quality vinyl cover that hard surfaces do not provide

10. Chair or Stool
Cushioned chair, with resilient casters and height adjustment
Figure 2-2 This board with hydraulic height adjustment, lever for tilt adjustment, parallel bar, lamp, and cushioned chair are conducive to good drafting.

11. Lighting and Magnification
Fluorescent, incandescent, or halogen lamps, or a combination
Some lights have a built-in magnifying glass
A light that clamps to the board and is adjustable in length is desirable

12. Parallel Bar
Long, straight tool used for drawing horizontal lines, installed on the board
Figure 2-3 Properly drawn horizontal line. Note how the pencil glides directly on the parallel bar and is held perpendicular to the board.

13. T Square
An alternative to the parallel bar for drawing horizontal lines
Consists of a head and blade
Is not installed on the board
Head must be firmly held against the board at all times to keep the bar straight

14. Triangle
Figure 2-5 Assorted triangles and T square. The adjustable triangle can be set to any right angle. The rest draw lines 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° to the horizontal.

15. Protractor Used for drawing angles
Has scales that run from left to right as well as right to left so you can draw an angle on either side
Measure an existing angle by aligning the protractor’s flat side with one line, placing the hole/crosshair at the vertex
The angle is where the other line intersects the protractor’s curve

16. Scales
A tool that enables a drafter to draw large objects small enough to fit on a small sheet of paper while keeping them proportionately accurate
An architect’s scale measures in units of feet and inches
A metric scale is used for the same purpose as an architect’s scale, but in metric units
A proportional scale enables you to enlarge or reduce a picture by a specific amount

17. Working Pencils and Leads
A mechanical pencil is a multi-piece, refillable tool: available in 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm, and 2 mm sizes
Wood drafting pencils: available in a 2.0 mm size
Soft leads such as B and F draw dark easily smudged lines
HB: medium-weight lead that acts as soft lead
Harder leads such as H, 2H, 3H, and 4H draw light, harder-to-smudge lines

18. Tape
Drafting tape resembles masking tape but is less sticky and will not to damage paper when removed
Plastic tape with printed patterns can be used to represent specific line types such as poché symbols
Black tape is often used as layout tape to represent walls on presentation drawings or as a border

19. Ames Lettering Guide
Figure Ames Lettering Guide. The #4 is aligned with the datum mark, which will create guidelines 1/8" tall separated by spaces
approximately 1/16" tall.

20. Compass Used for drawing circles and arcs
Has a point at one end and a lead on the other
A drafting compass also has interchangeable points that hold pencils and pens and an extension bar for drawing large circles
Placing tape at an often-used compass point location will help keep the paper from tearing at that spot

21. Dividers
Figure Compass, dividers and attachments

22. Irregular and Flexible Curves
Irregular curves, also called French curves, allow the drafter to hard-line arcs
Flexible curve is a piece of rubber that can be shaped to any curve

23. Technical Pens
Minimum of four pen sizes is needed for effective drafting
Renewable pens are multi-piece tools that can be taken apart and filled with ink
Pen tips may be tungsten, jewel, or stainless steel
Cost-wise, the last is the most practical
Nonrenewable pens are glorified felt-tips

24. Templates
Laser-cut pieces of plastic used for drawing the same item multiple times
Hundreds of templates available for furniture, fixtures, circles, arrows, electrical symbols, and other images
Can be bought in sets or individually
Large furniture and appliance companies often have templates of their products at different scales

25. Drafting Media
Tracing paper is thin, semitransparent paper used for sketching and designing
Available in yellow or white
Vellum is a semi-opaque, high-quality cotton paper used for ink or pencil work
Polyester drafting film and plastic sheets are used for ink or plastic lead work
Presentation work is sometimes done on coldpress board
Porous surface that will take an ink line

26. Construction Calculator
Standard math functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
Convert numbers to various linear, square, and cubic formats
Including feet-and-inches format, decimal feet, decimal inches, yards, meters, metric units, and board feet
Manipulate fractions and convert the denominator to any desired accuracy

27. Storage and Care of Tools
Tools can be kept in anything that keeps them organized and safe during transport
Drawings are best stored in flat files, lateral files, round tubes, or portfolios
Keep your tools clean
Dirt will rub off them onto the drawing media
Use a “green” cleaner
Will not remove the painted lines from instruments and templates and leave a film

28. Copying Processes
Reprographics shops have photocopiers that make a digitized scan of the original and run black-line digital copies
Multicolor offset prints
Drawing is transferred or “offset” from a plate to a rubber blanket and then transferred to the paper
Photocopies are not 100 percent accurate as lines become slightly stretched

29. Summary More tools than the ones discussed in this chapter exist
Only the essential ones are covered
Browse through an online drafting supply store to learn about specialty products
As you progress in your drafting, you will discover which tools serve you best