Hello, Folks ---
What the hey ---
I just did a long bit on CAD and Manual Drawing, so, I'm on a roll (of yellow trace)! In all these discussions of Manual Drawing, many different methods-and-materials have come out. So, I'll take the liberty of explaining how I do it, in case there's something there that could be of use to someone else.
The set-up:
Base table:
Years ago, I had a large "base-table" made. It's 7'-0" long by 3'-6" wide, by 2-1/2" thick, 1/2" plywood top-&-bottom, on a flat-2x frame. It's covered w/ plastic laminate all-around (preventing warping), and sits on 2 Charrette table-horses. Or, 2-drawer file cabinets would work.
Drawing surface:
The base is a simple piece of 3/4" plywood, 3' x 4', covered in drawing vinyl. At the back, it sits on a loose 2x3, to give it a slight tilt (I don't like runaway tools). On top is a 4-foot parallel-rule, which "rides" on 2"-wide strips of chip-board at its ends, as an anti-smudge measure.
The "Over-shelf":
Along the far edge of the base table, I have my (loose) "over-shelf", which is 6-ft. long. It's 2 - 1x8s, with 1x2 spacers at its ends, and 2 - 2x2 spacers, about 1-ft. apart, at its center. Underneath, it stands on 1x4s on-edge, ("legs") about 5" in from each end, so it can span the drawing board. At its left end, another 1x4 on-edge is on top, directly over the leg. Screwed to that are 2 heavy cardboard tubes, covered in decorative roll-vinyl, to hold rolls of yellow-trace paper. At the 2x2s at the center, I drilled 1/2"-diameter holes, for my drafting lamps.
The shelf holds my (great!) collection of templates, then the triangles, on the left, scales/pens/pencils/lead-holders/X-acto knife/etc., in the middle, and drafting brush, compasses, etc., on the right. For the small items in the middle, toilet-paper tubes fit just-snugly in the 1-1/2" space, and keep the small items in place. As I draw, everything is "right there"...
It stayed fairly straight as a seat-of-the-pants "stressed-skin panel", until I loaded it with 2 piles, 18" tall, of paperwork, plus miscellaneous other burdens. Even like this, it's only deflected about 1/2".
Height:
This is all a sit-down set-up. For my new office (within our new condo unit) later this year, I want to have a stand-up-drawing option.
Lamps:
I've got 2 of the usual 2-source drafting lamps, old-&-tired. I'll treat myself to new ones after the move.
Doing Architecture:
(I wrote about how I get my small projects, last year. The same goes for the Design process I use. Anyone interested in a re-run?),
Measuring / Photographing:
Structure
After I've been retained as Architect, there's usually a building, generally a house, to be documented (or, rarely, a site). For measuring, I use an actual tape, for the hands-on feel. It gets hooked-on securely at some good point, then I keep it taut as I walk, and note dimensions, in pencil on the structure, as far as the tape will go. This minimizes cumulative errors. Then, after free-handing an outline on my narrow-lined, yellow pad, I write-in the dimensions. A similar process works vertically. For, say, brick, I'll measure 9, or 12, courses, not just 3, and similar w/ lengths. Old clapboards were proportioned to suit the openings, so there are few "typicals". Much as I hate vinyl siding, etc., its regular spacing makes things easier; I just stand-back and count! Roofs are easy if 3-tab (5"/course, 1-foot length per tab), tougher on "architectural". For metal roofs, if I can get to a typical pan-width (out a dormer, etc.), I'm golden. Otherwise, I can count to known stretches of wall, or, whatever...
Open Site:
For a "naked site", I get the legal plot plan from the "county" (long story) Hall of Records, and/or the Client. Usually, I'm asking for more, from the Owner/s Surveyor, especially for topo, any easements, etc. And of course, I walk-it, with and without the Client.
Photos:
For photos, I "shoot first, ask questions later", from overalls to details. I have them printed (with date shown), so I can spread-'em-out as needed. If I need to go back, so be it. With a good supply of old-time album pages, I can have them handy and in order. My amazing, local, pro-photographer-with-(a real!)-photo-shop, I run my shots at 3-1/2"x 5", so I can get 4-up on each page. Each job should have its own CD/s on file.
Drawing existing conditions:
If there's no addition, or such location/s are "obvious", I'll lay-out the "existing" as the shell of the final sheet. On a more wide-open job, I just do it, to be traced later if needed. Plans, elevations, and section/s are printed, and used as bases in Design. The left-most 1-1/2"-or-so of the sheet is binding space, so --- for "Existing-conditions" presentations, I do a separate, informal "title block" off to the right, and print to the right, not needing the binding-space yet. Ah-ha! Yes, I draw on roll-stock, as below. Rarely, very rarely, I might need to have an existing-only sheet in a set, so --- I punt as needed.
Drawing sizes:
The great majority of my work is on 24" x 36" sheets. Tiny jobs might go on 18" x 24", but that's very unusual.
Drawing paper:
One large church-addition, years ago, was done on 32"x40" Mylar, but --- all my other work is on yellow trace, all of it. Why? Mylar smudges too easily, and needs mylar leads. With careful erasing, I usually avoid "going bald" on Mylar, but it has happened. Vellum gets too grubby, too fast, and is not as transparent as I'd like. Yellow trace is fine, if treated with care, is forgiving in erasing, and stays clean with minimal effort.
Drawing the Drawings:
For yellow trace, graphite is best for me. So, I use a regular "mechanical pencil" a Pentel 0.7 mm size, instead of an actual lead-holder. My lead is a "B", for dark lines, and the skinny lead never needs "sharpening" per se. If I keep it fairly well "choked-up", I rarely have it snap-off. I'm adamant about line-weights, easily done with multiple strokes as needed. Erasing, with white-vinyl, is safe on the yellow, with suitable care.
Sheet protection:
Drafting powder (crumbs of erasers) does not work for me. With all the tool movements, it erases lines I want to keep! It also gets in the way of making the lines, and can even cause minor issues of parallax. So, I have "elbows", named from when I was protecting sheets from my sweaty arms, back before air conditioning. These are just pieces of yellow trace, from ends-of-rolls, mis-torn sheets, etc. I mask-off areas as needed, and keep drawing. For long-term use, I tape 'em down (never to the work-sheet), Most of the time, they're OK loose.
Printing with yellow trace:
It's scary, yes, but I have never lost a sheet! I still have an ozalid machine, and a great local shop to care for it, and provide ammonia and paper. The problem is the paper; we're down to 1 manufacturer, where "quality control" is, well, casual. To print, I align the yellow trace & blueline paper, and feed-em-in carefully, watching as they go, and listening for any crinkling. The machine needs an hour-or-so to warm-up, but, any time of day or night, I can run prints before bolting-out to a Client meeting.
No paper:
If the paper is discontinued, I could do what the big copy-shops do (I've got a great, local one of those, too); put the original in a folded clear plastic "envelope" and run it. The major drawback to that is, it must be done during business hours.
Spend money:
And, if the above doesn't work, I'd need to break-down and buy a modest machine. From what I've seen for available models of printers, I'm guessing 2K to 3K should get me a basic, modern printer.
Drafting supplies:
Fortunately, I also have a real, art-supply, drafting-supply, store about 20 miles North of me. Charrette used to have a good on-line site, which came-up as a different name, but it's been a long, long time since I checked that.
For starters...
Thanks ---
Bill
william j. devlin aia, inc.,
ARCHITECT
Springfield, MA