Is there a place to find a Drafting Table WITH a Parallel Straightedge?

December 20, 2007 5:42 PM

Is there a place to find a Drafting Table WITH a Parallel Straightedge? Bonus points if it includes the light and the chair. Even more bonus points if it's really well priced! More bonus points than can even be imagined if it is wood finished and has a couple drawers included in the table as well as the light and chair in one package.

I've been looking online like crazy, but all my google foo could come up with was a whole bunch of drafting boards with parallel straightedge (not the full table), or a full drafting table but no parallel straightedge. I want the whole ball o wax.

posted by adi to shopping (8 answers total)

Usually, you get the parallel ruler and table/board separately. Options that have them combined in one package are typically, in my experience, el cheapo and don't function well/last long.

That said, there's typically a couple different grades of drafting furniture. Step one is just a drafting board, which you can put anywhere on a desk or table you already have. Step two is the pre-packaged desk kits that are basically a drafting board plus legs and a tray for drafting equipment. These generally don't have any drawers. Step three is what you're talking about with the drawers and everything, and those cost money like you wouldn't believe. Hardly anybody even uses those any more, so they'd even be difficult to pick up used on the cheap, and that would basically be the easiest way for you to get a drafting table with a parallel rule already attached. Otherwise, you'd really be best of just attaching one yourself.

Attaching a parallel ruler yourself might appear daunting, but it's really quite easy. All you really have to do is put 6 screws into your table surface. You can adjust the ruler so it's straight afterwards.
posted by LionIndex at 6:03 PM on December 20, 2007

I should say that none of the three steps I mentioned generally comes with a parallel ruler attached if you get them brand new. At least not one that you'd want.

Nonetheless, I offer you Dataprint, where you can get a table/chair/lamp combo. Not even their stuff comes with a ruler attached. Having used desks like these in the past though, I have to tell you that they kind of suck.
posted by LionIndex at 6:07 PM on December 20, 2007

Meanwhile, this is your dream desk. I used one at my first job and it kicked ass, but still no ruler attached. Still costs over $1000.
posted by LionIndex at 6:10 PM on December 20, 2007

draftingsteals.com seems to have a large selection.

I had a table similar to this that I really liked using, though I had a drafting machine on it, rather than a parallel straightedge.
posted by jjb at 6:37 PM on December 20, 2007

WOW, you must be last in the world want a Parallel bar drafting setup. Ask these kids today and they know not waht the hell you are talking about.

I cut my teeth on t-squares and Mayline Parallel bars. Still got one, but have not touched it in yaers. Still got a dent in my finger from holding a lead holder.
posted by raildr at 7:05 PM on December 20, 2007

Yeah, get the table and the parallel separately. I almost didn't take my current job because they only had parallel rules instead of a drafting machine, but now I see the wisdom. And the old guys I work with are just plain *fast* on those things.
posted by notsnot at 8:47 PM on December 20, 2007

Old Maylines were like that. I would check Ebay or Craigslist to find a suitably priced package. If you are in a big city you could also check the newspaper classifieds or see if there is a used office furniture warehouse.
posted by JJ86 at 6:46 AM on December 21, 2007

I think the reason you're not generally going to find any desk (other than a used one) with a parallel ruler already attached is that pre-attaching one actually decreases the desirability of the desk somewhat (for most of the target market). Mayline makes a number of different sizes of rulers, and different users might want different rulers on their boards, or as notsnot mentions, a drafting machine, which is a completely different sort of apparatus from a parallel ruler.
posted by LionIndex at 7:54 AM on December 21, 2007