Hand Lettering

Units are important, but can be made shorthand, i.e. ' for feet and m for meters, °xx'xx" for angles.

I wasn't taught hand lettering other than to say, my handwriting was bad and I was told to improve it. 

Today's students need some boundaries and a whole lot of autonomy.  I'd say if it gets the job done, leave it alone.

I'm from the old school! Ink hand lettering in senior year of high school in drafting class. Then practice, practice. practice. Worked in the office during winter months as Engineering Technologist so hand lettering was important. Then LeRoy lettering guides came along which made for uniform appearing plats and plans.

If an engineer's or land surveyor's hand-writting is not legible serious problems can arise [especially if the numerals are not clealy understood]..

In my retired years I am tutoring children and adults . . . making sure they develop good penmanship.

Hank Berg, PLS [Retired]

I'm not one of those who believes that young people need to be taught how to chain or how to hand draft to be a good surveyor. To me, that is like making a kid learn to ride a horse before teaching him to drive a car.

A little learning of the old methods can be valuable.  Becoming expert at them is wasted time. 

Even if they don't hand-draft, being able to write out a readable note with a pencil, or edit a printout legibly, is useful. 

You still carry a tape in the truck don't you?  Sufficient technique with it can be important, even if you don't do traverses long enough to need chaining pins.  And the experience will give insight to the surveys they are helping retrace.

From knee high to a grasshopper, I was taught that using proper context and being neat was a part of the grade, whatever the subject of the class.

That and giving a good effort should keep someone from failing completely. It was also the determining factor between receiving an A+ and receiving the highest grade in the class when all the answers were correct.

Without being legible, what are the notes and calculations worth?

With that said, this is how I see it in the classroom. That is the place to learn the most and to put in the most effort when there is time for developing the skills necessary to do the job later. Even if a person's best is not always good enough, the attempt to do so is important and honing skills is what school is all about.

I will still complain today when someone gives me worksheets and notes that are not readible, even by the author.

I certainly think organization and completeness of the field record is an important professional trait. I can't say I have been all that good at it, but over the years I do appreciate the ability to find you records and for it to accurately and completely reflect what happened and what you found and what you did in the field. To a certain degree legibility is important as is form.

One pet peave mentioned is units.  Not sure how critical that is in field books, but I am amazed at how much software neglects a failure to state units.  One big offender I am aware of, but my no means the only one is Ashtech Solutions. I was taught in all my years of physics and chemistry that not showing units can be fatal. This is certainly true in medicine and dosage calculations, yet most software I see fails to report the units when SPC can be set to meters, survey feet or international feet and elevations the same.  One should not have to go back into the software settings in order to find out what the damn units are.  It should be in every report and screen table.  Back in the day I was a student If I missed units on a test I would get a zero on the question.  And it Is important.

- jlw

Great thread, and I agree with most all responses.

All I might add is that good handwriting, note taking ability and attention to detail in notes "can never hurt"!!!!  But poor skills here can....

In lettering class. Got a lot more practice in High School Drafting Classes. I disagree about becoming an expert in retro-techniques. If you are expert enough you can dabble in the forensic end of things.
MLB

Self taught while studying surveying. I did have drafting in college but I really taught myself lettering.  I have terrible writing but wanted to learn to keep good field notes.

Hardest was making "8's"  and the letter "a"  

If I were teaching a drafting class, I'd  have some examples on hand of various styles from different periods of time, including real hand work, Leroy, stencil, etc..

I'd emphasize what it took to organize the lettering, the overall layout (i.e., making things fit), the significance of the letter sizes and boldness.

Aside from that, I'm with Mark and Bill .......if I had them actually do any hand lettering at all, it would be for more than one session, just for them to get the idea. Maybe a short homework assignment to organize a title block, or something like that. I wouldn't spend  any large amount of time on it.

I am one of the last in this area to switch over to computerized drafting (I use the present tense since there are still some hand-draftsmen around) but as of 2006, when I switched, I was still getting compliments from engineers, attorneys, and clients who said that a skillfully hand-drawn plan had a more professional look than a computer-generated drawing. I guess there is a more personal feeling to it, as though someone really is standing behind it. But I switched anyway, and I wonder whether others still get such compliments. It's arguable that in this era a hand-drawn plan has more the flavor of a carbon copy of a manually typed letter -- does the job but just looks old and out of touch. I don't think so but some clients etc. might, especially the younger ones.

I do think handwriting should be neat and legible enough for in-house use. I've had to ask employees in the past what this or that (note on a sketch etc.) meant or said and that slows things down. So a bit of schooling in this regard would not be wasted. It's still conceivable that those "in-house" notes might end up as an exhibit in a court case.

I would accept legible hand writing / lettering... it doesn't have to be Leroy, but it has to be readable.

No units is at best 1/2 credit. I would let them slide the first test if I did not specify UNITS IS A MUST in class; however, they would not leave them off anymore.

Do you take roll?

what is attencence? enrollment?

This is a Surveying class for civil engineering technology students.  There are 25 in my class.  I just want them to be neat when handing in homework problems.

I have run into problems with field notes/lath/etc that cannot be read.  It makes perfect sense when you write it, but two years from now it will not make sense, even to the person who wrote it.

Good or bad or pretty or ugly, it has to be legible, or it will cost you.  Might be cheaper to pay in school than when they guy mistakes the number on your lath, and you buy a curb, manhole, or finished floor of a building...

-David

My Dad gave me his copy of "Engineering Drawing" by French & Vierck, (Eighth Edition), March, 1953. It still sitting right here on my bookshelf...