Thread: Where to learn technical drawing

Don't worry about really long straight lines and square corners yet.
Do lots of free-hand drawings for practice and to see your concepts in form, not just in your imagination.
You will notice that the quality of your sketches will improve over time.

You need paper. I buy a package of 11" x 17" copy paper.
For bigger, I have a "banquet roll" which is a table topper roll of white paper 36" x 100'.

And top quality pencils, don't mess with junk brands. 0.5mm Staedler or Rotring pencils, HB or 2B leads.
Staedler and others make red and blue leads. You need black and one color.
That way, you can draw a correction as an option and see both at the same time.
To draw ideas, I prefer 0.9mm HB lead.
When you buy several pencils, you never misplace any of them.

Maybe a short set of colored pencils to add several options to an original sketch.
I like green, orange and purple for choices.
A dozen+ office file folders for sets of drawings.

Don't buy an eraser. Not yet. Draw again, maybe trace the best revision. Don't back up and don't hesitate.

When I see something in wood to carve, I always do drawings to make my concept clear.
Bunch of fuzzy sketches, maybe a tracing. Then measured straight edge line drawings to apply to the wood.
I save them all.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

So, Mick, that means the old square is totally usable for drawing.

Geez, Brett! Does that mean the Woodpecker has to come back before I have a chance to use it?

mick

Originally Posted by Glider

Geez, Brett! Does that mean the Woodpecker has to come back before I have a chance to use it?

mick

When you're ready.

Originally Posted by Glider

Thanks damian. Once it became clear that adult courses are not available, kind offers of equipment and help followed. I would expect no less from the WWF if past history is any guide.

I agree that design is a totally different animal. Competent drawing is the bridge between design and efficient manufacture. I have managed without drawings so far but it has some significant drawbacks. I'll take a lot away from this thread and remain grateful for the wisdom and assistance offered.

The modern designs coming out of ANU and Sturt are amazing. It'd be wonderful if some of the plans were made available to amateurs like me rather than the plethora of colonial, shaker and other older "traditional" styles.

mick

Well that was gracious.

Boundy will sort your original question.

What equipment you end up preferring is personal. I'm tight so I'd start with the cheapest option. If you are mostly drawing straight lines get some cheap grid paper a pencil and a rubber. If you have a computer there are free 2D cad packages. The drawings remain the same whatever you choose, it's just the workflow that changes.

Even after a lifetime of metal trades and mech eng I still model up stuff in 3D cad before I try to make it. Ok my mind isn't what it once was but even when I was young it always surprised me how many mistakes I caught on a drawing sheet. But visualising in your head, that's a whole other skill that neither boundy nor your drawing tools will help you with.

Good luck. Remember to have fun...

I also did drawing during 1st year of an Engineering Degree 47 years ago.

I've used Autocad almost exclusively since 1988 so I had the original paper drawing skills to get me started there and I can only guess that it helped a lot.

Getting the right gear and some books will be a help but it might still take some effort to get your head around.

My suggestion would be finding a mens shed to join where you would, hopefully, find some old farts that would be happy to teach you.

Can anybody please supply a link to the pdf version of "Engineering Drafting" by A W Boundy, as mentioned above?

http://opac.vimaru.edu.vn/edata/EBoo...%20edition.pdf

I quite enjoyed this series, the guys a blacksmith but the principals are the same.
https://youtu.be/RpHBmNfoM5s

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by boo53

I also did drawing during 1st year of an Engineering Degree 47 years ago.

Yes, it was one of the electives in the common first year with Biology being the other. Some chose wisely; but I followed my girlfriend.

To date I've used SketchUp principally to experiment with design proportion but I find adding joinery detail tedious in that medium. I'm looking forward to a new learning experience.

The shed awaits,

mick

Thanks for this, rwbuild. I did a short 16 hour course at TAFE on AutoCAD 2016 for beginners last year, and recognised the exercises from this book

Originally Posted by Glider

Yes, it was one of the electives in the common first year with Biology being the other. Some chose wisely; but I followed my girlfriend.

Why didn't you just get her to show you some biology on the side?

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Why didn't you just get her to show you some biology on the side?

I don't want to get too far off topic, Brett. However 1) it was the '60s and I can't recall anything from 1964-1970 and 2) a gentleman never tells.

By "on the side" do you mean an elevation view?

mick

Originally Posted by Glider

2) a gentleman never tells.

To keep it on topic....are you refusing to be drawn?

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

To keep it on topic....are you refusing to be drawn?

You get the picture.