Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote in
:

I was never a draftsman but was headed in that direction when in
school. The trouble with paper and pencil is that the drawing, and
especially if not to scale, only gives you an ideal/concept. It does
not necessarily give correct dimensions.

If the dimensions aren't right, then the drawing isn't right.
There's no point in making an incorrect drawing, whatever
tool you use to make it.

You can put dimensions on the drawing but if
not to scale you have no way to guarantee if the drawing is doable
with the dimensions you want.

If the dimensions add up correctly, then it's doable.

There's nothing that says a drawing has to be 1/4inch to the
foot, or even have the same scale vertically as horizontally,
for the dimensions to be correct. By the same token, every
woodworking magazine starts every issue with a "corrections"
paragraph for the dimensions that were wrong in the drawings
in the previous issue, despite using some sort of CAD program
to create the drawing.

When I make a drawing, I do front view, side view, and top
view (and detail views for internal or assembly if I need
it for clarity). I dimension everything, and I make sure
the dimensions add up. And that includes factoring in tenons,
or overlaps on rabbets, or stuff like that. But I simply don't
bother making it to scale.

I still cut stuff wrong on occasion, but that's the fault of
poor measuring, not the drawing.

John