Drafting Tools

• Drawing table:

  • Special table with an adjustable top that can be tilted to a desired angle
  • Higher than an ordinary writing table for standing position and bending slightly over
• Drawing board:

  • Where drawing paper is attached
  • Made of soft, pine wood with cleats of hardwood
  • Placed on the drafting table
• Drawing pencils:

  • Made of graphite mixed with clay in varying amounts to make eighteen grades from 9h (hardest) to 6B (softest)
• Erasing shield:

  • Made of thin metal or celluloid with irregular holes
  • Used to protect the drawing near the portion being erased
• Drawing pens:

  • Generally used for lettering
  • Technical pen used for lettering and drawing lines
  • Available in different points
• Templates:

  • Great variety available for specialized needs
  • Used for drawing drafting symbols or repetitive features
• Drawing ink:

  • Composed chiefly of carbon in colloidal suspension and gum
  • Gives deep, black luster to the ink
  • Waterproof and quick to dry
• Triangles:

  • Used for drawing vertical and oblique lines
  • Two triangles used in drafting: 45 x 45 degrees and 30 x 60 degrees, usually made of celluloid
• Protractor:

  • Semicircular scale divided into 180 equal parts (degrees)
  • Used for measuring and laying out arcs of circles and angles
• Triangular scale:

  • Commonly used for general drawing
  • Reproduces dimensions of an object full size on a drawing or reduces/enlarges them to a regular proportion
• French curve:

  • Device for mechanical drawing of curved lines
  • Should not be applied directly to points or used for producing an initial curve
• Eraser:

  • Used to remove smears, pencil, or ink lines on a drawing
• Drawing paper:

  • Has a hard and smooth surface
  • Commonly used drawing paper is Oslo paper
• Drafting tapes:

  • Used for fastening paper to the drawing board or table
  • Can be attached across each corner or by taping the entire edge of the paper
• Set of drawing instruments - This contains a ruling pen, compasses, a bow pen, and a divider.
• Ruling pen is used to ink lines drawn with instruments, not for inking freehand lines or freehand lettering
• Ruling pen is also used for inking straight lines of various thicknesses with the aid of the T-square or either of the two triangles
• Compass is used for drawing arcs and circles
• Compass has the same general shape as dividers and is manipulated in a similar way
• If arcs and circles drawn with the compass need to be inked, the pencil point is replaced with a pen point similar to the ruling pen, but without a handle
• Dividers are used for dividing lines into any number of equal parts, and transferring measurements and spacing points or lines
• Dividers consist of two legs, each with a needle point
• Bow pencil is used in drawing arcs and circles whose radii are not more than 1 inch
• Bow pen is used for inking smaller arcs and circles
• Bow divider has the same functions as the larger divider in the drawing set