Back in my first job, we had to draw everything on vellum with a 0.5mm lead holder.

I spent a whole year on a big commercial project in Spokane doing it that way. Then the firm switched to a basic CAD program, and the first revision I did took a quarter of the time. The real game changer was being able to copy standard details instead of redrawing them every single sheet. Anyone else remember that shift and what detail you were happiest to stop drawing by hand?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayden_lane2mo ago

Oh man, copying those bathroom stall details was a total lifesaver.

hannah_perry2mo ago

Total lifesaver" is right. I once spent twenty minutes trying to remember if the plumbing permit number was 4482 or 4428 before I gave up and just drove back to the office to check the original file. My own handwriting betrayed me.

susan_wright342mo ago

Honestly, the switch made me realize how much time we wasted just on lettering. My old boss was a stickler for all caps on titles, and my hand would cramp up halfway through a sheet. The first time I just typed it in CAD and hit copy, I felt like I'd cheated the system.