Chapter 3

Architectural Drafting Equipment

Introduction• Manual drafting

– Term used to describe traditional pencil or ink drafting

– Tools and equipment • Available from a number of vendors• Always purchase high-quality equipment for

accuracy and durability

Drafting Supplies• Purchased by kit or individually

• Minimum needed for manual drafting:– Mechanical leader

• With 4H, 2H, H, and F grade leads

– 0.3 mm automatic drafting pencil • With 4H, 2H, and H leads

– One 0.5 mm automatic drafting pencil • With 4H, 2H, and F leads

Drafting Supplies (cont’d.)• Minimum needed for manual drafting (cont’d.):

– 0.7 mm automatic drafting pencil • With 2H, H, and F leads

– 0.9 mm automatic drafting pencil • With H, F, and HB leads

– Lead sharpener– 6" bow compass– Dividers

Drafting Supplies (cont’d.)• Minimum needed for manual drafting

(cont’d.):– Eraser– Erasing shield– 30°− 60° triangle– 45° triangle– Irregular curve– Adjustable triangle (optional)

Drafting Supplies (cont’d.)• Minimum needed for manual drafting

(cont’d.):– Scales– Drafting tape– Architectural floor plan template for residential

plans, with 1/4" = 1'−0" scale– Circle template with small holes– Lettering guide

Drafting Supplies (cont’d.)• Minimum needed for manual drafting

(cont’d.):– Sandpaper sharpening pad– Dusting brush

• Additional equipment:– Technical pen set and drafting ink– Lettering and drafting templates– Drafting furniture

Drafting Pencils and Leads• Mechanical pencils

– Requires lead to be manually inserted

• Automatic pencils– Has a lead chamber that, at the push of a button

or tab, advances the lead

• Lead grades– Several available

• Selection depends on pressure amount and technique factors

Drafting Pencils and Leads (cont’d.)• Polyester leads

– Used to draw on polyester film

• Colored leads – Have special uses

• Technical pens – Provide excellent inked lines

Drafting Pencils and Leads (cont’d.)• Basic pencil motions

– Mechanical pencils • Kept sharp with a slightly rounded point• Keep aligned with drafting instrument, tilted about

45° • Always pull the pencil• Keep lines uniform in width (rotation and pressure)

– Automatic pencils• Keep straight from side to side, tilted about 40°

Erasers and Accessories• Erasers used for drafting

– White pencil eraser– Pink pencil eraser– Soft-green or soft-pink pencil eraser– Kneaded eraser– Vinyl eraser– India ink refill eraser

Erasers and Accessories (cont’d.)• Erasing tips

– Erase only hard enough to remove unwanted feature

• Ghost lines result from hard pressure• Work slowly• Do not apply too much pressure or erase in one

spot too long• On polyester film, use a vinyl eraser and/or a moist

cotton swab

Erasers and Accessories (cont’d.)• Electrical erasers

– Erase quickly at high speed

• Erasing shields– Thin sheets with slots and holes

• Cleaning agents– Special eraser particles

• Dusting brushes– Removes eraser particles

Drafting Instruments• Compasses

– Used to draw circles and arcs• Drop-bow• Center-wheel• Beam

• Dividers– Used to transfer dimensions or to divide a

distance into a number of equal parts• Proportional dividers

Drafting Instruments (cont’d.)• Parallel bar

– Used to draw horizontal lines

• Triangles– Used to draw angled lines

• Architectural templates– Used for tracing

• Irregular curves (i.e., French curves)– Used to draw arcs with no constant radii

Drafting Machines• Used in place of triangles and parallel bars

– Arm drafting machine– Track drafting machine

• Drafting machine head – Contains controls for horizontal, vertical, and angular movement

Drafting Machines (cont’d.)

Scales• Used for:

– Making measurements– Establishing dimensions– Drawing features at reduced size

• Scale notation:– Usually noted on title block or

below the view differing in scale

Scales (cont’d.)• Types:

– Metric scale• Millimeter is commonly used

– Architects scale• Contains 11 different scales

– Civil engineer’s scale• Commonly used to draw site plans, maps, or

subdivision plats or to read existing land documents

Protractors• Used when:

– A drafting machine is not used – Combining triangles does not provide enough

flexibility for drawing angles– Measuring angles within ½°