Excerpt
CHAPTER I. THE DRAWING BOARD.
A Drawing Board should be of soft pine and free from knots, so that it will easily receive the pins or tacks used to fasten down the paper. Its surface should be flat and level, or a little rounding, so that the paper shall lie close to its surface, which is one of the first requisites requisites in making a good drawing. Its edges should be straight and at a right angle one to the other, and the ends of the battens B B in Figure 1should fall a little short of the edge A of the board, so that if the latter shrinks they will not protrude. The size of the board of course depends upon the size of the paper, hence it is best to obtain a board as small as will answer for the size of paper it is intended to use. The student will find it most convenient as well as cheapest to learn on small drawings rather than large ones, since they take less time to make, and cost less for paper; and although they require more skill to make, yet are preferable for the beginner, because he does not require to reach so far over the board, and furthermore, they teach him more quickly and effectively. He who can make a fair drawing having short lines and small curves can make a better one if it has large curves, etc., because it is easier to draw a large than a very small circle or curve. It is unnecessary to enter into a description of the various kinds of drawing boards in use, because if the student purchases one he will be duly informed of the kinds and their special features, while if he intends to make one the sketch in Figure 1 will give him all the information he requires, save that, as before noted, the wood must be soft pine, well seasoned and free from knots, while the battens B should be dovetailed in and the face of the board trued after they are glued and driven in. To true the edges square, it is best to make the two longest edges parallel and straight, and then the ends may be squared from those long edges.
Fig. 1.THE T SQUARE.
Drawing squares or T squares, as they are termed, are made of wood, of hard rubber and of steel.
There are several kinds of T squares; in one the blade is solid, as it is shown in Figure 5 on page 20; in another the back of the square is pivoted, so that the blade can be set to draw lines at an angle as well as across the board, which is often very convenient, although this double back prevents the triangles, when used in some positions, from coming close enough to the left hand side of the board. In an improved form of steel square, with pivoted blade, shown in Figure 2, the back is provided with a half circle divided into the degrees of a circle, so that the blade can be set to any required degree of angle at once.
Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4.THE TRIANGLES.
Fig. 5.Two triangles are all that are absolutely necessary for a beginner. The first is that shown in Figure 3, which is called a triangle of 45 degrees, because its edge A is at that angle to edges B and C. That in Figure 4 is called a triangle of 60 degrees, its edge A being at 60 degrees to B, and at 30 degrees to C. The edges P and C are at a right angle or an angle of 90 degrees in both figures; hence they are in this respect alike. By means of these triangles alone, a great many straight line drawings may be made with ease without the use of a drawing square; but it is better for the beginner to use the square at first. The manner of using these triangles with the square is shown in Figure 5, in which the triangle, Figure 3, is shown in three positions marked D E F, and that shown in Figure 4 is shown in three positions, marked respectively G H and I....