Drawing Board

Drawing board is rectangular in shape and is made of four to six strips of well-seasoned soft wood such as pine, fir, oak etc. and about 25 mm thick. The wooden strips are cleated at the back by two battens by means of screws to prevent warping. One of the edges of the board is used as the working edge, on which the T-square is made to slide. It should be perfectly straight. In some boards, this edge is grooved throughout its length and a perfectly straight ebony edge is fitted inside this groove. This provides a true and more durable guide for the T-square to slide on. 

Fig. 1 Bottom Surface of Drawing Board

Fig. 2 Top Surface of Drawing Board

Drawing board is made of soft wooden platens. It is used for supporting the drawing paper/tracing paper for making drawings. Almost perfect planning of the working surface of the drawing board is to be ensured. Drawing board should be softer enough to allow insertion and removal of drawing pins. Drawing board is made in various sizes. Standard drawing boards are designated as follows as per IS: 1444-1989. D2 and D3 size of drawing board is normally recommended for using in schools and colleges.

Table 1. Standard Sizes of Drawing Boards

Sl. No.	Designation	Size (mm)	To be used with sheet sizes
1	D0	1500 x 1000 x 25	A0
2	D1	1000 x 700 x 25	A1
3	D2	700 x 500 x 15	A2
4	D3	500 x 350 x 15	A3

Now-a-days the drawing boards are available with laminated surfaces. The flatness can be checked by placing a straight edge on its surface. If no light passes between them, the surface is perfectly flat. Large size boards are used in drawing offices of engineers and engineering firms. The drawing board is placed on the table in front of the student, with its working edge on his left side. It is more convenient if the table-top is sloping downwards towards the student. If such a table is not available, the necessary slope can be obtained by placing a suitable block of wood under the distant longer edge of the board.