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Neat, Clear Lettering for Your Mechanical Drawings

by jimmycox

Lettering is an important skill which draftsmen must learn to
master. Lettering on plans and shop drawings must always be done
freehand. Never use a ruling pen for small lettering. There are
special kinds of pens from a number of speciality pen companies.
These pens may be purchased at any art store and are obtainable
in various thicknesses. Your choice will depend upon the
thickness of the lettering which you require.

Hand lettering - particularly the kind that the draftsman and
engineer do - is separate and apart from type, and must not in
any way be an imitation of type. It is a distinct, free-swinging
letter made quickly by quick strokes of the Speedball pen. Anyone
can do this kind of lettering and, with a little practice, can do
it extremely well. No knowledge of design or type faces is
necessary.

In hand lettering it is necessary to rule only two horizontal
guide lines at equal distances apart; you then use your lettering
pen to form the letters between these guide lines. You do not
need to resort to your triangles or other mechanical devices.
Hand lettering is decidedly a matter of practice, and the more
you practice the better able you will be to do it successfully.

Let us now consider the rapid kind of freehand lettering which
the draftsman must be able to do. In the simple, freehand, sans
serif lettering you can choose between the vertical and the
italics, or slanting type. Most draftsmen find the italic
lettering more convenient and quicker to do well than the
vertical kind.

One excellent method of learning to letter in this way is to
draw between two horizontal guide lines a number of rough
ellipses, all the same size and equally spaced. This is, of
course, done lightly with your 2H pencil. With the exception of
the letters i, k, 1, t, v, x, and z, these ellipses form the
basis of the entire alphabet.

For example, a is an ellipse with a small line at the right of
it, b is the ellipse with a long vertical line on the left; c is
the ellipse three-fourths completed; d is the ellipse with a
vertical line to the right, etc. You realize at once how simple
and easy it is to rough out any word you choose by this ellipse
method, and to quickly ink in the outline of the letter you want.
Of course you must remember the straight line letters. If you
have an i, 1 or t, you must leave less space than you would for a
k, an x, or a z. Note also that the lower case letters m and w
are two intersecting ellipses wider than the other letters.

Practice making a number of different-size alphabets by this
system and you will be surprised to find how quickly you will be
able to form good, clear, well defined letters, and how easily
the words themselves will form.

We have said that hand lettering is a matter of practice, and if
you practice by this system you will soon be able to produce
good, clear, simple line-italic lettering in lower case. The
capital letters are somewhat different; they are formed in blocks
and not in ellipses.

Obviously, if you do not want to do lettering in italics but
prefer the vertical letters, then all the ellipses which were
your guides in the lower case lettering become circles. These can
easily be made with the pencil bow compass.

It may be obvious, but it is nevertheless important, to point
out that most of this kind of lettering is done in two or more
strokes. The letters c and o are an exception.

In the case of numerals, there are no set rules or regulations.
You can choose your own method. If your numbering is clear, that
is all that is necessary because numerals appear mostly on
dimension lines and seldom if ever occur in groups the way words
do.

With a little practice, you will be lettering easily and
clearly.

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