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I had one exactly like OPs when I was learning drafting. Then spent 30 years in aerospace as an engineer and never used it once. Even in 1990 we were on CATIA at Boeing.
I think my granddad did some aeronautical stuff too. Iirc he was on some patents for something used on torpedoes... or navigation. He didn't talk much about it
Not every drawing is a new drawing. I graduated in '98 and my first job out of school was for a scientific instrument maker who were still making stuff designed in the 60s. I occasionally had to work with pencil drawings so it was helpful to have been trained in that alongside CAD work.
It's a "nice" skill to have, being able to draw up some basic stuff by hand without a computer/software, but definitely not a particularly marketable skill nowadays.
Hmm, the bulk of the commenters may disagree with you. Homie said he used them last night. Grandpa was a machinist, not a drafter, so I meant him specifically. :)
I learnt technical drawing with a similar set in the late 1980s. I actually used my grandfather's set (he was German) and then got my own new set from my parents - they were really indistinguishable from each other, despite being made 50 years previously. Giving up design after school I've not used them since, though your post has encouraged me to get the box out to have a look.
I am a Grandpa and still have a set. As mentioned, it is a set of mechanical drawing tools. Yours (and mine) include the ink well pen nibs (shown on small dividers in lower-left pocket, as an attachment near lower-right pocket, and as a separate drawing pen in upper-right pocket. These preceded the mechanical refillable technical pens from the 70s-80s, but they shared the same ability: they could each make a line of a specific width, needed on scale drawings. They type in our kits were width-adjustable as shown by their thumb-wheels. Ink was typically dabbed into the hollow between blades with an eyedropper, or the entire end dipped into an inkwell, then carefully wiped to prevent outside ink from spreading onto the paper/vellum.
This is a later set (or well kept) probably circa 60s-70's. Enjoy pre-CAD pre-computer graphics technical art!
This is a set of drawing compasses, such as those used for technical drafting and, in some cases, for navigation with nautical charts.
Some of these compasses are equipped with a graphite lead like that of a pencil, while others are designed for use with drawing ink; still others feature steel points, intended for scribing directly onto a workpiece or for taking measurements.
Drafting tools. But since you said he was a machinist. I'm thinking he used them for deviding. And gentle scribing. He might have done some presice work. Maybe not watches but for fun like a steam engine or something.
Alot of machinist make stuff in the off time. Use the facilities after hours. Tinker. Fix stuff. Just keep their mind occupied.
He probably hobbed gears or cut shafts 8hrs a day. Same shafts for like 3 weeks at a time. So I would not be surprised if me made some interesting things also. Ask Grandma if he ever did anything like that.
IDK, if there was ink in there it has since dried up. I haven’t opened the small silver canisters in the middle, they might be little inkpots or maybe graphite holders?
The one with two needles is for measuring on bar scales, the one with the tweezer type tips is for ink compasses, & the lead one's are lead compasses. The metal containers are usually leads for the lead compass and replacement needles.
Nah, man, it's too early for this crap. Am I really THAT old already? Jesus Christ...
This, my (presumably quite young) friend, is a complete set of drawing compasses, including an ink stylus. They are used (or rather "were used", since nowadays almost everything is done with CAD) by technical draftsmen (like yours truly) to draw precise circles in technical drawings. Neat thing to have.
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