As a beginner you need only the bare essentials; and there is no need to buy the very highest grade instruments until you are thoroughly familiar with their use. Here is a complete list of first essentials for everyone who is going to do mechanical drawing. The number after each article refers to the number on the drawing opposite.

1 small drawing board (2)
1 45-degree triangle (4)
1 60-degree triangle (3)
1 cheap wooden T-square (1)
1 pencil eraser and 1 ink eraser (15)
1 erasing shield (14)
1 box of thumb tacks or roll of tape
6 good drawing pencils
3 bottles of Higgins ink
2 quires of white paper about 18" by 28"
1 protractor (11)
1 ruling pen (6) 1 compass combination (10) 1 pencil bow compass (9), and 1 pen bow compass (8)
1 triangular scale (12)
2 French curves (17)
2 penholders and two Hunt lettering pens 1 fine lettering pen with holder (16)

The Drawing Pencil

Obviously the drawing pencil is the draftsman's most important and useful tool. Every job which he does must be laid out in pencil first before it is inked in. For this reason it is important that you know a few things about the pencil that you are going to use.

There are two kinds of pencils in use: the regular writing pencil used by clerks, stenographers, businessmen and most other people; and the drawing pencil which is used by artists, draftsmen and engineers. This pencil is sold in art supply stores and the better stationery stores. It usually comes in 16 or 17 degrees of lead, from the extremely hard (9H) to the extremely soft (6B). The 9H pencil is almost like a nail, while the 6B is so soft it will blacken your fingers if you touch it. The average draftsman uses either the 2H or the 4H because these pencils are hard enough to keep the work from getting smudgy and dirty, yet soft enough to show a clean, clear line which may be easily erased. Nearly everything you will do in mechanical drawing is done in ink; consequently, the pencil drawing is only the guide to the finished ink drawing. For this reason the pencil drawing must be clear, crisp, clean and easy to erase after inking. The 2H, 3H, 4H or 5H pencil is ideal for this, although the 2H is probably best for the beginner.

Sharpen your pencil with a knife or single-edge razor blade. The point may either be a chisel or needle point, and should be about a quarter to three-eighths of an inch long—never longer. It should be rubbed on a sandpaper block (Figure 1) in order to get a very fine point. This point must be kept at all times. Never draw with a dull pencil! Another thing to bear in mind when sharpening your pencil is to start sharpening it at the end opposite the grade mark. If you sharpen the grade mark off, you will not be able to identify the pencil when you want to use it again. Never sharpen your pencil near your drawing; use a newspaper and throw the paper in the wastebasket when you have finished sharpening your pencil into it. If, by chance, some of the pencil dust does happen to get on your drawing, blow it off, don't rub it off.

Fig. 1

It is important to remember not to bear down too heavily on your pencil. It will draw clean, clear, sharp lines perfectly without any extra pressure; if you lean too heavily on the point you will not only break it but you will draw a deep-cut line that will be impossible to erase. All pencil lines must be light and clean-cut; never draw a heavy pencil line unless there is some special reason for so doing. All horizontal lines must be drawn from left to right—the way you read. All vertical lines are usually drawn from bottom to top. All sloping lines go up on the left and down on the right.

One final thing to remember: SAVE ALL YOUR PENCIL DRAWINGS because you will be required to ink them in later on when you learn how to use the ruling pen and compass.

Summary Of Nevers

1. NEVER draw with a dull point.
2. NEVER sharpen the grade mark off the pencil.
3. NEVER sharpen your pencil near your drawing.
4. NEVER rub pencil dust off your drawing; blow it off.
5. NEVER bear down too heavily on your pencil.
6. NEVER draw a very heavy pencil line unless absolutely necessary.

Drawing Board Equipment And Its Use

The drawing board equipment consists, essentially, of a drawing board, two triangles, a T-square, some Scotch masking tape or some thumb tacks, a triangular scale and a good ruler, a half-dozen pencils and a pencil eraser, a sharpening block and a few razor blades. The paper you use is not too important at present, for you will do practice work only. It is well to get some drawing paper or other kind of paper that will take ink because you will be inking in your pencil drawings later on, and if the paper does not hold ink properly (if it runs into the paper like a blotter), you will not get a satisfactory ink drawing.

Fig. 2

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