A retired drafter at the library showed me his old hand-drawn plans

I was looking for a book on drafting standards at the local library in Springfield. An older man named Frank saw me and asked if I was in the trade. He pulled out a folder of his own work from the 1980s, all done with pencil and vellum. He pointed to a detail and said, 'We had to get it right the first time, no undo button.' Seeing that level of patience and precision made me slow down my own CAD work. Has anyone else learned something from talking to someone who drafted before computers?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat54010d ago

That "no undo button" part really makes you respect their focus.

the_viola10d ago

Right the first time" sounds like a waste of time to me.

simon_chen13h ago

Spend a week on a factory floor and you'll get it. That focus pat540 mentioned isn't about being perfect, it's about not having the time or money to redo things. You learn to check your work twice before you commit. It forces a different kind of speed, where thinking first saves you a huge headache later.