Pro tip: I stopped drawing every single bolt on a flange and it cut my time in half

For years on big industrial layouts, I would draw every bolt hole on a 24 inch flange because I thought it was the 'right' way. After a project in Toledo last fall, a senior guy saw me doing it and said 'Just use a center mark and a note, kid. The shop only needs the pattern.' I switched to that method and now a drawing that took me 2 hours takes about 50 minutes. Has anyone else found a detail that's better left as a note?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray_roberts2mo ago

That "center mark and a note" advice is golden. A buddy of mine used to detail every single weld symbol on a huge frame assembly. Some old timer finally asked him if he got paid by the symbol, told him to just call out the weld all around in the spec. He saved a full day of drawing time.

joseph_murray82mo agoMost Upvoted

My early drawings looked like a ransom note from a very picky welder.

ellis.rose1mo ago

Yeah I read something similar in a machining forum the other day. Some guy said his mentor told him "drawings are for communication not art." Harsh but true.