On Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:46:37 +1100, John G
wrote:

Does any one know of an online source of ouline drawings of common
metal parts in a form like clip art to allow bits to be pasted in
drawings?

McMaster-Carr www.mcmaster.com has lots of 2D drawings and 3D models
of common hardware items, bearings, fasteners, etc. For example:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#cadinlnord/6435k25/=g6v1h5

You can download free viewers for native Solidworks and Inventor 3D
models that allow you to zoom and orient the part to your liking,
choose shaded or wireframe views, and print or take screenshots of the
screen image.

--
Ned Simmons