Architectural design & drafting tools

Describe the drafting tools and materials used in

drawing plans
Traditionally, drafters sat at drafting boards and used pencils, pens, compasses, protractors,
triangles, and other drafting devices to prepare a drawing manually. Today, however, most
professional drafters use computer-aided drafting (CAD) systems to prepare drawings. Although
drafters use CAD extensively, it is only a tool. Drafters and tradespersons still need knowledge of
traditional drafting tools and techniques.

Tools
Drafting tools are needed to lay out the different shapes and lines used to create drawings and
sketches. A basic knowledge of the available tools and how to use them will assist you in your
drawing.

Drafting board or table

The drafting board is an essential tool. Paper will be attached and kept straight and still, so the
surface of the drafting board must be smooth and true, with no warps or twists. The surfaces of
most drafting boards are covered with vinyl because it is smooth and even.

The drafting board or table should have two parallel outside working edges made of either
hardwood or steel.

Most drafting table tops can be set at different heights from the floor and at any angle from
vertical to horizontal. Other drafting tables may not have the same adjustments and may be
limited to being raised only from horizontal to a low slope.

To reduce back strain, use an adjustable drafting stool when working at a drafting table. Tables
or boards should be a minimum of 1.2 m (4') in width and 0.9 m (3') in height.

T-square
The fixed head T-square is used for most work. It should be made of durable materials and have
a transparent edge on the blade. To do accurate work, the blade must be perfectly square and
straight; this should be checked regularly.

The T-square is used to draw horizontal lines and to align other drawing instruments. If you
are right-handed, you hold it tight against the left edge of the drawing board and move it up
and down as required. When you make close adjustments, your fingers should be on top of the
square and you should use your thumb to control the T-square’s movement (Figure 1).

TRADES ACCESS—COMMON CORE 9

 – 2D Drawing Drafting Dictionary (Architectural Board Drafting)

Figure 1 — Using a T-square

When drawing horizontal lines, incline your pencil in the direction you are drawing the line.
Hold the pencil point as close as possible to the blade. Roll the pencil between your fingers to
prevent the point from becoming flat on one side.

Triangle
A triangle (set-square) is made of a clear plastic. Some triangles have rabbeted edges (Figure 2),
so that when you draw lines, the corner of the edge is set away from the paper to help prevent
smudges and ink blotches.

Triangle

Rabbeted edge Paper

Figure 2 — Rabbeted edge

Triangles are available in 45°-90°-45° or 30°-60°-90° combinations. For most work, triangles
should be about 200 mm to 250 mm (8" to 10") long. Triangles should be stored flat to prevent
warping, and not stored underneath other objects to prevent any pressure from causing them
to deform.
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Check a triangle for accuracy by drawing a perpendicular line, then reversing the triangle and
drawing another perpendicular line (Figure 3).

Twice the error

Figure 3 — Testing a triangle

Triangles are used to draw vertical lines and other lines at set angles. Rest the triangle on the
T-square blade and slide it along the blade to the desired location. Draw the full length of the
vertical line in one pass if possible. Hold the blades of the T-square and the triangle together to
prevent any movement when you are drawing, and hold the pencil point as close as possible to
the triangle. You can also draw 15° and 75° angles by using both a 45°-90°-45° and a 30°-60°-90°
in combination. Figure 4 shows how triangles are placed to draw angles that are every multiple
of 15°.

90º
75º
60º

45º

30º

15º

0º
Figure 4 — Drawing angles with one or two triangles
 – 2D Drawing Drafting Dictionary (Architectural Board Drafting)

Protractor
A protractor (Figure 5) is an instrument used to measure angles. It is typically made of
transparent plastic or glass. Protractors can be used for checking and transferring angles to and
from a drawing sheet.

Figure 5 — Protractor

Drafting machine
A drafting machine (Figure 6) is a device that is mounted to the drawing board. The drafting
machine replaces the T-square and triangles, as it has rulers with angles that can be precisely
adjusted with a controlling mechanism. A drafting machine allows easy drawing of parallel lines
over the paper. The adjustable angle between the rulers allows the lines to be drawn in a variety
of accurate angles. Rulers may also be used as a support for separate special rulers and letter
templates. The rulers are replaceable and can be replaced with scale rulers.

Figure 6 — Drafting machine

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Drawing pencils
Both wood and mechanical pencils are used for drafting (Figure 7).

Manufacturers grade drawing pencils using numbers and letters. These range from 6B (very soft
and black) to 9H (the hardest). From 6B the pencils progress through 5B, 4B, 3B, 2B, B, and HB,
and then to F, the medium grade. After that they move to the harder graphite: H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H,
6H, 7H, 8H, and finally 9H. The softer grades are used for sketching and rendering drawings. The
harder grades are used for instrument drawings.

Mechanical pencils do not require sharpening and are made to hold leads (they are actually
made of graphite) that are bought separately. Thin-lead mechanical pencils, with leads as small
as 0.5 mm, are available in different grades of lead. Most draftspersons use four or five different
mechanical pencils with a different lead in each. The pencils come in different colours so it is
easy to keep track of which lead is in each.

Figure 7 — Wood and mechanical pencils

Erasers and erasing shields

The best eraser to use on drawings is either a soft pink eraser that has bevelled ends, or the
white plastic eraser. Electric rotary erasers are also available. They permit easy erasure of small
errors without erasing adjacent lines.

A metal erasing shield helps to confine erasures to the desired area. Erasing shields are made
from very thin stainless steel and have holes of various shapes to accommodate the sections to
be erased. Figure 8 shows two erasers and an erasing shield.

Figure 8 — Erasers and erasing shield

 – 2D Drawing Drafting Dictionary (Architectural Board Drafting)

Templates
Templates (Figure 9) are available for many different trades. Templates incorporate cut-outs of
symbols and fixtures that are commonly used in that trade. These cut-outs make it easy to trace
shapes onto drawing paper.

Figure 9 — Templates

French curves and splines

A French curve (Figure 10) is a plastic template designed
to help you draw curves. The French curve contains
many different curves, but each one is represented over
a very short distance only. One radius of curve blends
into another radius. It takes a lot of practice to use French
curves effectively.
Figure 10 — French curve

A spline or flexible curve (Figure 11) can be used instead of a French curve to draw most curves.
A spline is a plastic or rubber rod that is reinforced with metal. To use a spline, bend it to the
shape of the curve you need. The design of the spline lets you hold a pencil against an edge and
draw an accurate line without smudging. A spline cannot be used to draw curves that have a
very short radius because the spline will not bend tightly.

Figure 11 — Spline
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Compass
A compass can be used for drawing circles, bisecting lines, or dividing angles. For very large
circles you can use a beam compass. The four types of compasses are shown in Figure 12. Most
compasses can be fitted with leads, pens, or points.

Friction compass Bow compass

Wing compass

Beam compass

Figure 12 — Four types of compasses

 – 2D Drawing Drafting Dictionary (Architectural Board Drafting)

When using the compass, tilt it in the direction of the line, as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13 — Drawing a circle with a compass

Dividers
Dividers (Figure 14) are used for transferring dimensions from a drawing to a measuring device
such as a ruler or scale. They are also used when scribing directly on material like metal.

Figure 14 — Dividers

Dusting cloth or brush

It is very important to keep your drawings and drafting surface clean. When equipment gets
dirty from the lead pencils, you should clean it regularly so that it does not smudge your
drawings. Any soft, clean cloth is suitable. You may want to wash your board occasionally with a
spray cleaner.
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Use a brush like the one in Figure 15 to clean your table prior to placing paper down and to
sweep away any debris as you are drawing. If you use your hand to brush, you could leave marks
on the paper. After sharpening a pencil, wipe off any dust that is clinging to the point of the
pencil to prevent smudging.

Figure 15 — Dusting brush

Scale rulers
Scale rulers let you draw diagrams at a reduced scale. They also let you obtain dimensions from
a scaled drawing. Scale rulers come in a variety of types to meet the requirements of many
different kinds of work. Most scale rulers have three edges and six different scales. The scales are
read from either end of the rule. A typical combination of metric scales is 1:20, 1:50, 1:100, 1:25,
1:75, and 1:125.

Because of the decimal basis of metric measurements, metric scale rulers are both applicable
and easy to use at any scale. Figure 16 shows the two scales from both ends of the same side.

Figure 16 — Metric scale ruler

Imperial scale rulers may be an architect’s ruler, a mechanical engineer’s ruler, or a civil
engineer’s ruler (Figure 17). The architect’s scale ruler is the most common, and is in inches and
fractions of inches. A mechanical engineer’s scale ruler comes in inches and decimals of inches.
A civil engineer’s scale ruler comes in feet and decimals of feet.
 – 2D Drawing Drafting Dictionary (Architectural Board Drafting)

Figure 17 — Imperial scale rulers

Drafting materials
The most common support for drawing is paper. Even though the original creative surface has
changed from the drafting table to the computer screen, on the work site drawings are still
primarily in printed form.

Drawing paper
There is a wide variety of drawing paper available in many sizes and of different qualities.
Good quality drawing paper is acid-free and will not turn yellow with age. Light-coloured
drawing papers are available in pale yellow or buff, but these should be used only when it is not
necessary to make copies.

Tracing paper
Tracing paper, which is transparent, can be used to make copies of drawings. It is thin enough to
allow the light of photocopy machines to shine through the unmarked areas, and only the lines
and figures will block the light. Materials used for tracing include tracing paper, vellum, tracing
cloth, glass cloth, and polyester film with a matte finish.

Standard paper sizes

Paper sizes typically comply with one of two different standards: ISO (world standard) or ANSI/
ASME Y14 (American).

The standard ISO series of paper sizes is as follows:

A0 841 mm × 1189 mm
A1 594 mm × 841 mm
A2 420 mm × 594 mm
A3 297 mm × 420 mm
COMpETENCy D-3: READ DRAwiNgS AND SpECifiCATiONS
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LEARNiNg TASk 1

A4 210 mm × 297 mm
A5 148 mm × 210 mm

The standard ANSI/ASME series of paper sizes is as follows:

E 34 inch × 44 inch
D 22 inch × 34 inch
C 17 inch × 22 inch
B 11 inch × 17 inch
A 8.5 inch × 11 inch

The 81/2" × 11" standard letter paper corresponds to 216 mm × 279 mm. You can buy precut
sheets that have a border and a preprinted title block in the lower right-hand corner. These are
available in many standard sizes.

If the paper you use does not have a border and title block, you will have to draw them in.
The left-hand border should be wider than the right-hand border and should be at least 50
mm wide to allow room for the prints to be bound. Figure 18 shows a title block with suitable
dimensions added.

TITLE

37 mm
Revisions
No. Date Drn. by Appr. by CLIENT

7 mm 1 16 mm
2
3 SCALE DRN. BY APPR. BY DATE DRNG. NO.
10 mm
4

35 mm 23 mm 22 mm 22 mm 34 mm

(Not to scale)
Figure 18 — Dimensions for title block

Paper rolls
Many grades of paper rolls are available in different widths that can be cut to any length
required.

Drafting or masking tape

Use drafting or masking tape to hold the paper on the drafting surface. The tape should be
attached at the corners to hold the sheet firmly stretched with no wrinkles. Only short pieces of
tape are required.
 – 2D Drawing Drafting Dictionary (Architectural Board Drafting)

Computer drafting printing

Computer drafting programs are used effectively for all manner of drafting and have virtually
replaced manual drafting. Small size computer-generated drawings can be printed on normal
computer printers. However, larger drawings require a plotter. Older plotters used pencils, pens,
or felt pens, but the new plotters are laser-based or jet printers and are capable of multiple
colours. They are made to print all the sizes of drawings. Plotters also print well on vellum and
some other non-paper media.