construction of the drawing room are these: It should be away from the noise and bustle of the machine shop, yet near enough to make the latter readily accessible. It should be directly connected with the pattern shop as it is so intimately associated with it in many of the preliminary operations. It should be readily accessible from the offices. It should have plenty of fresh air and be well ventilated at all seasons of the year. In winter the heating system should be such as to maintain as even a temperature as possible. It should be well lighted, by natural light by day, and a proper artificial light during the hours which make it necessary. It should be provided with proper facilities for photographing machines, or any of the articles produced by the shops. It should have connected with it, but not installed in it, facilities for blueprinting, where an abundance of light is available at all hours of the day. It should be provided with proper facilities, not only for making drawings and tracings, but for indexing them, for issuing and receiving them, and for safely preserving them from fire or other injury. In the descriptive matter which follows and the drawings illustrating it, the effort has been made to meet all of these conditions in a practical and economical manner, and on such a plan as will provide drawings, tracings, blueprints, etc., for small or large plants, or for a large variety in the product to be manufactured; as will be pointed out in detail later on in this chapter.

In the drawings, Fig. 94 is a plan of the drawing room, located above the offices and well lighted by ten large windows, as shown. It is reached from the latter by a broad flight of stairs. Along the front are located the drawing tables, providing for eleven draftsmen. The arrangement is so made that three of the single or regular tables are for the draftsmen making the general drawings, their tables facing the windows. Between them the two double tables are placed, with their ends toward the windows. These tables accommodate four men each, who do the detail work and the tracings. The circles in front of the tables indicate the positions of the men.

The single drawing tables are shown in perspective in Fig. 95. These are of the plainest construction consistent with usefulness. The top inclines I inch to the foot, and is 3 by 6 feet, which is ample for most general drawing work. They may be made with vertical legs, but the crossed legs here shown are more rigid. Braces extend from the crossing of the legs to the center beneath the drawers, to support the top as well as to act as braces to insure stiffness. Foot rests are provided, 10 inches from the floor. The height of the tables in front is 37 inches. Three drawers are supplied for holding instruments, books, memoranda, etc. If preferred these tables may be constructed with vertical legs as shown in Fig. 96, if appearance is a point considered, as they will thus present a more symmetrical form. The cost will, of course, be somewhat greater.

Many more or less complicated forms of drawing tables, as well as other equipments for the drawing room, have been devised, described, illustrated, built, used, and in many cases discarded; and it has come to be the opinion of many of the older draftsmen that while each of the more complicated devices has its peculiar merits, the simpler forms are, in the long run, best adapted to every-day work. The double drawing tables are shown in Fig. 96. They are 6 feet by 10, and are the same height and inclination of top as the single tables. Three drawers are provided for each draftsman, and a con

DRAWING

TABLE

DOWN TO

OFFICE

CHIEF'S

DESK

CHIEF'S

ROOM

BOOK CASE

DARK
ROOM

BLUE PRINTS

FIG. 94. — Plan of the Drawing Room and its Arrangement.

venient shelf is placed over the center, within the reach of all the men, for holding instruments and many small articles that it is desired to place out of hand but within reach. Foot rests are provided the same as in the single tables. These tables are of the proper height to permit the draftsmen either to sit or stand at their work, as a change of position is much easier than maintaining either one of these positions for hours at a time.

The chief draftsman has a separate room and he is provided with one draftsman whose duty will be that of working out special devices that come more particularly under the constant supervision of the chief. The desk of the chief is shown in Fig. 97, and is identical with one used several years by

the author and found to be a very useful and practical desk and drawing table combined. The top is 30 inches high and 34 inches wide by 6 feet long. The center of the top at the front is cut out in a semicircular or hexagonal form of a recess to enable the draftsman to sit in close to his work and at the same time to have ample table room at the right and left. Two boards drawing out under the top, one at each side, add to this space, so that a practically continuous table on three sides of the draftsman is provided. This

arrangement is very useful where many reference drawings, books, or catalogues are to be consulted. Four drawers on each side and one directly in front furnish ample filing space. A shelf at the back is convenient for books or for supporting instruments or other small articles not in use at the moment. The chief's room is provided with a convenient closet, and it has a table with drawers beneath and a bookcase above, as well as a letter-copying press for

say -inch thick and 5 inches wide, running along the back of the drawer at the top, to prevent drawings from curling up and sliding over the back edge of the drawer. In the front part of the drawer a similar strip, pivoted, or hinged so as to turn down over the front edge of the drawings, or back out of the way when the drawings are to be examined, removed, or replaced, will be found very useful. In the center of the front, each drawer should have a

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making letter-press copies of sketches, memoranda, and similar matter sent into the shop or to those outside of it. The drawing table used by the chief's assistant is the same as the single tables in the large room.

In Fig. 98 is shown a very convenient filing case for drawings. It has drawers for general drawings and detail drawings, made of different sizes to suit their dimensions. These drawers should have a fixed horizontal strip,

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metal label holder, in which a lettered card, readily removed and changed when necessary, describes the contents of the drawer. Usually each drawer is devoted to the drawings of one machine. Above the table are two cases in which are to be kept rolls of drawing paper of different widths or qualities, tracing cloth, tracing paper, etc. Doors hinged at the top and provided with spring catches at the bottom afford convenient access. The ends of the rolls of paper are brought down at the back and out the front under a guide bar, as shown, and along a sliding scale-of-inches, let into the top covering the drawers, and by which any length or width of sheets are measured, and may be cut off with a knife guided by the guide bar.

So far as we know, this is the most practical and convenient method of keeping and cutting up drawing papers; and the plan of purchasing drawing paper in rolls and cutting it up into any desired size of sheets seems to be preferable to purchasing the paper in sheets of odd sizes and trimming it to

the dimensions required. In the center, between the two drawing paper cases, are shelves for holding books, catalogues, etc. This case is located against the wall dividing the drawing room from the pattern shop, and convenient of access for the draftsmen.

At the opposite side of the room, and against the stationary partition, is the case for filing tracings; and against the wall next to the machine shop a similar case is used for finished blueprints. It is of the form shown in Fig.99, and has drawers constructed in the same manner as those in the case for drawings shown in Fig. 98. It is built higher than the latter to increase its capacity, although, of course, it may contain any number of drawings required for the work.

Many systems for filing and preserving drawings, tracings, and blueprints have been devised, but here again simplicity will be found best in

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