Nice German Made mechanical drawing set

[Buffalo21]

That's a CAD system in an attractive carrying case!

That the next step above Amish Cad 1.0.2 (paper and a pencil with an eraser)

 

[projectnut]

Those old drafting tool sets can be quite nice, I have a couple of them, but don't use them, the compasses tend to be a bit flimsy, and who inks drawings any more, in fact, who draws any more? About 30 years ago I bought some modern drafting instruments, Staedtler (German made) brand; the compasses are far better in terms of stability than the older stuff.
Speaking of garage/estate sales, I got a bunch of Leroy lettering stuff for nothing; anyone out there collect that stuff?

I'm definitely old school so I do still use the drawing board. I have a 48" x 72" Mayline drafting table with return and a Mutoh drafting machine and light. I use it on an almost daily basis. In the early 1980's we went to a CAD system at work. All the tables got put in a store room just in case the new system didn't work out.

After 10 years in storage they started disposing of them. I got the whole works and all the remaining drafting supplies in the department for a whopping $50.00. At the time the board and return alone were still in the catalogs for $3,700.00. I can't believe they sold many if any since CAD was well established.

The board sat in the back of the shop mainly because I had a current copy of AutoCAD. As time went on the computer operating systems required the old software to be updated. Since mine was licensed by the company they paid for it until I retired. Then I was on my own. The last update was over $1,000.00 so I let it lapse and literally went back to the drawing board.

ON EDIT: I added a somewhat poor picture of the board and machine.

 

[Aaron_W]

I actually made some progress with Fusion 360 today.
Who draws? Just to work out an idea and have a plan on the bench.
Nobody draws anymore

I do, I even picked up a nice drafting table.

I had been wanting a drafting table for a long time but most of the good ones are huge, and I didn't want some cheap plastic and fiberboard thing that the box stores sell. About 6 months ago I saw this little one pop up on Craigslist for $200. I replied, and the next morning dragged my son off with me to Berkeley to pick it up. It's all wood with brass fittings. and only 24x36" so it fits perfectly in the corner of my (clean inside hobbies) hobby room.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

Although I use CAD for finished drawings, and even most sketches these days, I still maintain a manual drafting system. I don't know the actual age, but I acquired an old Navy drafting board. Probably when NAS Jacksonville (Cecil Field, Fla) cut back in the late '40s. Wooden with a narrow stand and cast swivel fittings. The "drafting machine" is a pantograph scale from a different source. The drafting machine is not mounted but is intact. Along with the associated triangles and other paraphenalia.

Drawing instruments like those pictured above, while archaic to the drawing room, are still used by the navigator on a ship for plotting courses on a chart. (map to land-lubbers) I have a set from the late '60s (misappropriated) that was ordered by mistake. The set I have is identical to that pictured, except maybe brand, and was (is) known as "navigator's instruments". As a Navy part number from that far back, they were well made instruments. I eventually figured out the part number system and those mistakes were no more. But they were useful in my shop and never passed on to the bridge crew. It's quite possible that is the background of such a set.

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