Core77
e
Old School Drafting Tool: Watch This Incredible 1920s Gadget That Lets You Draw Perfect Dotted Lines By Hand
Soooo satisfying to watch
By Rain Noe - Feb 28
In the 1920s German manufacturer Eugene Dietzgen Co. designed and produced this brilliant drawing tool, the 932S Excello, for draftsmen. Check out how it works:
Amazing, no? Although the tool is German, the Smithsonian has one of these in their collection at their National Museum of American History. This one was used at Kenyon College. Here's the little case it came in, and the description:
This 2-1/4" German silver and steel metal drawing instrument consists of a teardrop-shaped plate to which is attached a mechanism that is supposed to hold a larger serrated wheel and a smaller pattern wheel. The mechanism links the wheels to a bar that holds a pen point. When the larger wheel is rolled along the edge of a T-square or straight edge, the pen point bounces up and down to make a dotted line that formed part of an engineering drawing.
Enter a caption (optional)The larger wheel (5/8" diameter) is marked with one of the trademarks for the Eugene Dietzgen Co., the superimposed letters E and D inside a circle formed by the letters C and o. The six smaller wheels (9/16" diameter) also have this trademark and are numbered from 1 to 6, representing six possible dotting patterns. All the wheels are made of brass. The instrument also has the trademark and is marked: EXCELLO. The arm holding the pen point is marked: DIETZGEN (/) GERMANY. The instrument is in a rectangular wooden bar-lock case covered with black leather and lined with green velvet. The top of the case is marked: DIETZGEN (/) "EXCELLO". The top is also marked: GERMANY.
Enter a caption (optional)This dotting instrument was advertised as model 932S in the 1926 Dietzgen catalog and sold for $5.15. It was part of the Excello product line, Dietzgen's second-highest level of drawing instruments. This object was used in the physics department at Kenyon College.
Enter a caption (optional)
Rain Noe
Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.
Continued Reading
-
By Joel Moskowitz - Feb 21
Tools & Craft #85: Understanding How Chisels Work, Part 1 - Bevel Angles
I can't tell you how important good work gloves are to the people working here. Gloves protect our hands from rough timber splinters which lets us do a lot of things safer and faster. Gloves keep our hands from getting truly filthy on the grinders where a mix of steel
-
By Rain Noe - Feb 08
A Breakdown of All of the Tools Used to Build This Joinery-Only Table by Hand
Craftsman James Wright used no glue, screws or fasteners, but this table will last a lifetime
I was thrilled to see that this video made the front page of Digg. It shows craftsman James Wright building a hall table by entirely using hand tools, and relying on joinery alone (no screws, glues or nails) to hold it together. Because Digg posted it, it suggests to me
-
By Joel Moskowitz - Feb 07
Tools & Craft #84: How to Keep Your Sanders a'Sanding Smoothly
The theory behind sanders is pretty simple. The machine moves the sandpaper back and forth and round and round and the abrasives on the sandpaper abrade the wood making it smooth. Ahhh, were it that simple. As your sandpaper abrades the wood the the saw dust that's generated puts a
-
By Rain Noe - Feb 01
An Interview with Christopher Schwarz, Part 2: The Anarchist Toolmaker
Using tools, making tools, furniture design philosophy, photography, anarchy and more
It's 1996, it's nighttime and Christopher Schwarz is underneath an office desk in Frankfort, Kentucky, sleeping. With both a Bachelors and a Masters in journalism and a few years of work experience, Schwarz is struggling to get his local newspaper startup off of the ground, and the workload demands overnight
K
{Welcome
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
K
Reset Password
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
