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Update: My uncle in Billings said to always use a 3H pencil for final lines, but I tried a 4H on a recent elevation drawing.
The 4H gave me a much sharper, cleaner line that didn't smudge under my hand (which is a big deal when you're working on a 36-inch sheet for six hours straight), so has anyone else found a 'standard' tip that actually held you back?
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nelson.cameron3mo ago
Honestly, my old boss swore by a specific brand of drafting dots for years. Tried a cheaper roll on a deadline once and it was way less sticky, never went back. Sometimes the "right" way is just what someone got used to.
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mark_cooper3mo ago
Yeah, that bit about "what someone got used to" hits hard. It's like when a whole office keeps using some outdated software because the manager learned it in 1995 and built all the workflows around it. The tool itself isn't better, it just has the weight of habit and sunk cost behind it. You see it with architects who only specify one type of brick or mechanics who swear by one brand of tool. The standard gets set by that first comfortable choice, and then it just becomes the rule.
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theawest1mo ago
@nelson.cameron WAIT, your old boss had a SPECIFIC BRAND of drafting dots he swore by? That is wild to me. I always thought drafting dots were just drafting dots, like they all come from the same factory or something. The fact that one brand could be SO much better that you'd never go back after trying a cheap one is honestly blowing my mind a little. It really goes to show how all those little tools in a profession can have HUGE differences that nobody talks about until you get burned.
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