41 - Fold-Down Drafting Table, страница 12
IN THE SHOP J • • T-SQUARE Drafting Tools ... a basic set TRIANGLES h I've known woodworkers who can take a rough sketch and build a project without making any mistakes. But it doesn't work that way for me. To help anticipate construction problems and avoid any "surprises," I like to have an accurate, detailed drawing of the project in hand before making my first cut. Sometimes that means modifying a plan I've seen somewhere else. Other times, I'll make a shop drawing from "scratch." Either way, it pays to have a basic set of drafting tools. T-SQUARE & TRIANGLES t-square. A T- square serves as a straightedge for drawing all the horizontal lines. But what's more important, it ensures that these lines are parallel to each other. One thing to look for when selecting a T-square is that the blade is long enough to extend across your drawing board. Also, it's a good idea to get one with a plastic edge that you can see through. This makes it easy to line up on a point (or line) below. Note: For a look at a shop-made T-square with a Plexiglas blade, refer to the article on page 16. triangles. Regardless of the type of T-square, you won't get much drafting done without a couple of triangles to go with it. A 45° triangle and one with a 30°and a 60° angle will take care of most of the angled lines you need to draw, see photo above. But where a triangle is really indispensable is when drawing vertical lines. With the triangle resting on the T-square, all the vertical lines you draw will be perpendicular to the horizontal lines (and parallel to each other). You'll find triangles in a wide range of sizes. For most drawings, an 8" triangle works fine. (It's also a convenient size for setting up the miter gauge on your table saw.) Even the color of a triangle may make a difference. A pink, plastic triangle makes the pencil lines on the drawing easier for me to see than one made of clear or gray plastic. Plus, it's not as apt to get lost in the shuffle. DRAWING CURVES Although straight lines provide the groundwork of a drawing, it's the curved lines that refine the design. So you'll need several tools for drawing curved lines as well. circle template. A quick way to draw a small circle or arc is to use a plastic circle template, see photo at left. (And it sure beats trying to find a jar or lid with the correct size radius.) Once again, you don't need every size of circle template available. The one I use has circles that range in size from 'W-dia. up to 2". And the size increases in such small increments that I can usually find the radius I need. A circle template usually ends up doing double-duty in the shop as well. The centerlines around the circles make it a snap to find the center of a dowel. And it's a quick way to lay out a radius on the corner of a workpiece (if you don't happen to have a dime). ShopNotes No. 41 FRENCH CURVE CIRCLE TEMPLATE It's hard to imagine even sitting down at a drawing board without two basic tools — a T-square and a set of drafting triangles, see photo above. COMPASS |
