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[Capt Podge]

Having just acquired a set of plans from a Museum, I'm wanting to store them safely until I'm ready to start building, so the question is: Should the plans remain folded (as received) or would it be better to roll them and store in a cardboard tube ?
 
By the way, the lines plan, which I am intending redrawing and reducing to the appropriate scale, measures approx 14 ft long! 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.

 
 

[F4TCT]

I would roll them personally..


Dan

[RAAArtyGunner]

 
You need space for this but store them flat, either in a drawer or hanging.
 
Not necessarily in one of these
 
 

[Liverbudgie2]

 Drawings should always be stored rolled and, they should have been sent to you that way as well. Folding them only causes distortion and damage.
I would be interested to know which museum dispatched them to you this way as well, as it is a most unprofessional way of doing things;  I would not be slow in telling them  that either.
LB

[kpnuts]

Hi from personal experience do not fold plans I folded the plans for my model of the waverley and by the time I had finished it they were stuck together with rolls of sellotape made them difficult to read and very fragile. At least that was my experience

[pettyofficernick]

Rolled all the time, folding causes damage, and repeated folding and unfolding will eventually cause the plans to fall to bits in  neat squares/rectangles along the fold lines.

[Snowwolflair]

I get them scanned then put them away safely rolled. When I want all or part of a plan I just print it to the size I want.


Once scanned if its an old yard plan I can import it to CorelDraw and make cutting templates.

[Pondweed]

Rolled all the time, folding causes damage, and repeated folding and unfolding will eventually cause the plans to fall to bits in  neat squares/rectangles along the fold lines.

Aye, fold them and you introduce points of future failure.

I've just put that clear polythene stickbacked stuff over one side of one of mine. It was a "bxxxxr" to do but that side is now proof of mucky handprints, substances, coffee cup rings or my blood, sweat & tears! Did I say it was a "bxxxxr" to do?


p.s. "Having just acquired a set of plans from a Museum" name & shame them. I'm surprised a professional institution sent plans folded.

[Colin Bishop]

Paper is a fibrous material so folding introduces creases and breaks the fibres and they will inevitably disintegrate eventually as others have said. Rolling puts less stress on the structure of the paper.
 
Colin

[Capt Podge]

My thanks to all for the feedback - I'll go with the majority and roll them and store in tubes. 
 
I'm not sure where I stand with regards to naming the supplier on an open Forum - could a Moderator clarify please ?
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[vnkiwi]

If you don't have the space to store them flat (or hanging), then Plans should always be rolled. Never folded.
But rolled inside out, as when they are unrolled, the weight of the paper helps keep them flat, and you don't have to fight to keep the ends on the table, as they try to curle up.
Was taught this by an old draughtsman when I started in 1967, and have always done this throughout my career in drawing offices.
cheers
vnkiwi

[tigertiger]

My thanks to all for the feedback - I'll go with the majority and roll them and store in tubes. 
 
I'm not sure where I stand with regards to naming the supplier on an open Forum - could a Moderator clarify please ?
 
Regards,
 
Ray.

Most of the plans that I have bought have come folded, even if It may not be best practice. This has not caused me any problems, personally.
I really don't think a name and shame approach is appropriate.

If you are unhappy, it is more effective to contact the supplier directly.
You can also ask if a rolled version is available, with additional P&P for any future order from any supplier.

[tigertiger]

On a separate note.


If the plans have already been folded, some stressing of the paper will have already occurred.


The reason for folding could be due to their lack of storage of pre-printed plans, or to keep the costs of p&p down.
A tube and additional postage can add a lot to the cost of an order.


On the matter of photocopying, remember that this can add its own distortions to the copy usually in the x or y plane. This can be adjusted for with a higher end copier. On some copiers the weight of the paper (on original and/or the copy) can drag the paper through the rollers causing slippage at the latter end of the paper feed.


One way to check for distortion is to stick on some squares of graph paper to the original and measure both axes of the squares on the copy.


 I must also point out that copying materials without the rights to do so is naughty.

[RAAArtyGunner]

If you don't have the space to store them flat (or hanging), then Plans should always be rolled. Never folded.
But rolled inside out, as when they are unrolled, the weight of the paper helps keep them flat, and you don't have to fight to keep the ends on the table, as they try to curl up.
Was taught this by an old draughtsman when I started in 1967, and have always done this throughout my career in drawing offices.
cheers
vnkiwi

Got it in one 
 
And yes, most places, includes historical sources, museums etc, regrettably, fold plans for posting as it is cheaper to do so.
 
First thing I do with a folded plan is, have it copied, at least two copies, then file it flat and work from the copy, and in need, refer to the original.

[grendel]

as a draughtsman flat is best, rolled loosly is second best, if you have a 4" tube roll them round the outside, a bigger tube would be better, you can make a drawing storage system using 12" sections of drainage pipe (4") and just stand them on end and glue / fix them all together. (I used the 3" cardboard cores from A3 rolls of printer paper to make mine, but that leaves the plans a bit too tightly rolled).
remember all paper drawings will stretch and shrink up to about 2% when damp or dry, as they will also do in the printing process, so always check against the scale bar on the drawing, unfortunately the paper can stretch unequally depending upon the grain direction (this is why we used to draw on film) an A0 drawing (1281mm long) can stretch by 3mm when damp.
Just remember its worth checking the scale. I have had many people over the years complaining that their measurements they scaled off the drawing were wrong, and this is generally the cause and why no plan printer manufacturer will ever guarantee a higher accuracy than about 3%.
Grendel

[Circlip]

And also in 120 point at the top of the drawing  DO NOT SCALE
 
   Regards   Ian.
 
 
 

[kpnuts]

i must say i like the idea of the protective film stuck to the paper, the only one i know of though is the fablon type and i am a bit worried that if i used that and it accidentally touched some part of the plan it wasnt supposed to, i would not be able to unstick it without doing major damage to plan, is there some other type not so sticky, also i just had a thought fablon tends to shrink over time would that also either make the plan curl or distort the measurments.

[Bryan Young]

Podge. PM sent. Bryan.

[Capt Podge]

Again, thank you all for the feedback - definitely going with rolled and tubed - with regards to other points made ref copying etc,. all taken onboard. Thanks guys. 
 
For Bryan - pm sent.
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[tigertiger]

i must say i like the idea of the protective film stuck to the paper, the only one i know of though is the fablon type and i am a bit worried that if i used that and it accidentally touched some part of the plan it wasnt supposed to, i would not be able to unstick it without doing major damage to plan, is there some other type not so sticky, also i just had a thought fablon tends to shrink over time would that also either make the plan curl or distort the measurments.

A thought


When the plan is in use, you could lay a thin sheet of clear acrylic (perspex) over the plan to keep it flat. If using a table top, it will keep the coffee off too. Just watch out for measuring that you are not getting a parallax (wrong word I know) effect, from the thickness of acrylic.

[grendel]

you can get thinner plastic as used to cover posters in the illuminated poster boards, this is able to be rolled up for storage. in the past I have used ordinary plastic sheet to protect plans from glue, this you can still push pins through (it was model plane wings at the time). I would avoid sticky backed products, as I dont know of any that will peel off again cleanly afterwards.
Grendel

[grendel]

if you can get hold of rolls of laminating film wide enough and long enough to encapsulate your plans that might work (though laminators much wider than 450mm arent easy to find or cheap) there were also cold laminating processes and machines available a few years back.
maybe a copy shop will be able to laminate a copy of your plans (easier to laminate if it hasnt been folded - plus if you laminate a copy you havent ruined your original plans).
Grendel

[Pondweed]

i must say i like the idea of the protective film stuck to the paper, the only one i know of though is the fablon type and i am a bit worried that if i used that and it accidentally touched some part of the plan it wasnt supposed to, i would not be able to unstick it without doing major damage to plan, is there some other type not so sticky, also i just had a thought fablon tends to shrink over time would that also either make the plan curl or distort the measurments.

Exactly, as I say, it was a stressful bxr of a job. But I had to do it as the plan had come with a book pre-folded. After 15+ yrs of intermittent use, it was on it's way to individual squares as everytime it was lifted or moved, the sheet bent at the weakest point, the creases, so usage was destroying it.

Which is why i was quite surprised a institution would send a plan folded.

A plan is a technical drawing and like maps or books, the information on it could be used for hundreds of yrs. A plan of a speedboat may be thought of a disposable but there are plans out there that are accurate, collectable and/or frameable. In this meaning, folding a plan is like folding a photograph, you marr the surface and introduce an irreversable defect ... and as with my example above, constant use will destroy it in time.

I wonder how far you'd get with this institution if you'd paid for 9 sheets of quarter inch/foot and they sent them all folded?

[vnkiwi]

whenever I order plans, I always ask for them to be sent rolled in a tube, and pay the extra postage.
So far I've not had any supplier refuse this request, and difference in postage isn't much if they fit into a standard mailing tube.
cheers
vnkiwi

[RAAArtyGunner]

whenever I order plans, I always ask for them to be sent rolled in a tube, and pay the extra postage.
So far I've not had any supplier refuse this request, and difference in postage isn't much if they fit into a standard mailing tube.
cheers
vnkiwi