WRITING TOOLS FOR DRAFTING AND TECHNICAL DRAWING
There are a lot of options when it comes to drawing and writing tools, which will typically include graphite or ink. Graphite will have different degrees of hardness. It will also allow you to manipulate darkness and light, as well as shade and shadow. You can even remove mistakes and make changes whenever you need to. Ink is more final. The quality of the line is more definitive, and it’s easy to produce. With graphite, you can choose between a regular lead pencil (which you’re used to from school), a lead holder (also called a “clutch”), or a mechanical pencil. A lead holder is similar to a regular pencil, and the graphite size is the same. The point can also be sharpened to the shape and size you need. A mechanical pencil is a fixed size, so it will create a consistent line thickness. And the lead doesn't have to be sharpened. The pencil will also indicate the lead size.
HOW TO READ ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING SCALES
Architects, engineers, and designers use a scale to draw something very large or very small, because they may need to scale something up or down so the plan can be easily understood. An architectural scale is 12 inches long, and it has six sides. It has two scales on each side, so it has 12 different scales that convert inches to feet. There are smaller graduations before the zero, which represent the 12 inches within that 1/4-inch measurement. An engineering scale is in increments of ten. It only has six scales, which are larger. And each number on the ends of the scale represents how many feet are to an inch.