Obviously the drawing pencil is the draftsman's most important and useful tool. Every job which he does must be laid out in pencil first before it is inked in. For this reason it is important that you know a few things about the pencil that you are going to use.
There are two kinds of pencils in use: the regular writing pencil used by clerks, stenographers, businessmen and most other people; and the drawing pencil which is used by artists, draftsmen and engineers. This pencil is sold in art supply stores and the better stationery stores. It usually comes in 16 or 17 degrees of lead, from the extremely hard (9H) to the extremely soft (6B). The 9H pencil is almost like a nail, while the 6B is so soft it will blacken your fingers if you touch it.
The average draftsman uses either the 2H or the 4H because these pencils are hard enough to keep the work from getting smudgy and dirty, yet soft enough to show a clean, clear line which may be easily erased. Nearly everything you will do in mechanical drawing is done in ink; consequently, the pencil drawing is only the guide to the finished ink drawing.
For this reason the pencil drawing must be clear, crisp, clean and easy to erase after inking. The 2H, 3H, 4H or 5H pencil is ideal for this, although the 2H is probably best for the beginner. One final thing to remember: SAVE ALL YOUR PENCIL DRAWINGS because you will be required to ink them in later on when you learn how to use the ruling pen and compass.
Summary of Nevers
1. NEVER draw with a dull point.
2. NEVER sharpen the grade mark off the pencil.
3. NEVER sharpen your pencil near your drawing.
4. NEVER rub pencil dust off your drawing; blow it off.
5. NEVER bear down too heavily on your pencil.
6. NEVER draw a very heavy pencil line unless absolutely necessary.
Drawing Board Equipment and Its Use
The drawing board equipment consists, essentially, of a drawing board, two triangles, a T-square, some Scotch masking tape or some thumb tacks, a triangular scale and a good ruler, half-dozen pencils and a pencil eraser, a sharpening block and a few razor blades.
The paper you use is not too important at present, for you will do practice work only. It is well to get some drawing paper or other kind of paper that will take ink because you will be inking in your pencil drawings later on, and if the paper does not hold ink properly (if it runs into the paper like a blotter), you will not get a satisfactory ink drawing.
Once you have this equipment you are ready to draw.
