CHAPTER TWO

DRAWING EQUIPMENTS AND

THEIR USE
Objectives:
At the end of this chapter students should be able to:
♦ List the main drawing equipments
♦ Discuss the use of different drawing equipments

2.1 Introduction
To record information on paper instruments and
equipments are needed. Engineering drawing is entirely a
graphic language hence instruments are essentially
needed. Drawing must be clear, neat and legible in order
to serve its purpose. Hence it is extremely important for
engineers to have good speed, accuracy, legibility and
neatness in the drawing work.

2.2 Important Drawing Equipments

All drawings are made by means of various instruments. The
quality of drawing depends to a large extent on the quality,
adjustment and care of the instruments.

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i. Drawing Paper
Drawing paper is the paper, on which drawing is to be made.
All engineering drawings are made on sheets of paper of
strictly defined sizes, which are set forth in the U.S.S.R
standards. The use of standard size saves paper and ensures
convenient storage of drawings. Now a day, A3 and A4 are
the most commonly used paper sizes. The U.S.S.R standard
establishes five preferred sizes for drawings as tabulated
bellow:

Table 2.1 Description of the size of drawing paper

Size designation 11 12 22 24 44
Sheet dimensions 297x210 297x420 594x420 594x841 1,189x841
in mm
Corresponding
designation of A4 A3 A2 A1 A0
paper sheets
according to the
U.S.S.R Standard
(for references)

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 A4 A3 297mm
297mm

210mm 420mm

Figure 2.1 A4 and A3 standard papers

Title block is a rectangular frame that is located at the bottom

of the sheet. It is recommended that space should be
provided in all title blocks for such information as description
of title of the drawing, dates, designer (drawer), and name of
enterprise or educational institute, size (scale)
Boarder line

A4 A3
Title block
Title block

Boarder line

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Sample for title block

TITLE
DR.BY GUTEMA KETEMA
CHECK.BY
ASSIGN. NO.
SCALE INSTIT. AU
DATE 02/02/2003

Figure 2.2 Sample Title block figure

ii. Triangles (setsquares)

They are used to construct the most common angles (i.e. 300,
450, 600) in technical drawings. The 450 x 450 and 300 x 600
triangles are the most commonly used for ordinary work. They
are shown in the fig. 2.2 below.

300x600 triangle
0 0
45 x45 triangle

Figure 2.3 triangles or set squares

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iii. T- square
It is used primarily to draw horizontal lines and for guiding the
triangles when drawing vertical and inclined lines. It is
manipulated by sliding the working edge (inner face) of the
head along the left edge of the board until the blade is in the
required position.

T-square

Figure 2.4 T-square

iv. French curve

It is used to draw irregular curves that are not circle arcs. The
shape varies according to the shape of irregular curve.

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 Figure 2.5 French curves

v. Protractor
It is used for laying out and measuring angle.

Figure 2.6 Protractor

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vi. Scale (ruler)
A number of kinds of scales are available for varied types of
engineering design. Figure fig 2.7 Scales with beveled edges
graduated in mm are usually used.

vii. Pencil
The student and professional man should be equipped with a
selection of good, well-sharpened pencil with leads of various
degrees of hardness such as: 9H, 8H, 7H, and 6H (hard); 5H&
4H (medium hard); 3H and 2H (medium); and H& F (medium
soft). The grade of pencil to be used for various purposes
depends on the type of line desired, the kind of paper
employed, and the humidity, which affects the surface of the

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paper. Standards for line quality usually will govern the
selection. For instance,
♦ 6H is used for light construction line.
♦ 4H is used for re-penciling light finished lines
(dimension lines, center lines, and invisible object lines)
♦ 2H is used for visible object lines
♦ F and H are used for all lettering and freehand work.

Table 2.2. Grade of pencil (lead) and their application

viii. Compass
It is used to draw circles and arcs both in pencil and ink. It
consists of two legs pivoted at the top. One leg is equipped
with a steel needle attached with a screw, and other shorter
leg is, provided with a socket for detachable inserts.

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viiii. Divider
Used chiefly for transferring distances and occasionally for
dividing spaces into equal parts. i.e. for dividing curved and
straight lines into any number of equal parts, and for
transferring measurements.

Figure 2.8 Compass and divider

X. Template
A template is a thin, flat piece of plastic containing various
cutout shapes. It is designed to speed the work of the drafter
and to make the finished drawing more accurate. Templates
are available for drawing circles, ellipses, plumbing’s, fixtures
etc. Templates come in many sizes to fit the scale being used
on the drawing. And it should be used wherever possible to
increase accuracy and speed.

Drawing board is a board whose top surface is perfectly

smooth and level on which the drawing paper is fastened.

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Clinograph (Adjustable set square)-its two sides are fixed at
900 and the third side can be adjusted at any angle.

Rubber or eraser- extra lines or curves which are not required

in the drawing are to be rubbed out or erased. Hence a rubber
or eraser are required in the drawing work. Erasers are
available in many degrees of hardness, size and shape.

Eraser shield –it is an important device to protect lines near

those being erased. It is made up of thin metal plate in which
gaps of different widths and lengths are cut.

Tracing paper – it is a thin transparent paper. Figures below it

can be seen easily and traced out in pencil ink.

Drawing ink- it is used for making drawings in ink on tracing

paper.

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Review questions
1. Mention the main drawing equipments

2. Explain the use of different drawing equipments

3. Discuss the different type of pencils with their use

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 CHAPTER THREE
LETTERING AND LINES
Objectives:
At the end of this chapter students should be able to:
♦ Write letters according to the standard
♦ Explain the different line types
♦ Mention the application of each line type in
technical drawings

3.1 Letter Styles

Letter styles are generally classified as Gothic, Roman, Italic
and Text. They were all made with speedball pens, and are
therefore largely single-stroke letters. If the letters are drawn
in outline and filled in, they are referred to as “filled- in” letters.
The plainest and most legible style is the gothic from which
our single-stroke engineering letters are derived. The term
roman refers to any letter having wide down ward strokes and
thin connecting strokes. Roman letters include old romans
and modern roman, and may be vertical or inclined. Inclined
letters are also referred to as italic, regardless of the letter
style; text letters are often referred to as old English.

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 Figure 3.1 Classification of letter styles

Depending up on the spacing between words and thickness of

strokes, letters may be classified as follows.

♦ Extended and Condensed Letters

To meet design or space requirements, letters may be

narrower and spaced closer together, in which case they are
called “Compresed” or “Condensed”letters. If the letters are
wider than normal, they are referred to as “Extended”letters.

♦ Light Face and Bold Face Letters

Letters also vary as to the thickness of the stems or strokes.

Letters having very thin stems are called Light Face Letters,
while those having heavy stems are called Bold Face Letters.

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3.2 Technique of Lettering
“Any normal person can learn to letter if he is persistent and
intelligent in his efforts.” While it is true that” Practice makes
perfect,” it must be understood that practice alone is not
enough; it must be accompanied by continuous effort to
improve.
There are three necessary steps in learning to letter:
1. Knowledge of the proportions and forms of the letters,
and the order of the strokes.
2. Knowledge of composition- the spacing of the letters
and words.
3. Persistent practice, with continuous effort to improve.

Guide Lines
Extremely light horizontal guidelines are necessary to regulate
the height of letters. In addition, light vertical or inclined
guidelines are needed to keep the letters uniformly vertical or
inclined. Guidelines are absolutely essential for good lettering,
and should be regarded as a welcome aid, not as an
unnecessary requirement.

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 Figure 3.2 Guide lines

Make guidelines light, so that they can be erased after the

lettering has been completed. Use a relatively hard pencil
such as a 4H to 6H, with a long, sharp, conical point.

A. Guidelines for Capital Letters

On working drawings, capital letters are commonly made
3mm high, with the space between lines of lettering from ¾ th
to the full height of the letters. The vertical guidelines are not
used to space the letters (as this should always be done by
eye while lettering), but only to keep the letters uniformly
vertical, and they should accordingly be drawn at random.

Figure 3.3 Guide lines for capital letters

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A guideline for inclined capital letters is somewhat different.
The spacing of horizontal guidelines is the same as for vertical
capital lettering. The American Standard recommends slope
of approximately 68.20 with the horizontal and may be
established by drawing a “sloped triangle”, and drawing the
guidelines at random with T-square and triangles.

Figure 3.4 Guide lines for inclined capital letters

B. Guidelines for Lower-Case Letters

Lower-case letters have four horizontal guidelines, called the
cap line, waistline, and base line and drop line. Strokes of
letters that extend up to the cap line are called ascenders, and
those that extend down to the drop line, descenders. Since
there are only five letters (p, q.g, j, y) that have descenders,
the drop lines are little needed and are usually omitted. In
spacing guidelines, space “a” may very from 3/5to 2/3 of
space “b”.

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The term single stoke or one stoke does not mean that the
entire letter is made without lifting the pencil. But the width of
the stroke is the width of the stem of the letter.

Single stoke lettering

The salient features of this type of lettering are:
- Greatest amount of lettering on drawings is done in a
rapid single stroke letter i.e. either vertical, or inclined.
- The ability to letter and perfectly can be acquired only by
continued and careful practice
- it is not a matter of artistic talent or event of dexterity in
hand writing

Order of strokes
They are necessary to have legible and accurate letter styles.
In the following description an alphabet of slightly extended
vertical capitals has-been arranged in-group. Study the slope
of each letter with the order and direction of the storks forming
it. The proportion of height and width of various letters must
be known carefully to letter them perfectly.

The I-H-T Group

- The letter I is The Foundation Stroke.
- The top of T is drawn first to the full width of the square
and the stem is started accurately at its mid point.

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The L-E-F Group
- The L is made in two strokes.
- The first two strokes of the E are the same for the L, the
third or the upper stoke is lightly shorter than the lower
and the last stroke is the third as long as the lower
- F has the same proportion as E

The V-A-K Group

- V is the same width as A, the A bridge is one third up
from the bottom.
- The second stroke of K strikes stem one third up from
the bottom and the third stroke branches from it.

The M-W Group

- are the widest letters
- M may be made in consecutive strokes of the two
verticals as of N
- W is made with two V’s

The O-Q-C-G Group

- The O families are made as full circles and made in two
strokes with the left side a longer arc than the right.
- A large size C and G can be made more accurately with
an extra stroke at the top.

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The D- U-J Group
- The top and bottom stokes of D must be horizontal,
fail line to observe this is a common fault with
beginners
- U is formed by two parallel strokes to which the
bottom stroke be added.
- J has the same construction as U, with the first stroke
omitted.

The P-R-B Group

- The number of stokes depends up on the size of the
letter.
- The middle line of P and R are on centerline of the
vertical line.

Figure 3.5 Order of strokes for capital letters

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 Figure 3.6 Order of strokes for inclined capital letters

3.3 Spacing of Letters

Uniformity in spacing of letters is a matter of equalizing
spaces by eye. The background area between letters, not the
distance between them, should be approximately equal. Some
combinations, such as LT and VA, may even have to be
slightly overlapped to secure good spacing. In some cases the
width of a letter may be decreased. For example, the lower
stroke of the L may be shortened when followed by A.

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 Words are spaced well apart, but letters with in words
should be spaced closely. Make each word a compact
unit well separated from the adjacent words. For either
upper case or lower-case lettering, make the spaces
between words approximately equal to a capital O. Avoid
spacing letters too far apart and words too close together.

3.4 Lettering in Maps

Letters are generally used on maps as follows:
♦ Vertical capital: name of states, countries, towns,
capitals, titles of the map etc
♦ Vertical lower case: name of small towns, villages, post
offices etc.
♦ Inclined capital: name of oceans, bays, gulfs, large
lakes, rivers etc.
♦ Inclined lower case: name of rivers, creeks, small
lakes, ponds, marshes and springs

3.5 Conventional Lines

Each line on a technical drawing has a definite meaning and
is drawn in certain ways. There are certain conventional lines
recommended by American Standard Association. According
to the standard,” three widths of line;, thick, medium, and thin
are recommended… exact thickness may vary according to
the size and type of drawing…”

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There should also be a distinct contrast in the thickness of
different kinds of lines, particularly between the thick lines and
thin lines.

In technical drawings, make construction lines so light that

they can barely be seen, with a hard sharp pencil such as 4H
to 6H. For visible lines, hidden lines, and other “thick” lines
use relatively soft pencils, such as F or H. All thin lines except
construction line must be thin, but dark. They should be made
with a sharp medium grad pencil, such as H or 2H.

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Figure 3.7 Conventional lines

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Review Questions
1. Discuss the different types of lines

2. Explain the application of each line types in technical

drawings

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