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Beginning
AutoCAD 2006
This page intentionally left blank
Beginning
AutoCAD 2006
Bob McFarlane
MSc, BSc, ARCST
CEng, FIED, RCADDes
MIMechE, MIEE, MBCS, MCSD, FRSA
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD

PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Newnes is an imprint of Elsevier
Newnes is an imprint of Elsevier
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
First edition 2006
Copyright © 2006, Bob McFarlane. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
The right of Bob McFarlane to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system

or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher
Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier's Science & Technology Rights
Department in Oxford, UK: phone (⫹44) (0) 1865 843830; fax (⫹44) (0) 1865 853333;
email: permissions@elsevier.com. Alternatively you can submit your request online by
visiting the Elsevier website at http://elsevier.com/locate/permissions, and selecting
Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material
Notice
No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons
or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use
or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material
herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent
verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN-13: 978-0-75-066957-3
ISBN-10: 0-75-066957-8
For information on all Newnes publications

visit our website at http://books.elsevier.com
Typeset by Charon Tec Ltd, Chennai, India

www.charontec.com
Printed and bound in Great Britain
06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
Chapter 1 Using the book 1
Chapter 2 The AutoCAD 2006 graphics screen 2
Chapter 3 Drawing and erasing objects and using the selection set 13
Chapter 4 The 2D drawing aids 21
Chapter 5 Saving and opening drawings 29
Chapter 6 Standard sheet 1 34
Chapter 7 Line and circle object creation 38
Chapter 8 Object snap 48
Chapter 9 Creating arcs, donuts, ellipses, points and polygons 54
Chapter 10 Layers 62
Chapter 11 Creating a working drawing 78
Chapter 12 Using the Modify commands 1 80
Chapter 13 Text 90
Chapter 14 Dimensioning 113
Chapter 15 The MODIFY commands 2 129
Chapter 16 Grips 139
Chapter 17 Viewing drawings 146
Chapter 18 Hatching 152
Chapter 19 Drawing assistance and information 165
Chapter 20 Polylines 175
Chapter 21 Additional draw and modify commands 187
Chapter 22 The array command 194
Chapter 23 Changing object properties 201

vi Contents
Chapter 24 Text tables 210
Chapter 25 Tolerances 217
Chapter 26 Using various units and paper sizes 225
Chapter 27 Multilines, complex lines and groups 231
Chapter 28 Blocks and attributes 241
Chapter 29 Wblocks and external references 261
Chapter 30 Dynamic blocks 271
Chapter 31 The Design Center 281
Chapter 32 Pictorial drawings 292
Chapter 33 Model and paper space 300
Chapter 34 Templates, standards and sheets 309
Chapter 35 Toolbars and tool palettes 323
Chapter 36 File formats 329
Activities 335
Index 361
Preface
AutoCAD 2006 incorporates several new features which will increase user draughting
skills and improve productivity. Some of these new features are:
Create
1 Command enhancement of several common commands including:
a) join segments
b) create rectangles by area and angle of rotation
c) copy option with rotate and scale.
2 Dimension enhancement:
a) arc length dimension
b) jogged radius dimension
c) fixed length extension lines
d) different linetypes for dimension and extension lines
e) ability to flip the dimension arrow.
3 Hatching enhancement:
a) editing hatch boundaries
b) calculation of hatch area
c) creation of several hatch areas as separate objects
d) ability to specify the hatch origin
e) recreate a hatch boundary.
4 Multiline text enhancements:
a) in-place editor
b) bullets and numbering.
Manage
1 Customise the interface:
a) create and save user-defined workspaces
b) manage customised user-interface elements
c) toggle drawing aids with override keys.
2 General enhancements:
a) easier process of creating schedules and bill-of-materials with attribute extraction
b) scale list manager for viewports, page layouts and plotting.
3 Interface improvements:
a) Locking of toolbar and palette positions.
Produce
1 Dynamic blocks:
a) blocks defined with custom properties
b) part of blocks can be moved, rotated and stretched
c) visibility parameter for blocks
d) block look-up table.
viii Preface
2 Dynamic input:
a) commands entered via a tooltip
b) co-ordinate data displayed as cursor moved
c) co-ordinate entry ‘tied’ to dimensions
d) selection preview to highlight objects.
3 General enhancements:
a) Simple formulae can be inserted into tables for calculations.
4 New tools:
a) mathematical and trigonometric calculations possible
b) retrieval of back-up files.
5 Undo/Redo operations
a) Possible to undo/redo zoom and pan operations in a single action.
Share
1 Plot and publish tools:
a) Publish a 3D DWF.
Many of these new features will be discussed in this book.
Note the following:
1 This book is intended for:
a) new users to AutoCAD who have access to AutoCAD 2006
b) experienced AutoCAD users wanting to upgrade their skills from previous releases
c) readers who are studying for a formal CAD qualification at City and Guilds, BTEC
or SQA level
d) training centres offering CAD topics
e) undergraduates and post-graduate students at higher institutions who require
AutoCAD draughting skills
f) industrial CAD users who require both a text book and a reference source.
2 The objective of this book is to introduce the reader to the essential basic 2D draught-
ing skills required by every AutoCAD user, whether at the introductory, intermediate
or advanced level. Once these basic skills have been ‘mastered’, the user can progress
to the more ‘demanding’ topics such as 3D modelling, customisation and AutoLISP
programming.
3 As with all my AutoCAD books, the reader will learn by completing worked exam-
ples, and further draughting experience will be obtained by completing the additional
activities which complement many of the chapters. All drawing material has been
completed using Release 2006 and all work has been checked to ensure there are no
errors.
4 Your comments and suggestions for work to be included in any future publications
would be greatly appreciated.
Bob McFarlane
Acknowledgements
It would not have been possible for me to complete the various exercises and activities in
this book without the inspiration from all other AutoCAD authors. It is very difficult to
conceive new ideas with CAD and I am very grateful for the ideas from these other
authors. A special mention must be given to Dennis Maguire and his book ‘Engineering
Drawing from First Principles using AutoCAD’ published by Arnold.
This page intentionally left blank
Chapter 1
Using the book
The aim of this book is to assist the reader to use AutoCAD 2006 with a series of inter-
active exercises. These exercises will be backed up with activities, thus allowing the
reader to ‘practice the new skills’ being demonstrated. While no previous CAD know-
ledge is required, it would be useful if the reader knew how to use:
a) the mouse to select items from the screen
b) Windows concepts, e.g. maximise/minimise screens.
Concepts for using this book

There are several simple concepts with which the reader should become familiar, and
these are:
1 Menu selection will be in bold type, e.g. Draw.
2 A menu sequence will be in bold type, e.g. Draw-Circle-3 Points.
3 User keyboard entry will also be highlighted in bold type, e.g.:
a) co-ordinate entry: 125,36; @100,50; @200<45
b) command entry: LINE; MOVE; ERASE
c) response to a prompt: 15.
4 Icon selection will be in bold type, e.g. select the LINE icon from the Draw toolbar.
5 The AutoCAD 2006 prompt text will be displayed in typewriter face, e.g.:
a) prompt Specify first point
b) prompt Specify second point of displacement.
6 The symbol <R> or <RETURN> will be used to signify pressing the RETURN or ENTER
key. Pressing the mouse right button will also give the <RETURN> effect – called right
click.
7 The term pick is continually used with AutoCAD, and refers to the selection of a line,
circle, text item, dimension, etc. The mouse left button is used to pick an object –
called left click.
8 Keyboard entry can be LINE or line. Both are acceptable.
Saving drawings
All work should be saved for recall at some later time, and drawings can be saved:
a) to a formatted medium (zip disc, CD, memory stick, etc.)
b) in a named folder on the hard drive.
It is the user’s preference as to which method is used, but for convenience purposes
only I will assume that a named folder is being used. This folder is named MYCAD
and when a drawing is being saved or opened, the terminology used will be:
a) save drawing as MYCAD\WORKDRG
b) open drawing MYCAD\EXER1.
Chapter 2
The AutoCAD 2006
graphics screen
In this chapter, we will investigate the graphics screen and the user-interface. We will
also discuss some of the basic AutoCAD terminology.
Starting AutoCAD 2006

1 AutoCAD 2006 is started:
a) from the Windows ‘Start screen’ with a double left-click on the AutoCAD 2006 icon
b) by selecting the windows taskbar sequence:
Start-Programs-AutoCAD 2006-AutoCAD 2006 (or similar).
2 Both methods will briefly display the AutoCAD 2006 logo and then:
either a) the actual graphics screen
or b) the Startup dialogue box.
3 If the Startup dialogue box is displayed, then select Cancel at present. This will allow
the user access to the graphics screen. We will discuss the Startup dialogue box later in
this chapter.
The graphics screen

Figure 2.1 displays the basic AutoCAD 2006 graphics screen. Your screen may differ
slightly, but the general layout will be the same. The numbered items are:
1 The AutoCAD title bar 13 The on-screen cursor
2 The graphic screen menu bar 14 The Drawing area
3 The Standard toolbar 15 Scroll bars at right and bottom of
4 The Layer information toolbar drawing area
5 The Properties toolbar 16 The Object Snap toolbar (floating)
6 The Text Styles toolbar 17 The Sheet Set Manager palette
7 The standard ‘windows buttons’ 18 The Tool palette
8 The Windows taskbar 19 The Workspaces toolbar (floating)
9 The Status bar 20 The Draw toolbar (docked)
10 The Layout tabs 21 The Modify toolbar (docked)
11 The Command prompt window area 22 The Grips/Pickfirst boxes
12 The Co-ordinate system icon
Title bar
The title bar is positioned at the top of the screen and displays the AutoCAD 2006
icon, the AutoCAD Release version and the current drawing name.
The AutoCAD 2006 graphics screen 3
Figure 2.1 The AutoCAD 2006 graphics screen.
Menu bar
1 The screen menu bar displays the default AutoCAD menu headings. By moving the
mouse into the menu bar area, the cursor cross-hairs change to a pick arrow and with
a left-click on any heading, the relevant ‘pull-down’ menu will be displayed. The full
menu bar headings are:
File Edit View Insert Format Tools Draw Dimension Modify Window Help
2 Menu bar notes:
a) Pull-down menu items with ‘…’ after their name result in a dialogue box being
displayed when the item is selected, i.e. left-clicked.
b) Pull-down menu items with 䉴 after their name result in a further menu being
displayed when the item is selected. This is termed a cascade menu effect.
c) Menu items in BOLD type are available for selection.
d) Menu items in GREY type are not available for selection.
e) Menu bar and pull-down menu items are selected (picked) with a mouse left-click.
f) Pull-down menus are often called ‘drop-down’ menus.
The Standard toolbar

The Standard toolbar is normally positioned below the screen menu bar and allows
the user access to several button icon selections including New, Open, Save, Print, etc.
By moving the cursor pick arrow onto an icon and ‘leaving it for about a second’, the
icon name will be displayed in yellow (default). The Standard toolbar can be pos-
itioned anywhere on the screen or ‘turned off’ if required by the user. It is recom-
mended that the Standard toolbar be displayed at all times and positioned below the
screen menu bar (as the default).
4 Beginning AutoCAD 2006
Layer, Properties and Styles toolbars

These are normally positioned below and to the side of the Standard toolbar. Icon
selections are:
a) Layers: Layer Properties Manager, Layer Control, Make Object’s Layer Current,
Layer Previous.
b) Properties: Color Control, Linetype Control, Lineweight Control.
c) Styles: Text Style Control, Dimension Style Control, Table Style Control.
The Windows buttons

The Windows buttons are positioned at the right of the title bar, and are:
a) left button: minimise screen
b) centre button: maximise screen
c) right button: close current application.
The Windows taskbar

1 This is situated at the bottom of the screen and displays:
a) the Windows ‘Start button’ and icon
b) the name of any application which has been opened, e.g. AutoCAD
c) the time and the sound control icons
d) other icons/information dependant on user requirements.
2 By left-clicking on ‘Start’, the user has access to the other Programs which can be run
‘on top of AutoCAD’, i.e. multi-tasking.
The Status bar

Positioned above the Windows taskbar, the status bar gives the user:
a) on-screen cursor X, Y and Z co-ordinates information at the left
b) access to the drawing aid buttons, e.g. SNAP, GRID, ORTHO, POLAR, OSNAP,
OTRACK, DYN, LWT
c) access to the MODEL/PAPER space toggle.
Layout tabs
Allows the user to ‘toggle’ between model and paper space for drawing layouts. The
layout tabs will be discussed in a later chapter.
Command prompt window area

1 The command prompt area is where the user ‘communicates’ with AutoCAD 2006 to
enter:
a) a command, e.g. LINE, COPY, ARRAY
b) co-ordinate data, e.g. 120,150; @15<30
c) a specific value, e.g. a radius of 25.
2 The command prompt area is also used by AutoCAD to supply the user with informa-
tion, which could be:
a) a prompt, e.g. Specify first point
b) a message, e.g. object does not intersect an edge.
3 The command area can be increased in size by ‘dragging’ the bottom edge of the
drawing area upwards. I recommend a 2 or 3 line command area display.
4 The command prompt area can be toggled on/off with a CTRL and 9 key press.
The co-ordinate system icon

This is the X–Y icon at the lower left corner of the drawing area. This icon gives infor-
mation about the co-ordinate system in use. The default setting is the traditional
Cartesian system with the origin (0,0) at the lower left corner of the drawing area.
The co-ordinate icon display can be altered by the user.
The cursor cross-hairs

Used to indicate the on-screen position, and movement of the pointing device will
result in the co-ordinates in the status bar changing. The ‘size’ of the on-screen cursor
can be increased or decreased to suit user preference and will be discussed later.
The drawing area

This is the user’s drawing sheet and can be any size required. In general we will use
A3-sized paper, but will also investigate very large and very small drawing paper sizes.
Scroll bars
Positioned at the right and bottom of the drawing area and are used to scroll the
drawing area. They are very useful for larger sized drawings and can be ‘turned-off’ if
they are not required.
Toolbars
By default, AutoCAD 2006 displays the Draw and Modify toolbars although users
may have them positioned differently from that shown in Figure 2.1. Other toolbars
may also be displayed, and Figure 2.1 displays the Object Snap and Workspaces tool-
bars. Toolbars will be discussed later in this chapter.
Tool palettes
AutoCAD 2006 displays the Sheet Set Manager and all palettes by default. The user’s
screen may not display any tool palettes. Palettes can be cancelled, minimised or repos-
itioned by the user at any time.
The Grips/Pickfirst box

The user may have a small square box ‘attached’ to the cursor cross-hairs. This box
may be the Grips and/or the Pickfirst box, both aids to the user.
Terminology
AutoCAD 2006 terminology is basically the same as previous releases, and the follow-
ing gives a brief description of the items commonly encountered by new users to
AutoCAD.
Menu
1 A menu is a list of options from which the user selects (picks) the one required for a
particular task.
2 Picking a menu item is achieved by moving the mouse over the required item and
left-clicking.
3 There are different types of menus, e.g. pull-down, cascade, screen, toolbar button icon.
Command
1 A command is an AutoCAD function used to perform some task. This may be to draw
a line, rotate a shape or modify an item of text. Commands can be activated by:
a) selection from a menu
b) selecting the appropriate icon from a toolbar button
c) entering the command from the keyboard at the command line
d) entering the command abbreviation
e) using the Alt key as previously described.
2 Only the first three options will be used in this book.
Objects
Everything drawn in AutoCAD 2006 is termed an object (or entity) e.g. lines, circles,
text, dimensions, hatching, etc. are all objects. The user ‘picks’ the appropriate
entity/object with a mouse left-click when prompted.
Default setting
All AutoCAD releases have certain values and settings which have been ‘preset’,
these being essential for certain operations. Default values are displayed with <>
brackets, but the actual value can be altered by the user as and when required. For
example:
1 From the menu bar select Draw-Polygon and:
prompt _polygon Enter number of sides<4>
respond press the ESC key to cancel the command.
2 Notes
a) <4> is the default value for the number of sides
b) _polygon is the active command.
3 At the command line enter LTSCALE <R> and:
prompt Enter new linetype scale factor<1.0000> (or other value)
enter 0.5 <R>.
4 Notes
a) <1.0000> is the LTSCALE default value on my system
b) we have altered the LTSCALE value to 0.5.
The escape (Esc) key

This is used to cancel any command at any time. It is very useful, especially when the
user is ‘lost in a command’. Pressing the Esc key will cancel any command and return
the command prompt line.
Icon
An icon is a menu item in the form of a picture contained on a button within a named
toolbar. Icons will be used extensively referred to throughout the book.
Cascade menu
A cascade menu is obtained when an item in a pull-down menu with 䉴 after it’s name
is selected.
1 From the menu bar select the sequence Draw-Circle and the cascade effect as Figure
2.2(a) will be displayed.
Figure 2.2 (a) Cascade menu and (b) a shortcut menu.
2 Cancel the cascade effect by:

a) moving the pick arrow to any part of the screen and left-clicking
b) pressing the Esc key – cancels the ‘last’ cascade menu, so two escapes are required.
Shortcut menu
1 A shortcut menu allows quick access to commands that are relevant to the current
activity.
2 Shortcut menus are displayed with a right-click:
a) within the drawing area with or without any objects selected
b) within the drawing area during a command
c) within the text and command windows
d) within areas and on icons in Design Center
e) on a toolbar, tool palette, model or layout tabs
f ) on the status bar or the status bar buttons.
3 Shortcut menus typically include options to:
a) repeat the last command entered
b) cancel the current command
c) display a list of recent user input
d) cut, copy, and paste from the Clipboard
e) select a different command option
f ) undo the last command entered.
4 Figure 2.2(b) displays a typical shortcut menu.
Dialogue boxes
A dialogue box is always displayed when an item with ‘…’ after it’s name is selected.
1 Select the menu bar sequence Format-Units and:
prompt Drawing Units dialogue box as Figure 2.3
respond select Cancel to ‘remove’ the dialogue box from the screen.
Figure 2.3 The Drawing Units dialogue box.
2 Dialogue boxes allow the user to:

a) alter parameter values
b) toggle an aid ON/OFF
c) select an option from a list.
3 Most dialogue boxes display the options OK, Cancel and Help which are used as follows:
OK: accept the values in the current dialogue box
Cancel: cancel the dialogue box without any alterations
Help: gives further information in Windows format. The Windows effect can be
cancelled with File-Exit or using the Windows Close button from the title
bar (the right-most button).
Toolbars
1 Toolbars are aids for the user. They allow the AutoCAD 2006 commands to be displayed
on the screen in button icon form. The required command is activated by picking (left-
click) the appropriate button. The icon command is displayed as a tooltip in yellow (the
default colour) by moving the pick arrow onto an icon and leaving it for a second.
2 There are 30 toolbars available for selection. The toolbars normally displayed by
default when AutoCAD 2006 is started are Standard, Layers, Properties, Styles, Modify
and Draw.
3 Toolbars can be:
a) displayed and positioned anywhere in the drawing area
b) customised to the user preference.
4 To activate a toolbar, right-click any displayed toolbar and:
prompt toolbar shortcut menu – Figure 2.4(a)
with a) list of all available toolbars
b) active toolbars indicated with a 冪
respond pick any toolbar name
and 1 toolbar displayed in drawing area
2 shortcut menu cancelled.
5 When toolbars are positioned in the drawing area as the Object Snap toolbar they are
called FLOATING toolbars.
Figure 2.4 (a) The toolbar shortcut menu and (b) the Insert Block Fly-out menu.
6 Toolbars can be:

a) Moved to a suitable position on the screen by the user. This is achieved by moving the
pick arrow into the blue title area of the toolbar and holding down the mouse left but-
ton. Move the toolbar to the required position on the screen and release the left button.
b) Altered in shape by ‘dragging’ the toolbar edges sideways or downwards.
c) Cancelled at any time by picking the ‘Cancel box’ at the right of the toolbar title bar.
7 It is the user’s preference as to what toolbars are displayed at any one time. In general
I always display the Draw, Modify and Object Snap toolbars and activate others as and
when required.
8 Toolbars can be DOCKED at the edges of the drawing area by moving them to the
required screen edge. The toolbar will be automatically docked when the edge is reached.
9 Figure 2.1 displays a floating and several docked toolbars:

a) Docked:
1. Standard, Layers, Properties and Styles at the top of the screen
2. Draw and Modify at either side of the screen
3. These toolbars ‘were set’ by default.
b) Floating: The Object Snap toolbar.
10 Notes
a) Toolbars do not have to be used – they are an aid for the user.
b) While all commands are available from the menu bar, it is recommended that tool-
bars are used, as they greatly increase draughting productivity.
c) When used, it is the user’s preference as to whether they are floating or docked.
Tool Palette
1 A tool palette is an efficient method of organizing and sharing various items.
2 Tool palettes can be customised by the user.
3 By selecting Auto-hide from the title bar, the tool palette can be minimised/maximised.
4 Tool palettes can be:
a) cancelled by selecting the Close (topmost) button from the title bar
b) activated from the menu bar with Tools-Tool Palettes Window
c) positioned by the user.
5 Like toolbars, the tool palettes do not need to be used. It is user preference.
6 The objects which the user can add to a tool palette include:
a) geometric objects such as lines, circles, and polylines
b) dimensions
c) blocks, hatches, solid fills and gradient fills.
Fly-out menu
When a button icon is selected an AutoCAD command is activated. If the icon has a
at the lower right corner of the icon box, and the left button of the mouse is held
down, a FLY-OUT menu is obtained, allowing the user access to other icons:
1 Move the cursor pick arrow onto the Insert Block icon of the Draw toolbar.
2 Hold down the left button and a fly-out menu is displayed allowing the user access to
another four icons as Figure 2.4(b).
3 Move the cursor to a clear area of the graphics screen and release the left button.
Wizards
The Wizards give access to various parameters necessary allowing the user to:
1 Start a drawing session, e.g. units, paper size, etc.
2 Create layouts, a new sheet sets
3 Publish to the web and add plotters.
Template
A template allows the user access to different drawing standards with different sized
paper, each template having a border and title box. AutoCAD 2006 supports several
drawing standards including ANSI, DIN, Gb, ISO, JIS and Metric. Templates will be
used for our drawing activities.
Toggle
This is the term used when a drawing aid is turned ON/OFF and usually refers to:
a) pressing a key
b) activating a parameter in a dialogue box, i.e. a tick/cross signifying ON, no
tick/cross signifying OFF.
Function keys
Several of the keyboard function keys can be used as aids while drawing, these keys
being:
F1 accesses the AutoCAD 2006 Help menu

F2 flips between the graphics screen and the AutoCAD Text window
F3 toggles the object snap on/off
F4 toggles the tablet on/off (if attached)
F5 toggles the isoplane top/right/left – for isometric drawings
F6 co-ordinates on/off toggle
F7 grid on/off toggle
F8 ortho on/off toggle
F9 snap on/off toggle
F10 polar tracking on/off toggle
F11 toggles object snap tracking off
F12 the dynamic input toggle.
Help menu
AutoCAD 2006 has an ‘on-line’ help menu which can be activated at any time by
selecting from the menu bar Help-Help or pressing the F1 function key. The Help
dialogue box will be displayed as two distinct sections:
a) Left: with four tab selections – Contents, Index, Search, Ask Me
b) Right: details about the topic selected.
File types
1 When a drawing has been completed it should be saved for future recall.
2 All drawings are called files.
3 AutoCAD 2006 supports different file formats, including:
.dwg: AutoCAD drawing
.dws: AutoCAD Drawing Standard
.dwt: AutoCAD Template Drawing template file
.dxf: AutoCAD Data Exchange Format.
Saved drawing names

1 Drawing names should be as simple as possible.
2 While operating systems support file names which contain spaces and full stops(.),
I would not recommend this practice.
3 The following are typical drawing file names which I would recommend be used: EX1;
EXER-1; EXERC_1; MYEX-1; DRG1, etc.
4 When drawings have to be saved during the exercises in the book, I will give the
actual named to be used.
Finally
1 At this time, we have:
a) started AutoCAD
b) investigated the graphics screen
c) discussed some terminology
d) quit AutoCAD.
2 We are now ready to draw some AutoCAD objects.
Chapter 3
Drawing and erasing
objects and using the
selection set
In this chapter we will investigate how to:
1 draw and erase lines and circles

2 use the selection set – a very powerful user aid when modifying a drawing.
Starting a new drawing with Wizard

1 Start AutoCAD and:
prompt Startup dialogue box with four selections:
Open a Drawing; Start from Scratch; Use a Template; Use a Wizard
respond pick Use a Wizard icon (right-most icon)
prompt Startup – Use a Wizard dialogue box
respond a) pick Quick Setup – Figure 3.1(a)
b) pick OK
prompt Quick Setup (Units) dialogue box
respond a) Select Decimal Units – Figure 3.1(b)
b) pick Next>
prompt Quick Setup (Area) dialogue box
respond a) enter Width: 420
b) enter Length: 297 – Figure 3.1(c)
c) pick Finish.
2 A blank AutoCAD 2006 drawing screen should be returned with the Standard, Layers,
Properties and Styles toolbars at the top of the screen, and the docked Modify and Draw
toolbars.
3 Notes:
a) The toolbars which are displayed will depend on how the last user ‘left the system’.
If you do not have the Draw and Modify toolbars displayed then:
1. right-click in any displayed toolbar
2. activate the Draw and Modify toolbars with a mouse left-pick
3. position the toolbars to suit, i.e. floating or docked.
b) After selecting options from the Startup dialogue box, the New Features Workshop
screen may be displayed. The user should read the options, decide on which should
remain active, then close the dialogue box.
Figure 3.1 The Use a Wizard startup with (a) Quick Setup (b) Units and (c) Area dialogue boxes.
Drawing line objects

1 A line requires a start point and an end point.
2 To draw a line with AutoCAD, activate (pick) the LINE icon from the Draw toolbar and:
a) the command prompt window displays: _line Specify first point
b) small tooltip boxes ‘may be’ attached to the cursor cross-hairs
c) forget about these tooltips at present.
3 You now have to pick a start point for the line so:
a) move the pointing device and pick (left-click) any point within the drawing area
b) the command prompt window displays: Specify next point or [Close/Undo].
4 You now have to pick the end point of the line to be drawn so:
a) move the pointing device away from the start point
b) a line will be dragged from your start point to the on-screen cursor position
c) this drag effect is termed RUBBERBAND
d) left-click at any other point on the screen and this is your first AutoCAD 2006
object.
5 The line command is still active with the rubberband effect and the prompt line is still
asking you to specify the next point.
6 Continue moving the mouse about the screen and pick points to give a series of
‘joined lines’.
7 Finish the LINE command with a right-click on the mouse and:
a) shortcut menu will be displayed as Figure 3.2(a)
b) pick Enter to end the LINE command and a ‘blank’ command line will be returned.
8 a) from the menu bar select Draw-Line and the Specify first point prompt will again
be displayed at the command prompt
b) draw some more lines to the end the command by pressing the RETURN/ENTER key
c) the LINE command will be ‘stopped’, but no shortcut menu will have appeared.
Drawing and erasing objects and using the selection set 15
Figure 3.2 The shortcut menus to (a) end the LINE command and (b) repeat the LINE
command.
9 a) at the command line enter LINE <R> and draw a few more lines
b) end the command with a right-click and pick Enter from the shortcut menu.
10 a) right-click the mouse to display a shortcut menu as Figure 3.2(a)

b) pick Repeat LINE
c) draw some more lines then end the command with a right-click and pick Enter.
11 Notes
a) The different ways of activating the LINE command:
1. with the LINE icon from the Draw toolbar
2. from the menu bar with Draw-Line
3. by entering LINE and the command line
4. with a right-click of the mouse (if LINE was the last command).
b) The two options to ‘exit/stop’ a command:
1. with a right-click of the mouse – shortcut menu displayed
2. by pressing the RETURN/ENTER key – no shortcut menu.
c) When a command has been completed, a mouse right-click will display a shortcut
menu as Figure 3.2(b) with the LAST COMMAND available for selection, e.g.
Repeat LINE.
Drawing circle objects

1 All circles have a centre point and a radius/diameter.
2 There are several options for drawing a circle with AutoCAD, but at present, select the
CIRCLE icon from the Draw toolbar and:
prompt 1. _circle Specify centre point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr
(tan tan radius)]
2. tooltips may be displayed.
respond pick any point on the screen as the circle centre
prompt Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]
respond drag out the circle and pick any point for radius.
3 From the menu bar select Draw-Circle-Center, Radius and:
a) pick a centre point
b) drag out a radius.
4 At the command prompt enter CIRCLE <R> and create another circle anywhere on
the screen.
5 Using the icons, menu bar or keyboard entry, draw some more lines and circles until
you are satisfied that you can activate and end the two commands.
6 Figure 3.3(a) displays some AutoCAD line and circle objects.
WINDOW CROSSING
WITHIN
COMPLETELY WITHIN CROSS
Figure 3.3 Line and circle objects for use with the drawing, erasing and selection set
exercise.
Erasing objects
Now that we have drawn some lines and circles, we will investigate how they can be
erased, which seems rather silly? The erase command will be used to demonstrate dif-
ferent options available to us when it is required to modify a drawing. The actual
erase command can be activated by one of three methods:
a) picking the ERASE icon from the Modify toolbar
b) with the menu bar sequence Modify-Erase
c) entering ERASE <R> at the command line.
1 Before continuing with the exercise, select from the menu bar the sequence Tools-
Options and:
prompt Options dialogue box
respond pick the Selection tab and ensure:
1. Selection preview: both not active, i.e. blank boxes
2. Noun/verb selection: not active
3. Use shift to add to selection: not active
4. Press and drag: not active
5. Implied windowing: active, i.e. tick in box
6. Object grouping: active
7. Associative hatching: active
8. Pickbox size: set to suit or accept default
9. pick Apply then OK when complete.
2 Now continue with the erase exercise.
3 Ensure you still have several lines and circles on the screen. Figure 3.3(a) is meant as
a guide only.
4 From the menu bar select Modify-Erase and:

prompt Select objects
and cursor cross-hairs replaced by a ‘pickbox’ which moves as you move the
mouse
respond position the pickbox over any line and left-click
and the following will happen:
a) the selected line will ‘change appearance’, i.e. be ‘highlighted’
b) the prompt displays Select objects: 1 found
c) then: Select objects
respond continue picking lines and circles to be erased (about six) and each selected
object will be highlighted.
5 When you have selected enough objects, right-click the mouse.
6 The selected objects will be erased, and a blank Command prompt window area will
be returned blank.
7 Figure 3.3(b) demonstrates the individual object selection erase effect.
OOPS
1 Suppose that you had erased the wrong objects.
2 Before you DO ANYTHING ELSE, enter OOPS <R> at the command line.
3 The erased objects will be returned to the screen.
4 Consider this in comparison to a traditional draughtsperson who has rubbed out
several lines/circles. They would have to redraw each one.
5 Notes:
a) OOPS is used to restore objects erased by the LAST erase command.
b) It must be used IMMEDIATELY after the last erase command.
c) It must be entered from the keyboard.
Erasing with a window/crossing effect

Individual selection of objects is satisfactory if only a few objects have to be modified
(remember that we have only used the erase command so far). When a large number
of objects require to be modified, the individual selection method is very tedious, and
AutoCAD overcomes this by allowing the user to position a ‘window’ over an area of
the screen which will select several objects ‘at the one pick’.
To demonstrate the window effect, ensure you have several objects (about 20) on the
screen and refer to Figure 3.3(c).
1 Select the ERASE icon from the Modify toolbar and:
enter W <R> (at the command line) – the window option
prompt Specify first corner
respond position the cursor at a suitable point and left-click
prompt Specify opposite corner
respond move the cursor to drag out a blue coloured window (rectangle)
and left-click
prompt ??? found and certain objects highlighted
then Select objects, i.e. any more objects to be erased?
respond right-click or <R>.
2 The highlighted objects will be erased.
3 At the command line enter OOPS <R> to restore the erased objects.
4 From the menu bar select Modify-Erase and:
enter C <R> (at the command line) – the crossing option
prompt Specify first corner
respond pick any point on the screen
prompt Specify opposite corner
respond drag out a green coloured rectangular window and pick the other
corner
prompt ??? found and highlighted objects
respond right-click.
5 The objects highlighted will be erased – Figure 3.3(d).
Note on window/crossing
1 The window/crossing concept of selecting a large number of objects will be used exten-
sively with the modify commands, e.g. erase, copy, move, scale, rotate, etc. The objects
which are selected when W or C is entered at the command line are as follows:
(W) for window: all objects completely within the window boundary are selected
(C) for crossing: all objects completely within and also which cross the
window boundary are selected.
2 The window/crossing option IS ENTERED FROM THE KEYBOARD, i.e. W or C.
3 Figure 3.3 demonstrates the single object selection method as well as the window and
crossing methods for erasing objects.
4 The rectangular colour defaults are blue for the window selection and green for the
crossing.
5 Automatic window/crossing
In the example used to demonstrate the window and crossing effect, we entered a W
or a C at the command line. AutoCAD allows the user to activate this window/crossing
Figure 3.4 Automatic window/crossing selection.

effect automatically by picking the two points of the ‘window’ in a specific direction.
Figure 3.4 demonstrates this with:
a) the window effect by picking the first point anywhere and the second point either
upwards or downwards to the right
b) the crossing effect by picking the first point anywhere and the second point either
upwards or downwards to the left.
The selection set

Window and crossing are only two options contained within the selection set, the
most common selection options being:
Crossing, Crossing Polygon, Fence, Last, Previous, Window and Window
Polygon.
During the various exercises in this book, we will use all of these options but will only
consider three at present, so:
1 Erase all objects from the screen using a window or crossing selection.
2 Refer to Figure 3.5(a) and draw some new lines and circles – the actual layout is not
important, but try and draw some objects ‘inside’ others.
Figure 3.5 Investigating the fence, window polygon and crossing polygon selection set
options.
3 Refer to Figure 3.5(b), select the ERASE icon from the Modify toolbar and:
enter F <R> – the fence option
prompt First fence point
respond pick a point 1
prompt Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]
respond pick a suitable point 2
respond pick point 3, then points 4 and 5 then right-click
prompt Shortcut menu
respond pick Enter
prompt ??? found and certain objects highlighted

respond right-click or <R>.
4 The highlighted objects will be erased.
5 Enter OOPS <R> to restore these erased objects.
6 Menu bar with Modify-Erase and referring to Figure 3.5(c):
enter WP <R> – the window-polygon option
prompt First polygon point
respond pick a point 1
respond pick points 2,3,4,5 then right-click and pick Enter
prompt ??? found and objects highlighted
respond right-click to erase the highlighted objects.
7 OOPS <R> to restore the erased objects.
8 a) activate the ERASE command
b) enter CP <R> at command line – crossing-polygon option
c) pick points in order as Figure 3.5(d) then right-click and pick Enter from shortcut menu
d) right-click to erase the highlighted objects.
9 The fence/window polygon/crossing-polygon options of the selection set are very use-
ful when the ‘shape’ to be modified does not permit the use of the normal rectangular
window. The user can ‘make their own shape’ for selecting objects to be modified.
10 The complete selection set options can be viewed by entering SELECT <R> at the
command line and:
enter ? <R> – the query entry
prompt list of selection set options, activated by entering the
option CAPITAL letters
respond press the ESCAPE key to end the command.
Activity
Spend some time using the LINE, CIRCLE and ERASE commands and become profi-
cient with the various selection set options for erasing – this will greatly assist you in
later chapters.
Proceed to the next chapter but do not exit AutoCAD if possible.
Chapter 4
The 2D drawing aids
Now that we know how to draw lines and circles, we will investigate the aids which are
available to the user. AutoCAD 2006 has several 2D drawing aids which are generally
toggled on/off using the status bar buttons and include:
1 Grid
a) allows the user to place a series of imaginary dots over the drawing area
b) the grid spacing can be altered by the user at any time while the drawing is being
constructed
c) as the grid is imaginary, it does not appear on the final plot.
2 Snap
a) allows the user to set the on-screen cursor to a pre-determined point on the screen
b) the snap spacing can be altered at any time by the user
c) when the snap and grid are set to the same value, the term grid lock is often used.
3 Ortho
a) an aid which allows only horizontal and vertical movement of the on-screen cursor
4 Polar tracking
a) allows objects to be drawn at specific angles along an alignment path
b) the user can alter the ‘polar angle’ at any time.
5 Object Snap
a) the user can set a snap relative to a pre-determined geometry
b) this drawing aid will be discussed in detail in a later chapter.
6 Dynamic Input
a) provides tooltip display information near the on-screen cursor
b) this information is updated as the cursor moves
c) the tooltip allows the user direct keyboard entry.
Note: It would be helpful to the user if this chapter and the following chapter could be
completed ‘at a single sitting’ as we will create several drawings, which will be used to
demonstrate saving completed work.
Getting ready
1 Still have some line and circle objects from Chapter 3 on the screen?
2 Menu bar with File-Close and:
prompt AutoCAD Message dialogue box with Save changes options
respond pick No – more on this in the next chapter.
3 Begin a new drawing with the menu bar sequence File-New and:
prompt Create New Drawing dialogue box
respond a) pick Use a Wizard
b) pick Quick Setup
c) pick OK
prompt Quick Setup (Units) dialogue box
respond pick Decimal then Next⬎

prompt Quick Setup (Area) dialogue box
respond a) set Width: 420 and Length: 297
b) pick Finish.
4 A blank drawing screen will be displayed.
5 Menu bar with Draw-Rectangle and:

prompt Specify first corner point and enter 0,0 <R>
prompt Specify other corner point and enter 420,297 <R>.
6 Menu bar with View-Zoom-All and the rectangle shape will ‘fill the screen’. This
rectangle will be ‘our drawing paper’.
Grid and snap setting

The grid and snap spacing can be set by different methods and we will investigate set-
ting these aids from the command line and from a dialogue box:
1 At the command line enter GRID <R> and:

prompt Specify grid spacing (X) or [On/OFF/Snap/Aspect]<10.000>
enter 20 <R>.
2 At the command line enter SNAP <R> and:

prompt Specify grid spacing (X) or [On/OFF/Aspect/Rotate/Style/
Type]<10.000>
enter 20 <R>.
3 Refer to Figure 4.1 and use the LINE command to draw the letter H using the grid and
snap settings of 20.
Figure 4.1 Using the GRID and SNAP drafting aids to draw lines.
4 Using keyboard entry, change the grid and snap spacing to 15.
5 Use the LINE command and draw the letter E.
6 From the menu bar select Tools-Drafting Settings and:

prompt Drafting Settings dialogue box with four tabs:
Snap and Grid, Polar Tracking, Object Snap, Dynamic Input
The 2D drawing aids 23
respond activate the Snap and Grid tab

prompt Snap and Grid tab Drafting Settings display with (from
step 4):
a) Snap on with X and Y spacing 15
b) Grid on with X and Y spacing 15
respond a) alter the Snap X and Y spacing to 10
b) alter the Grid X and Y spacing to 10
c) ensure Rectangular grid snap active (Figure 4.2)
d) pick OK.
7 Use the LINE command to draw the letter L.
8 Now use the Drafting Settings dialogue box to set both the grid and snap spacing to 5
and draw the letter P.
9 Task: Refer to Figure 4.1 and:

a) with the grid and snap set to 10, draw the 2D line shapes
b) with the grid set to 10 and the snap set to 5, complete LINES to your own design
specification
c) when complete, do not erase any of the objects.
Figure 4.2 The Drafting Settings (Snap and Grid tab) dialogue box.
Drawing lines with the Polar Tracking drafting aid

1 The screen should still display HELP 2D LINES.
2 Menu bar with File-New and:
respond a) pick Start from Scratch icon (second left)

b) pick Metric
c) pick OK
and blank drawing screen returned.
3 Set the grid and snap to 20.
4 Right-click on POLAR in the Status bar, pick Settings and:
prompt Drafting Settings dialogue box with Polar Tracking tab
active
respond a) Polar Tracking On (F10) active, i.e. tick
b) Polar Angle Settings: incremental angle – scroll and pick 45
c) Object Snap Tracking Settings: track using all polar angle settings active
d) Polar Angle measurement: absolute active
e) dialogue box as Figure 4.3(a)
f) pick Options.
prompt Options dialogue box with Drafting tab active
Figure 4.3 The Drafting Settings dialogue box with (a) Polar Tracking tab active and
(b) AutoTrack Settings of the Options dialogue box.
respond Autotrack Settings:

a) Display polar tracking vectors: active
b) Display full-screen tacking vectors: active
c) Display AutoTrack tooltip: active – Figure 4.3(b)
d) pick OK.
prompt Drafting Settings dialogue box with Polar Tracking tab
active
respond pick OK.
5 Activate the LINE command and pick any suitable grid/snap start point towards the
top of the screen.
6 a) move the cursor horizontally to the right and observe the polar tracking tooltip
information displayed
b) move until the tracking data is Polar: 80.0000 < 0° as Figure 4.4(a) then left-click
c) the drawn line segment has been created with the polar tracking drawing aid.
7 Move the cursor vertically downwards until 40.0000 < 270° is displayed as Figure 4.4(b)
then left-click.
8 a) move the cursor downwards and to the right until a 225 degree angle is displayed
as Figure 4.4(c)
b) enter 50 from the keyboard
c) the entered value of 50 is the length of the line segment.
9 a) move upwards to left until a 135 degree angle is displayed as Figure 4.4(d)
b) enter 30 from the keyboard.
10 Complete the polar tracking line segments with an angle of 0 and a keyboard entry
of 100.
Figure 4.4 Using the Polar Tracking drawing aid to create line segments.
11 The result of drawing the fine line segments with polar tracking is Figure 4.4(e).
12 Note that the polar tracking aid displays information of the format 100.0000<90 and:
a) 100 is the length of the line segment being drawn
b) 90 is the angle of the line segment relative to the positive x-axis (more on this later).
13 When this exercise is complete, proceed to the next exercise but try not to exit
AutoCAD.
The Dynamic Input drafting aid

1 The screen should still display the line segments created with the polar tracking aid.
2 Menu bar with File-New and:
respond 1. pick Start from Scratch icon (second left)
2. pick Metric
3. pick OK
and blank drawing screen returned.
3 Right-click on DYN in the Status bar, pick Settings and:
prompt Drafting Settings dialogue box with Dynamic Input tab
active
with Four distinct sections, these being:
1. Enable Pointer Input
2. Enable Dimension Input where possible
3. Dynamic Prompts
4. Drafting Tooltip Appearance – Figure 4.5(a)
respond 1. Enable Pointer Input active (tick)
2. Enable Dimension Input not active
3. Dynamic Prompts not active
4. pick Enable Pointer Input Settings
Figure 4.5 The Drafting Settings dialogue box with (a) the Dynamic Input tab dis-
playing Enable Pointer Input active and (b) the Pointer Input Settings displaying
Cartesian, Absolute and Asks for point active.
prompt Pointer Input Settings dialogue box

respond 1. Format:
a) Cartesian format active
b) Absolute co-ordinates active
2. Visibility: Show co-ordinate tooltips:
When a command asks for a point active – Figure 4.5(b)
3. pick OK
prompt Drafting Settings dialogue box (Dynamic Input tab active)
respond pick OK.
4 With snap and grid on and set to your own values, select the LINE command and:
a) note the cursor display with the tooltip similar to Figure 4.6(a1)
b) select a start point
c) drag out the line and pick a suitable end point – Figure 4.6(a2).
Figure 4.6 Tooltip display with Dynamic Input active.
5 Task
Investigate the other options in the Dynamic Input tab by drawing some more line
segments and note the appearance of the tooltip. Figure 4.6 displays the tooltips for:
a) Pointer Input active and:
1. line start point – Cartesian format and Absolute co-ordinates active
2. drawn line – Cartesian format and Absolute co-ordinates active
3. drawn line – Polar format and Relative co-ordinates active
4. drawn line – Cartesian, Relative and Dynamic Prompt active
b) Dimension Input active
c) Dimension Input and Dynamic Prompt active.
6 This introduction to the Dynamic Input drafting aid is complete as we will use the aid
in more detail when we create objects in a later chapter.
Toggling the drawing aids

1 The various drawing aids can be toggled ON/OFF with:
a) the function keys:
F7 grid
F8 ortho
F9 snap
F10 polar tracking
F12 dynamic input
b) the Drafting Settings dialogue where a tick in the box signifies that the aid is on,
and a blank box means the aid is off
c) the status bar for Grid, Ortho, Snap, Polar, Dyn and:
1. a left-click toggles the aid On/Off
2. a right-click displays the shortcut menu and:
a) the aid can be toggled
b) Settings will activate the appropriate dialogue box.
2 My preference is to set the grid and snap spacing values from the dialogue box or
command line then use the function keys to toggle the aids on/off as required.
3 a) take care if the ortho drawing aid is on
b) ortho only allows horizontal and vertical movement and lines may not appear as
expected
c) I tend to work with ortho off.
4 The Drafting Settings dialogue box can be activated:
a) from the menu bar with Tools-Drafting Settings
b) with a right-click on Snap or Grid from the Status bar and then picking Settings.
5 We have not investigated Object Snap Tracking. This will be discussed in a later chapter.
Now proceed to the next chapter without leaving AutoCAD if possible.
Chapter 5
Saving and opening
drawings
AutoCAD 2006 allows multiple drawings to be opened during a drawing session. It is

thus essential that all users know how to save and open a drawing, and how to exit
AutoCAD correctly. In this and all the following chapters, all drawing work will be
saved to the named folder MYCAD.
Saving a drawing and exiting AutoCAD

1 If the previous chapter work has been followed correctly, the user has three drawings
opened:
a) line segments drawn using the Dynamic Input drawing aid
b) line segments drawn using the Polar Tracking drawing aid
c) the HELP 2D LINES.
2 Menu bar with File-Exit and:
prompt AutoCAD message box – similar to Figure 5.1.
Figure 5.1 The AutoCAD message display.
3 This dialogue box is informing the user that since starting the current drawing session,
changes have been made and that these have drawing changes not yet been saved.
The user has to respond to one of the three options which are:
Yes picking this option will save a drawing with the name displayed, i.e.
Drawing1.dwg or similar
No selecting this option means that the alterations made will not be saved
Cancel returns the user to the drawing screen.
4 At present, pick Cancel as we want to investigate how to save a drawing.
5 Select from the menu bar File-Save As and:
prompt Save Drawing As dialogue box
respond a) Scroll at Save in by picking the arrow at right
b) pick (left-click) the C: drive to display folder names
c) double left-click on the MYCAD folder (which is empty at present)
d) File name: alter to DRG2
e) File type: scroll and select AutoCAD 2004 Drawing (*.dwg)
f) pick Save.
6 The screen drawing will be saved to the named folder, but will still be displayed on the
screen.
a) the line segments drawing will disappear from the screen
b) the line segments drawn with the Polar Tracking aid will be displayed.
8 Menu bar with File-Save As and using the Save Drawing As dialogue box:
a) ensure the MYCAD folder is current
b) alter File name to DRG1
c) ensure file type is AutoCAD 2004 Drawing (*.dwg)
d) pick Save
e) menu bar with File-Close to display the HELP 2D LINES drawing.
9 Repeat step 8 with:
a) folder MYCAD current
b) MYFIRST as the drawing name and AutoCAD 2004 Drawing (*.dwg) as the
file type.
10 Now menu bar with File-Exit to exit AutoCAD.
11 Notes
a) when multiple drawings have been opened in AutoCAD 2006, the user is
prompted to save changes to each drawing before AutoCAD can be exited
b) the Save Drawing As dialogue box has:
1. other typical Windows options:
History, My Documents, Favorites, etc.
2. icon selections for:
a) back to previous folder
b) up one level
c) search the web
d) delete
e) create new folder
f) views: list, details, thumbnails, preview (details and preview usually active)
g) tools.
Opening, modifying and saving an existing drawing

While AutoCAD is used to create drawings, it also extensively used to modify existing
drawings. To demonstrate this concept:

prompt Startup dialogue box
respond pick the Open a Drawing tab
prompt Startup: Open a Drawing dialogue box
respond pick Browse
prompt Select File dialogue box
respond a) scroll at Look in
b) pick (left-click) the C: drive
c) double left-click the MYCAD folder
and all saved drawings displayed
respond a) pick MYFIRST
b) preview displayed – Figure 5.2
c) pick Open.
2 The HELP 2D LINES drawing will be displayed.
3 Erase (with a window selection set option) the 2D and LINES effect, leaving HELP.
Saving and opening drawings 31
Figure 5.2 The Select File dialogue box with drawing C:\MYCAD\MYFIRST selected.
4 Menu bar with File-Save As and:

with MYFIRST.dwg as the File name
respond pick Save
prompt Save Drawing As message dialogue box – Figure 5.3
with C:\MYCAD\MYFIRST.dwg already exists (or a similar C: path name)
Do you want to replace it?
respond Do nothing at present.
Figure 5.3 The Save Drawing As message.
5 This dialogue box is very common with AutoCAD and it is important that the user
understands the three options:
Cancel does nothing and returns the dialogue box
No returns the dialogue box allowing the user to alter the file name which should
be highlighted
Yes will overwrite the existing file name and replace the original drawing with
any modifications.
6 At this stage, respond to the message with:
a) pick No
b) alter the file name to MYFIRST1
c) pick Save.
7 What have we achieved?

a) we opened drawing MYFIRST from the C:\MYCAD folder
b) we altered the drawing layout
c) we saved the alterations as MYFIRST1
d) the original MYFIRST drawing is still available and has not been modified.
8 Menu bar with File-Open and:
respond a) pick DRG1 and note the preview
b) pick Open.
9 The screen will display the line segments drawn with Polar Tracking.
10 We now have two opened drawings:
a) DRG1
b) MYFIRST1 (or is it MYFIRST?).
Closing files
We will use the two opened drawings to demonstrate how AutoCAD should be exited
when several drawings have been opened in the one drawing session.
1 Erase the line segments with a window selection – easy?
prompt AutoCAD Message dialogue box
with Save changes to C:\MYCAD\DRG1.dwg message
respond pick No – can you reason out why we pick No?
3 The screen will display the MYFIRST (HELP) modified drawing, i.e. MYFIRST1.
4 Menu bar with File-Close and a blank screen will be returned with a short menu bar
display:
File, View, Window, Help
5 Question: why no ‘Save changes’ AutoCAD message with step 4?
6 Select File from the menu bar and:
prompt pull-down menu
with selections: New, Open and the last 9 (in my case) used AutoCAD drawings
respond pick MYFIRST1
and HELP drawing displayed.
7 a) menu bar with File and pick MYFIRST: HELP 2D LINES displayed
b) menu bar with File and pick DRG1: polar tracking line segments displayed
c) three drawings have now been opened with DRG1 displayed.
8 Menu bar with:
a) File-Close to close DRG1 and display MYFIRST
b) File-Close to close MYFIRST and display MYFIRST1
c) File-Close to close MYFIRST1 and display a blank screen
d) File-Exit to exit AutoCAD.
9 All drawings having been closed correctly and AutoCAD has been exited properly.
Save and Save As

1 The menu bar selection of File allows the user to pick either Save or Save As.
2 New AutoCAD users should be aware of the difference between these two options.
Saving and opening drawings 33
Save
1 Will save the current drawing with the same name with which the drawing was
opened.
2 No dialogue box will be displayed.
3 The original drawing will be automatically overwritten if alterations have been made
to it.
Save As
1 Allows the user to enter a drawing name via a dialogue box.
2 If a drawing already exists with the entered name, a message is displayed in a dia-
logue box.
It is strongly recommended that the SAVE AS selection is used at all times.
Assignment
You are now in the position to try a drawing for yourself, so:
1 Start AutoCAD and select Start from Scratch-Metric-OK.
2 Refer to activity drawing 1 (all activity drawings are grouped together at the end of
this book).
3 Set a grid and snap spacing to suit, e.g. 10 and/or 5.
4 Menu bar with Draw-Rectangle and create a rectangle from 0,0 to 420,297.
5 Using only the LINE and CIRCLE commands (and perhaps ERASE if you make a
mistake):
a) draw the given shapes
b) the size and position are not really important at this stage, the objective being to
give you a chance to practice drawing using the drawing aids. All the shapes should
‘fit into’ the rectangle
c) when the drawing is complete, save it as C:\MYCAD\ACT1.
Chapter 6
Standard sheet 1
1 Traditionally one of the first things that a draughtsperson does when starting a new
drawing is to get the correct size sheet of drawing paper. This sheet will probably have
borders, a company logo and other details already printed on it. The drawing is then
completed to ‘fit into’ the pre-printed layout material.
2 A CAD drawing is no different from this, with the exception that the user does not
‘get a sheet of paper’. Companies who use AutoCAD will want their drawings to
conform to their standards in terms of the title box, text size, linetypes being used, the
style of the dimensions, etc.
3 Parameters which govern these factors can be set every time a drawing is started, but
this is tedious and against CAD philosophy. It is desirable to have all standard require-
ments set automatically, and this is achieved by making a drawing called a standard
sheet, prototype drawing or template.
4 Standard sheets can be ‘customised’ to suit all sizes of paper e.g. A0, A1, etc. as well as
any other size required by the customer. These standard sheets will contain the com-
panies settings, and the individual draughtsman can add their own personal settings
as required. It is this standard sheet which is the CAD operators ‘sheet of paper’.
5 We will create an A3 standard sheet and save it as a template file for all future draw-
ing work. At this stage, the standard sheet will not have many ‘settings’, but we will
continue to refine it and add to it as we progress through the book.
Terminology
Several new concepts and terms will be used in this chapter. These concepts will be
discussed in greater detail in later chapters, but it is important for the user to have an
understanding of these new concepts.
a) Drawing
A drawing is a saved file with the extension .dwg and all existing work has been
with .dwg files
b) Template
A template is a saved file with the extension .dwt. Templates have settings and
default values and are used for all new drawing work
c) Layers
Layers are used to enable the user to draw objects with different linetypes and
colour
d) Model-Paper Space
AutoCAD has two drawing environments, Model space and Paper space and:
1. Model space: used to complete actual drawing work
2. Paper space: used to ‘lay out’ the drawing paper.
e) Viewports
These are areas that display different views of the drawing being created. This may
be for a scale effect or for different views of a 3D model.
Standard sheet 1 35
Creating an A3 template file

We will create our template using an existing AutoCAD template file so:
respond 1. pick Use a Template
2. scroll and pick: Iso a3 – named plot styles.dwt
3. pick OK.
2 The screen will display the AutoCAD ISO A3 template file with:
a) a title box with several XXX items of text
b) various coloured line effects
c) a typical drawing grids effect to identify sections of a drawing
d) the icon at the lower left of the drawing area indicates that the paper space envir-
onment is active.
3 Menu bar with View-Zoom-All and the drawing will ‘fill the screen’.
4 a) Paper space is used to layout the drawing sheet while model space is for creating
objects.
b) To ‘enter’ model space left-click Paper from the Status bar and:
1. the traditional 2D icon will be displayed
2. the word MODEL is displayed in the status bar
3. an area of the ‘paper’ is outlined. This is the model space viewport used for all
drawing work.
5 Menu bar with Tools-Drafting Settings and from the Drafting Settings dialogue box
select:
a) Snap and Grid tab with:
1. Snap on with X and Y spacing set to your requirements e.g. 5
2. Grid on with X and Y spacing set to your requirements e.g. 10
3. Rectangular snap style active.
b) Polar Tracking tab with the Polar Tracking aid set to suit e.g. off
c) Object Snap tab with:
1. Object Snap off
2. Object Snap Tracking off
3. All snap modes off.
d) Dynamic Input tab with the Dynamic Input aids set to suit e.g. all off
e) pick OK.
6 Menu bar with Format-Units and:
prompt Drawing Units dialogue box
respond 1. Length: a) Type: Decimal
b) Precision: scroll and pick 0.00
2. Angle: a) Type: Decimal Degrees
b) Precision: scroll and pick 0.0.
3. Insertion scale units: Millimeters
4. pick OK and the status bar will display co-ordinate data in the form:
80.00, 50.00, 0.00.
7 Menu bar with View-Display-UCS Icon-Properties and:
prompt UCS Icon dialogue box
respond 1. select the UCS icon style to suit (I recommend 2D)
2. pick OK.
8 At the command line enter:
a) GRIPS <R> and set to 0
b) PICKFIRST <R> and set to 0.
9 Display toolbars to suit. I would suggest:

a) Standard and Properties docked at the top as default
b) Draw and Modify docked to suit
c) Other toolbars will be displayed as required.
10 At the command line enter –LAYER <R> and:
prompt Enter an option [?/Make/Set/New/…………
enter N <R> – the new layer option
prompt Enter name list for new layer(s)
enter OUT <R> – for outline
prompt Enter and option
enter C <R> – the colour option
prompt New colour [Truecolour/Colourbook]
enter RED <R>
prompt Enter name list of layer(s) for colour 1 (red)
enter OUT <R>
prompt Enter an option
enter S <R> – the set option
prompt Enter layer name to make current
enter OUT <R>
prompt Enter an option
enter <R> to end the command.
11 a) The Layers toolbar at the top of the screen should display a red square and the
word OUT
b) All objects drawn will be in red as the created layer OUT is current (as I have
stressed, this will be discussed in greater detail when we investigate layers).
12 Menu bar with View-Zoom-All.
13 Menu bar with File-Save As and:
respond 1. File type: scroll and pick AutoCAD Drawing Template (*.dwt)
2. Save in: scroll and pick MYCAD as the named folder
3. File name: enter A3PAPER
4. pick Save.
prompt Template Description dialogue box
respond 1. Description: My A3 paper template file with various settings and a cre-
ated layer OUT
2. Measurement: Metric – Figure 6.1
3. pick OK.
Figure 6.1 The Template Description box for A3PAPER.

Standard sheet 1 37
14 Notes
a) Template files are generally saved to the AutoCAD Template folder.
b) We have saved our A3PAPER template file to our named MYCAD folder for ‘ease of
access’.
c) The created template file can also be saved as a drawing file with the sequence:
1. Menu bar with File-Save As then:
2. File type: AutoCAD 2004 Drawing (*.dwg)
3. Save in: scroll and pick our named folder C:\MYCAD
4. File name: A3PAPER
5. pick Save.
d) This completes the creation of our standard sheet at this stage
e) Although we have activated several toolbars in our standard sheet, the user should
be aware that these may not always be displayed when your standard sheet drawing
is opened. AutoCAD displays the screen toolbars which were active when the system
was ‘shut down’. If other CAD operators have used ‘your machine’, then the toolbar
display may not be as you left it. If you are the only user on the machine, then there
should not be a problem. Anyway you should know how to display toolbars?
You can now exit AutoCAD or continue to the next chapter.
Chapter 7
Line and circle
object creation
1 The line and circle objects so far created were drawn at random on the screen without
any attempt being made to specify position or size.
2 To draw objects accurately, co-ordinate input is required and AutoCAD 2006 allows
different ‘types’ of co-ordinate entry including:
a) Absolute, i.e. from an origin point
b) Relative (or incremental), i.e. from the last point referenced.
3 In this chapter we will use our A3PAPER template file to create a working drawing
and use it for future work.
Conventions
When using co-ordinate input, the user must know the positive and negative direc-
tions for both linear and angular input. The two conventions are as follows:
1 Co-ordinate axes
The X–Y axes convention used by AutoCAD is shown in Figure 7.1(a) and displays
four points with their co-ordinate values. When using the normal X–Y co-ordinate
system:
a) a positive X direction is to the right, and a positive Y direction is upwards
b) a negative X direction is to the left, and a negative Y direction is downwards.
2 Angles
When angles are being used:
a) positive angles are anti-clockwise
b) negative angles are clockwise
c) Figure 7.1(b) displays the angle convention of four points with their polar
co-ordinate values.
Getting started
1 If your template file from Chapter 6 is displayed, proceed to step 4.
2 a) If AutoCAD is active, then close any existing drawing then menu bar with
File-Open and:
respond 1. file type: scroll and pick Drawing Template (*.dwt)
2. look in: scroll and pick C:\MYCAD
3. pick A3PAPER and note Preview
4. pick Open.
Line and circle object creation 39
Figure 7.1 Co-ordinate and angle conventions.
b) If AutoCAD is not active, then start AutoCAD and:

respond 1. select Use a Template
2. pick Browse and:
prompt Select a template file dialogue box
respond a) scroll and activate the C:\MYCAD named folder
b) pick A3PAPER
c) pick Open.
3 The A3PAPER template file will be displayed with:
a) model space active
b) layer OUT current.
4 Display the Draw and Modify toolbars and position to suit and decide if you want to
use polar tracking. Ensure that the Object Snap modes are off – they should be.
5 Note
Step 2 is how all new drawing work will be started with the phrase ‘open your
A3PAPER template file’.
6 Refer to Figure 7.2.
LINES
Lines require the user to specify a start and end point for every line segment to be
drawn and there are several methods for specifying these points.
Absolute co-ordinate entry

1 This method uses the traditional X–Y Cartesian system, where the origin point is (0,0)
at the lower left corner of the drawing area. This origin point can be ‘moved’ by the
user as you will discover later in this chapter. The user specifies the X and Y co-ordinates
of every point relative to the (0,0) origin.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
The colours are mostly purchased in that form which is called dry
colours, that is, in coarse powder or small lumps; and they have to
be reduced to fine powder before they are mixed with the oils, &c. If
they contain gritty particles of sand, &c., the colour is put into a tub
or pan, and water thrown upon it, and mixed up with it. The gritty
particles soon fall to the bottom, and the remainder is poured into
another vessel, where, in a short time, the colouring substance falls
to the bottom, and can be obtained by pouring off the water; after
which the powder is dried. But if the substance is one which will
dissolve in water, or if it is not very gritty, it is ground up to powder
in a dry state.
When the substance is reduced to fine powder, the painter begins
to incorporate the oil with it. He has a grindstone of marble or
porphyry, on which he places a small quantity of the dry colour, and
moistens it with a little oil. With a large flattened pebble, called a
muller, he then grinds up the powder with the oil, until both form a
perfectly smooth paste. That portion is then removed by a palette
knife, (which is a broad thin knife,) and placed in an earthen paint-
pot. Another small portion of powder and oil is ground up in a similar
manner, and put into the paint-pot; and so on, until a sufficient
quantity has been obtained. When this is done, the pot contains
paint, which is too thick for use; to liquefy it, therefore, a given
quantity, which is determined by experience, of oil or turpentine, or
a mixture of both, is added, until the paint has acquired a
consistence—thick enough to prevent it from running into drops
when laid on the work—and thin enough to make it work with ease.
The Process of Painting.

Supposing the carpenter to have left the doors, the windows, &c.,
in a clean and smooth state, the painter’s first office is knotting.
Knots are round places in a plank, in which the grain of the wood
runs through the thickness of the board, so as to show the ends of
the pores at the surface. These ends absorb a greater quantity of
paint than the other portion of the wood, so that if the same number
of coats were given to all alike, the knots would have an ugly, dead
appearance, in consequence of the absorption. The painter,
therefore, gives the knots more paint than the rest of the wood-
work; and the preparatory coat, which is laid on the knots only, is
called the knotting. The paint used is generally red lead, and boiled
oil; or sometimes red lead and size. When this knotting is dry, the
priming is applied, consisting of a thin coat of white paint. White is
used for the priming under almost every variety of circumstances,
whatever the subsequent colours may be. This white paint is a
mixture of white lead, linseed oil, and oil of turpentine, and is laid
on, as are the subsequent coats, by means of brushes which are too
well known to need a lengthened description. They vary from a
quarter of an inch to three inches in diameter, and are generally
made of hog’s bristles bound round with string, or sometimes with
tin.
When the priming is dry, the painter proceeds to fill up all the nail
holes and other irregularities, with putty. This he does by means of a
pointed knife, with which he works in small portions of putty
wherever they may be needed. It is then ready for the second coat
of paint, which is thicker than the first, generally white, but
sometimes coloured. Painting appears to be a very easy process, but
in common with other trades, it requires considerable practice before
skill can be attained. After having worked the brush over the wood-
work in every direction, so as to completely cover every part with
paint, the “laying-off” is effected by drawing the brush smoothly
over every part in the direction of the grain, particularly at the stiles
and panels of doors. Brushes of various sizes are employed, by
means of which the workman can paint the fine mouldings, beading,
&c., as well as the broader surfaces. The more skilful the workman is
in the use of his tools, the less do the marks of the brush remain
visible when the work is done.
As each coat of paint dries, another is laid on, until sufficient has
been applied. The number varies from two to seven, according to
the part which is to be painted, and the means of those who have to
pay the painter; but in general, four coats is the average quantity
which new wood-work receives. It is the last two coats only which
are of the colour selected, as those which are preparatory are
seldom other than white. On some occasions it is desired to have the
last coat glossy; but in others dead. To effect these differences, all
that is necessary is, to vary the oil with which the colour is mixed. If
a glossy surface is required, linseed oil is principally used; but if a
dead surface, oil of turpentine predominates. It is frequently seen
that the walls of staircases, and other large surfaces, are, when
finished painting, totally without gloss. This is effected by what is
called flatting, that is, a coat of paint mixed wholly with oil of
turpentine: the turpentine soon evaporates, and leaves the colour
without gloss on the walls; whereas, when linseed oil is employed,
the oil dries and hardens, instead of evaporating, and assumes much
of the character of a varnish. If no linseed oil is employed in flatting,
it is called a dead flat; but if a little is added, in order to produce a
faint gloss, it is called a bastard flat. This part of the work forms one
of the most unwholesome in which the painter is engaged, since the
oil of turpentine, which is constantly evaporating during the process,
is found to be extremely prejudicial to health.
As we are here speaking of a new house, we need not detail the
process followed in repairing an old one. Nor is it necessary so to do
even in respect of the processes themselves, for they are nearly the
same for old work and new. The principal points of difference are
these:—that in old work, greasy and dirty spots are washed with
pearl-ash and water, or with turpentine; that the old paint is rubbed
smooth with pumice-stone, or, if very rough, burned off; that a
smaller number of new coats of paint will suffice; and that a larger
proportion of turpentine is used than in new work.
Graining and Marbling.

We have in the above details confined our attention to that more
general and economical kind of house-painting in which a large
surface is painted of one uniform colour. But the department of
house-painting in which the taste of the workman is more fully
developed, is that in which imitations of various species of wood and
marble are attempted; these processes are called graining and
marbling. We may perhaps call this a humble branch of the fine arts,
since the workman prepares a picture of a piece of wood or of a slab
of marble; but whether this be a correct term or not, it is certain
that skill in this branch depends more on taste and observation than
on fixed rules.
Graining and marbling are sometimes done in oil-paint, but more
frequently in distemper, that is, with a colour mixed with beer or
some other liquid more limpid than oil; in this latter case, as the
graining would not have a durable character, it receives one or more
coats of varnish. We will endeavour to give a general idea of the
mode in which graining and marbling are effected.
The kind of wood usually imitated in this way is oak, or wainscot,
as it is more generally called. When this is imitated in oil, the last
coat of paint previous to the graining is made of rotten stone, white
lead, and linseed oil, and is of a light oak colour. On this is laid the
graining colour, which painters call the megilp, and which is a thin
paint composed of oil, rotten stone, sugar of lead, and white wax.
When this has set a little, the painter draws over the surface the
teeth of a kind of comb, called the graining comb, by which an
imitation of the grain of oak is produced; these grained lines, to
make the imitation more close, are drawn in a wavy direction. The
workman then wraps a little piece of leather round the finger, and
delicately wipes off the colour from small spots of various forms, by
which the light parts of a piece of oak are imitated. In this state, the
grain and the light parts have rather a harsh appearance, to remove
which, a soft dry brush is worked over the whole in such a manner
as to make the various parts blend with one another. A little Vandyke
brown is then mixed up into a smooth paint, and with this the dark
veins are imitated, by means of a small brush or pencil.
But in graining oak in distemper, the graining colour consists of
other materials; many receipts are given, but one is Vandyke brown,
burnt umber, and raw umber, mixed into a paint with beer or ale.
This is laid on with a brush, and the subsequent processes of
producing the grain, the light patches, the dark veins, &c., are much
the same as in oil graining, with this exception, that the grain is
produced by veining brushes, instead of graining combs. When the
whole is dry, it receives one or two coats of varnish, to act as a
preservative.
By processes very similar to that just described, mahogany, rose-
wood, satin-wood, maple, pollard oak, zebra-wood, walnut-wood,
elm, and other species of wood, are imitated. For mahogany, the
ground is Venetian red and white lead, and the graining colour is
Sienna, or Vandyke brown, ground in beer. For rose-wood, the
ground is lake, vermilion, and flake white, and the graining colour
Vandyke brown, ground in ale. For satin-wood, the ground is the
same as for light oak, and the graining colour is Oxford ochre,
ground in ale. The other kinds of wood are imitated by grounds and
graining colours more or less resembling those now mentioned. The
manual use of the tools is more difficult for the variegated woods
than for oak. Satin-wood, and some other kinds, have large spots or
patches of a lighter colour than the rest of the wood, and of a
peculiarly soft appearance; these are imitated by letting a sponge
fall on various parts of the wet graining colour, by which some is
wiped off, and the edges of these parts are then softened by means
of a badger-hair brush, called a soft even, which is drawn lightly
across the light and dark parts, whereby the sharp edges are
softened and blended.
The imitation of marble is effected in a similar manner to that of
wood. For white marble, or rather, that which is slightly marked with
dark veins, the walls are first whitewashed, and then washed with
whiting and milk, to obtain a fine white surface. Lamp black, damp
blue, Indian red, and some other colours, are then laid on with very
fine pencils or brushes, in fine but irregular lines, so as to imitate the
veins of the marble. Sienna marble has a ground of yellow ochre;
Florentine marble, one of white, black, and Indian red; dove-
coloured marble, one of light lead colour; and black and green
marbles have the colours designated by their names. On these
grounds are pencilled the light and delicate veins traversing the
surface in every direction, according to the colour and character of
the veins in the marble to be imitated. There are then various
contrivances made use of, by which a softness is produced in all the
veins; this is of more importance in marbling than in graining, since
much of the beauty which we acknowledge to exist in marble is
undoubtedly due to the exquisite softness with which its colours are
blended. The kind of marble called porphyry is imitated in a singular
manner. This marble is spotted all over in various colours; and the
imitation is therefore spotted. A ground is laid on of the proper
colour, and a brush is dipped into a mixture of vermilion and white,
and after being allowed to drain nearly dry, is struck against a piece
of wood, by which a sprinkling of small spots falls on the surface.
The brush is then dipped into another colour, and a similar process
gives a second sprinkling. This is done a third and sometimes a
fourth time, according to the colours of the spots in the marble to be
imitated. The mica, quartz, and feldspar, in granite, are sometimes
roughly imitated by similar means.
Whatever be the kind of marble which is imitated, it is varnished
after the marbling is completed, in order both to give it greater
durability, and to imitate the beautiful polish which can be imparted
to marble.
Gilding, as an Interior Decoration.

Supposing the internal decorations to have proceeded thus far, we
may next say a few words about the costly material gold, as applied
in furtherance of these embellishments. This is only of limited
application, and in the better class of houses; but as gilt mouldings
frequently form the finishing part of the papering of a room, and as
the houses of most persons contain some articles which are gilt, we
will give a slight description of the processes followed by the gilder,
but without reference to any particular article of furniture, since that
is a department into which we do not profess to enter.
A metal gilder, or water gilder, is a different workman from the
carver and gilder, who gilds various articles of wood or composition.
The former lays a thin coating of gold on articles of metal, by means
of mercury and of heat, an employment of an extremely unhealthy
character. The carver and gilder lays a surface of leaf-gold on
ornaments, frames, or mouldings, made of wood, plaster of Paris,
papier-maché, or composition.
If the gold were laid on the bare material by any sort of gum or
cement, it would not adhere permanently, nor would it have that
brilliancy of appearance which the natural lustre of the metal is
calculated to produce; above all, that dazzling surface, known as
burnished gold, could not be so produced. The gilder, therefore, lays
on a certain thickness of such substances as experience has taught
him will answer the proposed end. There are, doubtless, many
substances which would answer for this purpose; but the course
which is actually adopted we proceed to describe.
The Process of Burnish-Gilding.

We will take, as an instance, a long piece of the moulding which
the paper-hanger applies in the way to which we have alluded. This
is cut out to the proper hollow or reeded form by a carpenter, who
employs planes suited for the purpose. The wood which he uses is of
a kind tolerably free from knots and holes: and when the moulding is
ready, it passes into the hands of the gilder. The first thing done is to
wash it with a mixture of whiting and parchment-size, made quite
hot, and almost as limpid as water. The size used for this and for
other purposes required by the gilder, is obtained by boiling cuttings
of parchment in water until a stiff jelly is produced.
When the moulding is dry from the application of this preparatory
wash, any small holes that may exist are stopped up with putty, and
the moulding is ready to receive five or six coatings of a very thick
mixture of whiting and size. Those coatings are laid on moderately
warm, by means of a brush, each coat being thoroughly dried before
the next is applied. By this means the moulding is coated to the
thickness of a sixteenth or twelfth of an inch, by which the fine
squares and hollows produced by the plane (if there happened to be
such in the moulding) would be liable to be stopped up: to prevent
this, modelling tools of various forms are drawn along the wet
whiting, so as to preserve the original pattern in tolerable condition.
The whole surface is then smoothed by small pieces of pumice-stone
worked to fit the various parts of the moulding. The stones and the
whiting being kept constantly wetted, and the former worked
steadily over the latter, a smooth and even surface is attained.
When the moulding is dry after this smoothing process, it is
further smoothed with sand or glass paper, and is then coated with
five or six layers of burnish gold size. This is a very peculiar
composition of suet, black lead, clay, parchment-size, and other
ingredients, mixed to a stiff consistency. These successive coats or
layers are well dried after each application; and after one or two
other processes by which the gold size is rendered smooth, the
moulding is ready to receive the leaf gold.
Gold, in the form in which it is thus used, is one of the thinnest
substances which the art of man has ever prepared in a solid form,
since it would require more than a quarter of a million of the small
sheets into which it is beaten, to make a pile one inch in thickness. A
solid piece of gold is rolled into the form of a ribbon by means of a
flatting-mill: and the gold-beater then reduces it to the thickness—or
rather thinness—to which we have alluded, by means of hammering.
The gilder receives this leaf gold in the form of sheets or leaves
about three inches square, inclosed between the leaves of a small
book. He blows out some of these leaves on a leather cushion
surrounded by a parchment border on three sides; this border, is to
prevent the gold from being blown away, the fourth side being left
open for the future proceedings of the workman. The gilder supports
the cushion on his left hand, and with a knife in the other, he takes
up one of the leaves of gold, and by dexterous management,
spreads it out smoothly on the cushion. He then considers the width
of the moulding, (which is laid before him,) and determines how he
can best cut up the leaf of gold so as to adapt the pieces to the
width of the moulding:—if for instance a slip one inch in width will
cover the width of the moulding, he cuts the leaf into three equal
pieces. He is next provided with a flat camel-hair brush, called a tip,
the hairs of which are from one to two inches in length, and laid
parallel with great regularity.
His tools being thus ready, he wets a small portion of the
moulding by means of a camel-hair pencil dipped in water, and,
taking the tip in his right hand, he lays the hairs on one of the slips
of gold, which slightly adheres to it. This slip of gold he transfers to
the moulding, where it instantly adheres by means of the water with
which the latter is wetted. Another portion is wetted in a similar
manner, and another slip of gold laid on, one end of which is made
to lap a little way over the one first laid on. A third slip is now laid on
in a similar manner; and by this time the first leaf of gold is all used.
A second is therefore laid out smooth by means of the knife,—cut
into three pieces,—and laid on the moulding as before. This process
continues until the moulding has been gilt in its whole extent. We
may remark, that the moulding is placed in an inclined position, the
higher end being first gilt: this is done in order that the water should
gradually flow off from beneath the pieces of gold after they are laid
on, to facilitate the drying.
When the gold—or rather the wetted gold size which is beneath it
—has attained a certain degree of dryness known only by
experience, and which occurs in a time varying from one to twelve
hours according to the state of the atmosphere, the gold is
burnished by means of a burnisher made of flint, agate, or bone.
This, if carefully done, produces a brilliant gloss, but could not be at
all attained without the layers of whiting and gold size under the
gold. Sometimes a portion of the moulding is preferred, for relief and
contrast, to be left dead or matt, as it is termed. In this case the
burnisher is not used; but the gold, after it is dried, is merely
secured by a thin clear cement or varnish of parchment size.
The Process of Oil-Gilding.
Sometimes no burnishing at all is required, while a degree of
durability which cannot be conveniently obtained with burnish-
gilding is desired. In this case the moulding is gilt in oil gold, by a
process differing in many respects from that which we have
mentioned.
For oil-gilding a ground of whiting and size is required, as in
burnish-gilding, but not in so great quantity. After the application of
a few coats of whiting and size, the moulding is smoothed in the
manner before described; and in some cases a few coats of burnish
gold size are applied, but not always. The next process is to wash
the moulding with two or three coatings of strong size, by which it
acquires a gloss somewhat similar to that produced by varnish, and
which has the effect of preventing the absorption of the substance
next employed.
The moulding is now ready to receive the oil gold size, which is an
exceedingly smooth mixture of ochre and oil. This is laid on in a
stratum as thin and smooth as possible; and after being set aside for
some hours, it acquires a peculiar degree of clamminess between
wet and dry; when it is ready to receive the coating of gold. The
gold is blown into the cushion, spread out, cut into slips, taken up by
the tip, and applied to the work, in the same manner as in burnish-
gilding; but the moulding is not wetted with water, the partially dry
oil gold size serving that purpose. The gold is, in this case, pressed
down into the hollows and crevices of the moulding, by means of a
piece of cotton wool; and when the whole is gilt, a soft brush is
lightly applied, by which the gold is worked into small depressions,
which it would not otherwise have reached, and the superfluous gold
is rubbed off. The gold is now left as it is, or is washed with
transparent size, or receives a coat of varnish. In either case it
becomes in a short time so far hardened as to be susceptible of
washing without being rubbed off.
Gilding Enriched Ornaments.
The description which has been given of the process with
reference to the mouldings used by the paper-hanger will also apply
to most other articles with which the gilder is concerned. But in
proportion to the elaborate nature of the article must be the care
bestowed by the gilder. This particularly applies in the case of an
elegant carved looking-glass frame.
The richly ornamented frames, window-cornices, mouldings, &c.,
which form a great part of the work of the gilder, are in general not
carved in wood, but are cast in moulds, and are made of a tough
and durable composition formed principally of glue and whiting. The
ornaments, when cast, are fixed on wood frame-work or foundation,
and in that state pass into the hands of the gilder. His mode of
treating them is somewhat different from that required by a straight
plain piece of moulding:—the material itself does not require so
many layers of whiting and size as those articles which are made
wholly of wood; and the difficulty of smoothing intricate and
ornamental surfaces renders many precautions necessary.
Sometimes the cornice of a room, or a portion of it, and also the
central ornament of the ceiling, are gilt. This is generally done in oil
gold; and as the material of which they are made, viz., plaster of
Paris, very much resembles whiting, scarcely any of the last-
mentioned substance is required to be applied by the gilder.
We may here state, in connexion with what has been said about
gilt mouldings for rooms, that the paper-hanger fixes them to the
wall by means of broken needles, or headless brittle needles made
for the purpose. The pieces of moulding are cut to the required
length, and mitred, so as to join accurately at the corner; after
which they are fastened to the wall by driving in some of the needles
at distances of two or three feet.
Chapter XI.
A MODEL DWELLING-HOUSE.
The late Sir John Robison’s House at
Edinburgh.
The various contrivances for rendering a dwelling-house complete
in all that respects the comfort of the inmates, could not perhaps be
better illustrated than by taking some actual instance, and showing
what has really been effected. The late Sir John Robison, an
enlightened man of science at Edinburgh, erected a house in the
north-west part of that city, and fitted it up with a care which has
been rarely observed in other places. So much has this house been
regarded as a model, that a full description of it has been given in
the Supplement to Loudon’s Encyclopædia of Cottage and Villa
Architecture; and we propose to give an abstract of such portions of
this description as can be understood without the aid of elaborate
drawings.
The distribution of the internal space of the house is so managed,
that, with the exception of two partitions in the first chamber-floor,
which cross the floors without resting on them, all the internal walls
reach from the foundation to the roof. The two partitions here
mentioned are of stone, and are supported on cast-iron beams
isolated from the floors, the joists of which are supported by wooden
beams placed alongside, but not connected with the iron beam. The
movements of the flooring, therefore, are not communicated to the
partitions, and do not consequently affect them by vibration.
The arrangement of the rooms, staircases, and passages, has
especial reference to the ventilation of the whole house. While the
mass of air in the rooms and passages is constantly undergoing
renewal by the escape of the vitiated air above, and the admission
of large supplies of fresh air from below, no currents are perceived
in the apartments, which, even when crowded with company, and
amply lighted, preserve a remarkable degree of freshness. Cylindrical
flues of earthenware, nine inches in diameter, are built into the
gables, in close proximity to the smoke flues of each room; and the
lower ends of these ventilating flues open into the spaces between
the ceilings of the respective rooms and the floors of those above
them; and there is one or more of these exit air-flues in each room,
according to its size and use. The heated and vitiated vapours pass
upwards through the ceiling by a continuous opening of about one
inch and a half wide (behind one of the fillets of the cornice) all
round each room; and having thus passed into the space between
the ceiling and the floor immediately above, they ascend by the flues
in the wall, and are discharged by them into the vacant space
between the ceilings of the attics and the roof, from whence they
find their way through the slates to the open air. The passage for the
air through the cornice is not visible from the floor of any of the
rooms, an ornamental moulding being so arranged as to conceal it.
The air flues are made to terminate above the ceilings of the attics,
and below the roof of the house, rather than at the chimney heads,
in order to prevent the possibility of smoke being over brought down
by reverse currents; and an advantage is likewise gained in
protecting the attic story from the cold which would otherwise be
communicated from the roof during winter.
The continued supply of fresh air to the lower part of the house,
to replace that which is carried off by the ventilators and by the
chimneys, is brought in from the garden behind the house by a
passage, the sectional area of which is eight square feet. The cold
air admitted by this passage (or by another similar one from the
front of the house) is made to pass over a stove in a lower chamber
having a surface of nearly ninety square feet, so that a temperature
of from 64° to 70° Fahr., can thus be imparted to the air. In very cold
weather, 70° is occasionally given to compensate the cooling effect
of the walls and glass windows, so as to preserve an equable
temperature of 60° throughout the house; but the usual
temperature of the air issuing from the stove is as low as 64°. The
whole of this air is discharged into the well of the staircase, which
forms a reservoir from whence the rooms draw the quantity required
to maintain the upward currents in the chimneys and in the
ventilating flues. The air in the staircase finds its way into the
apartments by masked passages, of four or five inches wide, and
four feet long, over the doors, and by openings an inch in width left
under each door. The sectional areas of these passages are more
than equal to the areas of the chimney and ventilating flues; there
is, therefore, no rarefaction of the air within the rooms, nor any
tendency of the external air to enter at chinks of windows or other
irregular apertures. The course of the air, from the great aperture
over the stove, through the staircases, over and under the doors,
into the rooms, thence through the ceilings, and upwards by the
escape flues, forms a continuous series, in which all the air for all
the rooms comes from one central point, and is raised at that centre
to the precise temperature required. The quantity of escape is
regulated by hand, by means of throttle-valves at the mouth of each
escape flue; hence, by opening or shutting each throttle-valve, the
rate of the ventilating current is augmented or diminished.
The kitchen is ventilated on the same principle as the upper
rooms. One flue proceeds from the ceiling over the fire-place, and
another from over a gas-cooking apparatus. The first of these is built
in the gable, close to the smoke flue; and the second passes up near
the back of the water cistern, so that the constant ascent of the
warmed air may by its vicinity prevent the water in the cistern from
freezing in the winter.
The house is lighted by gas in every part; but no offensive vapour
or inconvenience of any kind appears ever to be felt from it. The
distribution pipes are of greater diameter than are generally
employed, and the pressure or current is thereby so equalized, that
no sinkings or flutterings of the flame are caused by the opening and
shutting of doors. The forms and proportions of the Argand burners
and glass chimneys are also so arranged as to effect nearly a
maximum development of light (of an agreeable hue) from the gas,
and to prevent any disengagement of sooty vapour; and the white
and gold ceilings of the drawing-room are said to attest the
complete success with which this latter object has been attained.
The mirrors over the chimney-pieces have statuary marble frames,
and each chimney-piece has two gas lights. But the use of gas in the
kitchen is perhaps the most remarkable. Here there is a gas-cooking
apparatus. In the application of gas for cooking, the arrangements
are generally as follow:—A metallic ring, pierced on its upper side
with a great number of holes of very small size, is attached to the
pipe communicating with the gas main, and is placed within a
double drum or cylinder of iron, raised an inch or two from the floor
on short legs. This double cylinder is so constructed as to leave a
space between the inner and the outer cylinder of about two inches;
and in this space near to the bottom, the pierced ring is fixed. A
stop-cock in the pipe connecting the pierced ring with the gas main
shuts off the supply of gas when the stove is not in use. On opening
the cock, and applying the gas to the pierced ring, a brilliant ring of
flame is immediately produced, which soon heats both cylinders. The
air within the inner cylinder ascends into the room, which it helps to
warm; the outer surface of the outer cylinder also performs a similar
service; while the space between the two cylinders contains the
products of combustion, which are allowed to escape into the room,
if the heating power of the whole is required; but which are carried
off by an inclosed channel, if it be wished to protect the air of the
room from deleterious mixture.
In this house, the gas-cooking stoves are eight in number, the
mouth of each being four inches in diameter, a size which experience
has shown to be the most useful. The kitchen fire-place is no larger
than is requisite for roasting; all the other processes being
performed either in the oven, the steaming vessels, or at the gas
stoves. These stoves are placed in the bay of a large window, thus
giving the cook the advantage of a good light above the level of the
pans. A close boiler at the back of the grate affords steam for the
cooking utensils and for a hot closet; it also contains a coil of iron
tubing, through which the water of a bath, placed in a dressing-
room on the chamber floor, is made to circulate when a hot bath is
wanted.
The flues for carrying off heated vapours, &c., are of two kinds. It
has already been stated, that the vitiated air of the rooms is
convoyed by apertures just below the ceiling into pipes which find an
exit at the top of the house. These flues are made of cylinders of red
earthenware, eight or nine inches in diameter. Those by which the
smoke of the fires is carried away, are cylinders of fire-brick clay,
from two to three inches thick, and from seven to ten inches in
diameter. In each fire-place, where the throat of the chimney is
contracted over the grate, there is a valve made of rolled iron plate,
which fits into a cast-iron seat fixed in the brick-work; when this
valve is in its seat, neither soot nor smoke can pass; and when it is
thrown back, the passage to the flue is unobstructed.
After describing the mortise locks for the doors, and the
arrangements of some French windows for opening into a balcony,
both of which exhibit ingenious and novel features, Mr. Loudon
quotes a letter from Mr. Hay, of Edinburgh, the author of a Treatise
on Harmonious Colouring, and who superintended the interior
decorations of the house. The drawing-rooms are first spoken of
thus:—The walls have been prepared with several coats of white
lead, grained to imitate morocco leather; on this a pattern of gilded
rosettes has been laid, and the whole varnished with copal. Another
pattern has then been superadded in flat white, so that the whole
has been compared in appearance to a lace-dress over satin and
spangles. Mr. Hay says: “There is nothing very much out of my usual
practice in the painting done in Sir John Robison’s house in Randolph
Crescent, except the walls of the drawing-rooms and staircase. The
bed-rooms were done in the usual way; namely, ceilings sized on
two coats of oil paint; walls papered with a white embossed satin-
ground paper, with small brown sprigs; and the wood-work painted
white, and finished with copal varnish. The dining-room and Sir
John’s own room were both done in imitation of wainscot, with white
ceilings, varnished. The staircase ceilings and cornices painted white
and flatted; and the walls and wood-work painted also white, and
varnished with copal. The drawing-rooms and ante-rooms were all
painted white; the ceilings and cornices, as well as the wood-work,
being finished flat, and heightened with gilding. The walls are, as I
have already said, rather peculiar in their style of painting. The
ground work is rendered regularly uneven by being granulated—by
working it over with the point of a dry brush, immediately applying
the two last coats of paint. This is partly varnished and partly flat,
the flat parts forming large rosettes. Between these rosettes are
smaller ones, gilded, not in the base-metal used upon paper-
hangings, but in sterling gold leaf. This style of decorative painting,
from the great body of paint employed in producing the granulated
surface, the copal varnish, and the gold leaf, must be of the most
durable description. I may here mention, that during the last two or
three years, I have painted a very great number of drawing-rooms in
various styles, some with rich borders, others in my patent imitation
of damask, and a few in styles similar to that employed upon Sir J.
Robison’s; and have papered very few. I feel very sure, that as the
advantages of painting over papering, especially in the public rooms
of a mansion, become generally known, the latter style of decoration
will be entirely given up. As to the colouring of ceilings, that must be
left in a great measure to the taste of the proprietor; as some like
pure white, others delicate tints, and a few go the length of the
most intense colours, or polychrome. With this last class I myself
agree; but I am at the same time aware, that if this be not done
with the most strict attention to the laws of harmonious colouring,
the effect must be bad; it would be like a person unacquainted with
the science of music, running his fingers at random over the keys of
a powerful organ. In the one case, white, or a light tint, is better
than colours; and in the other, silence better than such an attempt at
music.”
A Beau-ideal English Villa.

The work from which the above has been derived, viz., Loudon’s
Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture, contains a
chapter contributed by an anonymous writer, but devoted to a
singular and interesting subject. The object is to lay down rules for
the construction and furnishing of a villa which should be the beau-
ideal—the standard of excellence—of this class of dwelling-house.
He describes the characteristics of the old English country-house;
and, taking that as his model, shows how modern improvements
may be brought to bear on the general arrangements of the
building. The description is too long to be given here in full, even if it
were right so to do; but we will condense into a few paragraphs
those details which relate to the construction and fittings of the
house, omitting all those matters which relate only to furniture.
The residence here described, or rather imagined, is the country
house of an English gentleman of ample means, but partaking much
more of the manorial than of the palatial character. The term villa is
not perhaps so fixed in meaning as to convey to every one the same
idea of the kind of building alluded to. The word was originally used
by the Romans to denote a farm-house, with the offices requisite for
the accommodation of a husbandman. Afterwards, when luxury
increased, the term villa was applied to the country residence of an
opulent Roman citizen. It is in a somewhat similar style that the
word is here to be used.
The villa being a place of agreeable retirement, but not one of
seclusion from the world, it should be situated within reach of a
public road, at an easy distance from the metropolis. “I should prefer
a situation removed about a mile from the great public road, and
about ninety miles or a day’s journey from the metropolis. Here I
would inclose a park of 100 or 150 acres; bounded on the north and
west sides by lofty wooded hills; on another side by a road; and
elsewhere by the inclosed country of the district; the surface of the
park varied, but gently inclining to the south, with a rapid stream of
water passing through it at no great distance from the site of the
house.”
A villa (the writer proceeds to say) should always form part of a
village, and be placed if possible on rather higher ground. The old
English style of architecture is preferred; as being more picturesque
and ornamental; as according best with rural scenery; as, by
admitting great irregularity of form, it affords space for the various
offices and conveniences necessary in a country house; and as being
better suited to our climate than the Grecian style, which, by
requiring porticoes, projecting cornices, and windows of rather small
size, tends to intercept the light and make the house gloomy. The
old style also allows more variety of ornament upon the roof, such as
the stacks of chimneys, gables, pinnacles, turrets, and other
appendages to the general effect of a building when seen at a
distance; whereas in the Grecian style, which requires perfect
symmetry of form, and the prevalence of straight lines, these
arrangements could not be admissible. For these reasons an old
English or “Elizabethan” house is selected. The front of the house
would present a centre and two projecting wings. The centre would
contain the hall and dining-room, with a gallery and staircase behind
them. One wing would be occupied by the drawing-room and library,
with the saloon between them. The other wing might contain a
sitting-room, and superior offices for servants; the inferior offices
being on the basement, or in a separate building in the kitchen-
court. The principal part should be highly ornamented, and form a
symmetrical whole. In the centre would be the porch of two stories,
with its rich gable, small pillars, escutcheons, &c.; the wall on either
side (broken into compartments by pilasters, or handsome
buttresses, and proper string-courses) would contain large mullioned
windows; the whole supporting a battlement or parapet, with its
appropriate ornaments. The ends of the projecting windows would
present each a bay window of two stories, square or semicircular in
form, with balustrade or stone covering above; the gables of the
wings corresponding with that of the porch. The high and steep roof
should be varied by ornamental chimneys of different patterns,
placed in their proper situations; and, rising above them, the tower,
containing the grand staircase, appearing at a short distance behind
the porch; its waving cupola roof terminating in a rich lantern, and
supporting a weathercock or dwarf spire.
After giving his reasons for thinking that a country residence in the
Elizabethan style should have a kind of rich framework of courts and
gateways, balustraded terraces, and architectural gardens, the writer
proceeds to describe the interior of his supposed edifice, beginning
with the porch. This should be ascended by a flight of stone steps; it
should be floored with stone; and the ceiling, the door, and the
door-way, highly enriched.
The entrance-hall, which succeeds the porch, would vary in its
character according to the size of the house. In the large old English
mansions it was formerly the dining-room and place of rendezvous
for the servants and retainers; but in a smaller house, such as might
be termed a villa, and especially under the altered habits of English
society, a smaller hall, and one more nearly resembling a mere
entrance, would be fitting. An English hall admits of much
picturesque embellishment, such as a carved oak roof or ceiling,
either flat or semicircular, enriched with highly-wrought bosses or
coats of arms; a music gallery across the end, supported by pillars or
a carved screen; a chimney-piece reaching to the cornice of the roof;
and a carved wainscot covering half the height of the walls.
Having entered the porch-door, and crossed the lower end of the
hall, entrance would be gained to the gallery, a sort of an in-door
promenade, between the hall and the staircase; having one door
leading to the saloon, another to the billiard-room, and another to
the domestic offices. “The staircase is an important convenience in
every house; and it should always be a striking feature in a mansion
of any elegance. The tower, which I suppose to contain the
staircase, would be square, as high as the ceiling of the upper floor,
where it would take a sort of octagon form; the roof coned, and
ending in a lantern: in the centre of the lantern a boss would
support a lamp. In the side, opposite to the arch by which you enter,
would be a tall mullioned window filled with stained glass. Advancing
a few steps, you would reach the first flight in the middle of the
tower, and ascend to the first landing-place; you would find a flight
of stairs on the right and left leading to the second landing, in the
centre of which is the upper gallery door, immediately over the arch
below. As the house is to be in the old English style, the stairs might
be either of oak or stone; but the balusters must be of oak
handsomely carved, and rather heavy. They might begin at the foot
of the stairs with a richly-carved sort of pedestal, and the same at
each corner as they ascend. In old staircases there was frequently
an animal of some sort sculptured in wood, supporting the family
arms, placed on these pedestals, especially at the foot of the stairs;
or the animal had a substitute in a ball or pine-apple.”
The chief apartments on the ground floor are described as being
the saloon, the drawing-room, the library, the dining-room, and the
study. The saloon is generally a sort of vestibule to the dining-
rooms; and, supposing it to be such in this case, and of a
parallelogram form, its arrangement is thus sketched:—The entrance
door is in the centre of the side next the gallery; in the centre of the
end on the right hand would be the drawing-room door, and in the
centre of the other end the library door. On the other side should be
two windows, with a glass door between them opening to the
terrace and garden. The drawing-room would be larger than the
saloon. On entering from the saloon the opposite end would present
a square or circular bay-window, commanding a view of the park
and the distant country beyond it. On the right side would be the
fire-place, and on the opposite side two windows looking over the
terrace.
Crossing the saloon from the drawing-room we should arrive at
the library. This would be about the same size as the drawing-room,
and would, like it, have a bay window opposite the entrance, and
two other windows opposite the fire-place. This room, it is
supposed, would be the family sitting-room when there is no
company in the house; and would be the forenoon resort of the
gentlemen when guests are stopping at the house; and hence arises
a very minute and curious detail of the manner in which the library
should be fitted up, in order to answer this double purpose. These,
however, we cannot enter upon; but the following will give an idea
of the manner in which this imaginative house-builder fills up the
rooms of his villa:—“As to the smaller ornaments to be placed
around the room, they should be curious and interesting, and on no
account frivolous. Handsome silver inkstands, a few curious fossils,
or models of celebrated buildings; all sorts of writing-cases and
implements, taper stands of silver, boxes of coins, old china in large
jars, and anything of these kinds, with handsome books, might
decorate the tables; and, as nothing gives a room a more dismal
effect than an appearance of idleness, everything should be so
arranged, both here and in the drawing-room, as if the persons
using the rooms had been employed in some way or other. This
effect would be produced by the daily papers, and some periodical
works, and open letters received in the morning, on the principal
tables; and, on other tables, some of the blotting-books might be
open; the inkstands not thoroughly in order, with some unfinished
writing and open books or portfolios, would give at least the
appearance of industry. I do not recommend such foolish tricks,
which are, I know, often used by idle people, who have sense
enough to feel the bad taste of indolence; and in a sensible family,
who spent their time rationally, this would be, in fact, the usual state
of the room, at least during the morning.”
The dining-room of the beau-ideal villa is contiguous to the hall,
whence entrance is obtained by double doors. The walls are covered
with old oak wainscot. The fire-place should be very large, reaching
nearly to the ceiling, and all the fittings and arrangements of a
massive, solid, and handsome kind. The gentleman’s study, or
business room, would be a smaller, plainer, and more strictly private
room, on the same floor, and used for writing, reading, and
transacting business.
Having disposed of the principal apartments, the writer proceeds
to describe the rooms on the next floor above, occupied chiefly as
bed-rooms. The grand staircase leads up to a second gallery, over
the lower one; and in this gallery are the doors of all the best
sleeping-rooms. The sitting and sleeping nurseries are also on this
floor; as is likewise the governess’s sitting-room, “in a quiet part of
the house.” The bed-rooms for the servants are on the upper floor,
approached by the back staircase.
Then we descend to the basement of the house, where the
various servants’ rooms are situated. The housekeeper’s room
should be a spacious comfortable room, furnished as a respectable
parlour; and so situated that the other offices may be overlooked by
the housekeeper. A door in this room should open into the still-room,
which is the common sitting-room of the under female servants, and
where portions of the ordinary operations are carried on. A store-
closet opens conveniently into the still-room, and has conveniences
for arranging the stores and provisions as they are unpacked. The
butler’s pantry, being the room in which the plate is lodged, should
be placed in a part secluded from the back entrance to the house,
and should have strong doors and window-shutters to prevent
depredation. The servants’ hall would be near the back entrance to
the house, and easy of access. Here all the under servants would
dine, and it would be the common sitting-room for the males. The
larders, if the house were large, would be four in number; the wet
larder for undressed meat, the dry larder for cold meat, the game
larder, and the pastry.
The kitchen, as being one of the most important rooms in a
hospitable mansion, is treated with due importance. The writer
describes the arrangements in the kitchen of a mansion in
Warwickshire, as being fitted to serve as a model. “The kitchen,
scullery, larder, &c., formed a range of building on one side of the
kitchen-court, separate from the house, but there was a covered
way between them. The building was of two stories, the kitchen
occupying the centre. It was a large lofty room, of good proportions,
as high as two stories of the building. You entered it at one end, by
large folding-doors, from a passage through the building; at the
opposite end was the fire-place, with the screen before it; on one
side of which was the door to the scullery and bakehouse, on the
other a range of set coppers of different sizes. On one side of the
room were two rows of windows, and under the lower row a range
of charcoal stoves and hot plates: the latter to keep things warm.
The other side had only the upper row of windows, and against the
wall was a dresser, above which the copper cooking utensils, &c.,
were ranged in a very ornamental way. A long table was in the
centre of the room, and over the door a dial-clock. The ceiling had a
very handsome cornice, and a boss in the centre, from which hung a
brass lamp. Opposite the entrance door another door admitted you
to a passage, on one side of which were the larders, on the other
salting-rooms, &c.; and at the end a staircase led to the cook’s
apartment over. There was a sort of turret in the centre of the roof,
containing a capital clock, which struck upon the dinner bell. The
other offices were in the basement of the house, and the kitchen
was detached, to prevent the annoyance of the smell of cooking,
which commonly ascends from a kitchen beneath the house. I
thought the arrangement particularly convenient, and the kitchen
was really an elegant apartment. As, in a large establishment, there
is cooking going on through the whole day, it is of importance to the
comfort of the family, to place the kitchen in such a situation that
the smell of cooking, which is particularly offensive, may not be an
annoyance to the principal apartments. A house with the kitchen in
the basement story is generally subject to this inconvenience, and it
is usually avoided by having the kitchen and offices in a separate
building adjoining the house.”
The writer continues his remarks and descriptions in a similar
manner, treating of all the various parts of the building in
succession; then of the riding-house, the stable-yard, the coach-
houses, the harness and saddle rooms, and the dog-kennel; then of
the kitchen garden, the pleasure garden, the dairy, the farm
buildings for a “gentleman farmer;” and, lastly, of the village and the
village church, so far as regards the relation between them and the
mansion. In short, this writer seems to have proposed to himself this
question—“What are the excellencies to be desired and attained in
the mansion of an English country gentleman?” and he appears to
have solved it by putting together the scattered fragments of his
experience in various quarters, and building up an ideal mansion
therefrom.
chapter xii.
FIRE-PROOF HOUSES.
The attempts which have been made to render houses fire-proof
are so intimately connected with the construction of dwellings, that
it will be proper to give a few brief details on the subject. There are
many difficulties attending these attempts; for so long as wood
forms the chief inner frame-work of a house, there will always be
considerable liability to destruction by fire. Most of the proposed
plans have had relation to the coating of the wood with some
substance which should render it less inflammable, while others
have been directed rather to the rejection of combustible substances
from the list of those used in house-building.
So long back as 1775, Mr. Hartley made several trials in order to
test the efficacy of a method invented by him for that purpose. Thin
iron plates were nailed to the top of the joists; the edges of the
sides and ends being lapped over, folded close, and hammered
together. Partitions, stairs, and floors were proposed to be defended
in the same manner. The plates were so thin as not to prevent the
floor from being nailed on the joists in the same manner as if the
iron were not used; and the plates were kept from rust by being
painted or varnished with oil and turpentine. Mr. Hartley had a
patent for this invention; and Parliament voted a sum of money
towards defraying the expense of his numerous experiments. It does
not, however, appear that the plan was permanently adopted.
About the same period, Lord Mahon, afterwards Earl Stanhope, a
nobleman possessing a highly inventive tact in mechanical matters,
brought forward another method having the same object in view.
This method was of a three-fold character, comprising under-
flooring, extra-lathing, and inter-securing.
The method of under-flooring is either single or double. In single
under-flooring, a common strong lath of oak or fir, about one-fourth
of an inch thick, should be nailed against each side of every joist,
and of every main timber, supporting the floor which is to be
secured. Other similar laths are then to be nailed along the whole
length of the joists, with their ends butting against each other. The
top of each of these laths or fillets ought to be at an inch and a half
below the top of the joists or timbers against which they are nailed;
and they will thus form a sort of small ledge on each side of all the
joists. These fillets are to be well bedded in a rough plaster when
they are nailed on, so that there may be no interval between them
and the joists; and the same plaster ought to be spread with a
trowel upon the tops of all the fillets, and along the sides of that
part of the joists which is between the top of the fillets and the
upper edge of the joints. In order to fill up the intervals between the
joists that support the floor, short pieces of common laths, whose
length is equal to the width of these intervals, should be laid in the
contrary direction to the joists, and close together in a row, so as to
touch one another; their ends must rest upon the fillets, and they
ought to be well bedded in the rough plaster, but are not to be
fastened with nails. They must then be covered with one thick coat
of the rough plaster, which is to be spread over them to the level of
the tops of the joists; and, in a day or two this plaster should be
trowelled over, close to the sides of the joists, without covering the
tops of the joists with it.
In the method of double-flooring, the fillets and short pieces of
laths are applied in the same manner as here noticed; but the coat
of rough plaster ought to be little more than half as thick as that in
the former method. Whilst the rough plaster is being laid on, some
more of the short pieces of laths must be laid in the intervals
between the joists upon the first coat, and be dipped deep in it.
They should be laid as close as possible to each other, and in the
same direction with the first layer of short laths. Over this second
layer of short laths there must be spread another coat of rough
plaster, which should be trowelled level with the tops of the joists,
without rising above them. The rough plaster may be made of
coarse lime and hair; or, instead of hair, hay chopped to about three
inches in length may be substituted with advantage. One measure of
common rough sand, two measures of slaked lime, and three
measures of chopped hay, will form in general a very good
proportion, when sufficiently beaten up together in the manner of
common mortar. The hay should be put in after the two other
ingredients are well mixed up together with water. This plaster
should be made stiff; and when the flooring boards are required to
be laid down very soon, a fourth or fifth part of quicklime in powder,
formed by dropping a small quantity of water on the limestone
shortly before it is used, and well mixed with this rough plaster, will
cause it to dry quickly. If any cracks appear in the rough plaster
work near the joists, when it is thoroughly dry, they ought to be
closed by washing them over with a brush wet with mortar wash:
this wash may be prepared by putting two measures of quicklime
and one of common sand into a vessel, and stirring the mixture with
water till the water becomes of the consistence of a thin jelly.
Before the flooring boards are laid, a small quantity of very dry
common sand should be strewed over the plaster work, and struck
smooth with a hollow rule moved in the direction of the joists, so
that it may lie rounding between each pair of joists. The plaster
work and sand should be perfectly dry, before the boards are laid,
for fear of the dry rot. The method of under-flooring may be applied
to a wooden staircase, but no sand is to be laid upon the rough
plaster work. The method of extra-lathing maybe applied to ceiling
joists, to sloping roofs, and to wooden partitions. The third method,
which is that of inter-securing, is very similar to that of under-
flooring; but no sand is afterwards to be laid on. Inter-securing is
applicable to the parts of a building as the method of extra-lathing.
Such is a general outline of the modes proposed by Lord Mahon
for rendering houses fire-proof; in which it will be seen that the
safeguard consists in the use of a non-combustible material, with,
and among, and between the pieces of wood forming the frame-
work of a house.
The more recent attempts to gain the same object by means
somewhat similar have been very numerous; some of which we may
here notice as examples of the whole.
An American patent was granted in 1837 to a Mr. Louis Pambœuf,
for the invention of a fire-proof paint. The mode of preparing it is
thus described. A quantity of the best quicklime is selected, and
slacked with water in a covered vessel; when the slacking is
complete, water, or skimmed milk, or a mixture of both, is added to
the lime, and mixed up with it to the consistence of cream. When
milk is not used a solution of rice paste is employed, obtained by
boiling eight pounds of rice to every hundred gallons of paint. When
the creamy liquor is prepared, alum, potash, and common salt are
added, in the proportion of twenty pounds of alum, fifteen pounds of
potash, and a bushel of salt, to every hundred gallons of the paint.
If the paint is to be white, six pounds of prepared plaster of Paris
and the same quantity of fine white clay are added to the above
proportions of the other ingredients. All these ingredients being
mingled, the mixture is strained through a fine sieve, and then
ground in a colour-mill.
When roofs are to be covered, or when crumbling brick walls are
to be coated, fine white sand is mixed with the paint, in the
proportion of one pound to ten gallons of paint; this addition being
made with a view to giving the ingredients a binding or petrifying
quality. In applying this paint, except in very warm weather, it is
prepared in a hot state; and in very cold weather precautions are
necessary to prevent it from freezing. Three coats of this paint are
deemed in most cases sufficient.
In another variety of this paint oil is the chief liquid ingredient. To
prepare it forty gallons of boiled linseed oil are mixed with slacked
lime to the consistence of a paint; and to this are added two pounds
of alum, one pound of potash, and eight pounds of common salt; or
good wood-ashes may be substituted for the potash. This paint is
used in the same manner as other paint; and any colour may be
obtained by adding the usual pigments to the composition.
The preparation of a kind of paint containing alkalies seems to
have been a favourite measure among inventors of “fire-proof”
composition; for many of the modern projects have had this for its
basis. But in most cases there have not been means for determining
the degree of efficacy possessed by these compositions. There were,
however, a few years ago trials made of rather an interesting
character, which were described in the public journals, and which
were of the following nature.
In 1838, a company was formed for the sale and use of a
composition of this kind, and an experiment was made in the
Clapham Road to show its efficacy. The house, which was a small
one, had been built in the usual way, with the intention of being
fitted up in the ordinary style. While yet a mere shell, all the boards,
timbers, floors, ceilings, stairs, and wood-work generally, were
coated thickly with a greyish or slate-coloured composition, which
dried to a state of great hardness.
On a particular day the upper floor was covered with shavings in
great abundance, to which a number of deal planks were
subsequently added. The first floor front room was fitted up as a
chamber, with bed and furniture, chairs, tables, &c., as nearly as
possible in the usual style. The shavings and wood on the upper
floor were then kindled, as were also planks and shavings placed on
the floor of the furnished room. The consequence of this was that
the two rooms speedily exhibited a blaze of light: the whole of the
furniture (purposely selected of an inexpensive kind) being ignited.
The flames burst from the windows; but although the entire
contents of the room were consumed, the fire did not communicate
to the floor above, nor to that beneath, nor even to the other room
on the same floor. Several small parcels of gunpowder were
introduced between the ceiling of the burning room and the floor of
the room above it; but they did not ignite; nor were the other parts
of the house injured in any material degree.
Another trial took place at the White Conduit Gardens; where two
close wooden buildings, of the size and shape of sentry boxes, were

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AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD

First edition 2006

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system

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For information on all Newnes publications

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Chapter 1 Using the book 1

Chapter 2 The AutoCAD 2006 graphics screen 2

Chapter 4 The 2D drawing aids 21

Chapter 5 Saving and opening drawings 29

Chapter 6 Standard sheet 1 34

Chapter 7 Line and circle object creation 38

Chapter 8 Object snap 48

Chapter 9 Creating arcs, donuts, ellipses, points and polygons 54

Chapter 11 Creating a working drawing 78

Chapter 12 Using the Modify commands 1 80

Chapter 14 Dimensioning 113

Chapter 15 The MODIFY commands 2 129

Chapter 16 Grips 139

Chapter 17 Viewing drawings 146

Chapter 18 Hatching 152

Chapter 19 Drawing assistance and information 165

Chapter 20 Polylines 175

Chapter 21 Additional draw and modify commands 187

Chapter 22 The array command 194

Chapter 23 Changing object properties 201

Chapter 24 Text tables 210

Chapter 25 Tolerances 217

Chapter 26 Using various units and paper sizes 225

Chapter 27 Multilines, complex lines and groups 231

Chapter 28 Blocks and attributes 241

Chapter 29 Wblocks and external references 261

Chapter 30 Dynamic blocks 271

Chapter 31 The Design Center 281

Chapter 32 Pictorial drawings 292

Chapter 33 Model and paper space 300

Chapter 34 Templates, standards and sheets 309

Chapter 35 Toolbars and tool palettes 323

Chapter 36 File formats 329

Concepts for using this book

Starting AutoCAD 2006

The graphics screen

Figure 2.1 The AutoCAD 2006 graphics screen.

The Standard toolbar

Layer, Properties and Styles toolbars

The Windows buttons

The Windows taskbar

The Status bar