WTB Vemco Drafting Machine

You are going to like your drafting machine. I got a Vemco #4 a bit ago, with a Hamilton power up/down table. I moved it upstairs into my office, bought a bunch of supplies that are as much like the old days as I could find, got paper, tape, sharpener, 6 hardnesses of lead, taped up a clean sheet, marked off a few squares and triangles...and it's like that still. I guess it's a bucket list thing.

Note that there are a few different head styles, with the #4 being the more universal. Others are intended for civil engineers and architects, as I recall. It's not just the scales, but I forget the exact differences.
 
Could not get a picture to focus on this for some reason, but it has 0.5 mm lead for this clicker pencil to go in the head, or several refillable ink cartridges of different widths. As I recall was a big deal to clean these out every day, maybe with alcohol? It also has some little ink tips that you manually ink like a feather quill.
1692919952235.jpeg
 
CJ5Dave said:
Could not get a picture to focus on this for some reason, but it has 0.5 mm lead for this clicker pencil to go in the head, or several refillable ink cartridges of different widths. As I recall was a big deal to clean these out every day, maybe with alcohol? It also has some little ink tips that you manually ink like a feather quill
Click to expand...
I cleaned mine once a week when I was using them and stored them dry and empty long term. The ink went in the reservoir and the nib has a plunger in it with a wire which dropped down through the point which would push the plunger up and allow the ink to flow from the reservoir. You haven't lived until you have used these on Mylar, tape it down, pour pounce on it, rub the pounce around thoroughly to etch the Mylar, then brush it off and begin. All the guys that use to do ink work had drafting dots on their triangles and scales to space them off the paper to prevent the ink from wicking under them and destroying the drawing.
 
verbotenwhisky said:
I cleaned mine once a week when I was using them and stored them dry and empty long term. The ink went in the reservoir and the nib has a plunger in it with a wire which dropped down through the point which would push the plunger up and allow the ink to flow from the reservoir. You haven't lived until you have used these on Mylar, tape it down, pour pounce on it, rub the pounce around thoroughly to etch the Mylar, then brush it off and begin. All the guys that use to do ink work had drafting dots on their triangles and scales to space them off the paper to prevent the ink from wicking under them and destroying the drawing.
Click to expand...

Mylar!!! Loved to use that paper... everything done on it looked sooooo good. Pretty sure I still have a few sheets of that...
 
Brings back memories...

We have a left handed vemco maybe, large size for the 3x6 or so table

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
 
There is a lead pointer!!

Lead pointer.jpg

This is the sharpener I have...

Lead Pointer Holder.jpg
 
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