Drafting Techniques, Continued
Inking order
The order in which you ink your drawings can make the drawings easier to
execute. The first lines inked are circles and arcs followed by straight lines,
then center, dimension, extension lines, and finally arrowheads and lettering.
Some draftsmen prefer to ink centerlines before using a compass to ink
circles because the ink may bleed through the hole in the paper caused by the
compass needle.
This table lists the preferred order of inking:
Step
Action
1
Circles and arcs
Mark all tangent points in pencil directly on drawing
Indent all compass centers
Ink visible circles and arcs
Ink hidden circles and arcs
2
Ink irregular curves
Straight lines
3
Ink horizontal lines first, then vertical and inclined lines
Ink visible straight lines
Ink hidden straight lines
Center, dimension, and extension lines
Ink horizontal lines first, then vertical and inclined lines
Ink leader lines and section lines
4
Arrowheads, numbers, and lettering
Place light pencil guidelines directly on the drawing
Continued on next page
3-10
