You know you're getting old when...

This collection of memories developed spontaneously over period of time in a CAD newsgroup early in 1997 under the subject of "Old CAD Drafters". As technology continues to accelerate with no rest in sight, it seemed like a good idea to rescue this collection from being lost forever.

When we migrated content to the new website in 2009, "Old CAD Drafters" got a low priority but we monitored the 404 Page Not Found Logs to make sure that popular pages were not neglected only to find that "Old CAD Drafters" was right up there as a highly popular page. So we promptly got it back online and have some upgrade plans underway to enhance it further.

As well as some obvious references to skill hard won and now redundant, many of the lines are what can oly be called "Dad" jokes. Only other dads and old farts think they are amusing. Others, without the shared experience of manual drafting in the 50s, 60s and 70s and the transition to CAD in the 80s, don't really get the joke, or that warm flood of recall when these phases trigger fond memories of days long gone. That's why we keep 'em here. It reminds a lot of people of the good old days.

If you have any other drafting-related reminders of the passage of time, feel free to address them to the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We'll be glad to add them to the list. Thank you to the people who continue to contribute to this list.

	You remember how to control lineweights by rolling the pencil as you draw John Cabrall
	You remember that a spline is something you rest weights (ducks) on, to draw a curve Bob Doncom
	You are asked if a Leroy Lettering Set is a package of fonts for AutoCAD (and where they can be downloaded) S. Yoder
	You remember coming home after a good hunt, having a well done mammoth steak for dinner, laying out a new design of dinosaur trap on the wall of your cave Vladimir Makarkin
	You know how to dress a ruling pen Dennis Shinn
	You are asked why there is sandpaper on a stick in your drawer S.Yoder
	You think you should own stock in the plastic's industry because of all the templates you own S. Yoder
	You rue the day they quit making drafting linen Dennis Shinn
	A compass was for drawing arcs and circles and not finding the North pole Dennis Shinn
	You know that some pencil sharpeners only remove the wood and don't sharpen the lead Carl Taylor
	You know that the little piece of thin metal with all of the holes is called an erasing shield Carl Taylor
	Your drafting table still has drafting powder in the seams Anon.
	You still have a drafting table! Anon
	You keep your electric eraser out and visible just because it's been such a good friend Anon.
	You can start out with a completely blacked out sheet of negative paper and scratch out a drawing with a razor blade or scalpel Anon.