I went to an all-male high school in Portland, Oregon that specialized in preparing students for college careers in math, science, engineering, and architecture on one study track or for several skilled trades on another.

I was on the engineering path, and as such had to spend two years learning mechanical drafting and descriptive geometry as well as the basic sciences. These classes gave me the necessary education to visualize and put on paper my design ideas for items I have made throughout my hobby, foundry, and woodworking careers.

I am a product of that time before computer design became a necessity for most efficient businesses to thrive today. Yet I still prefer to work things out with pencil on paper. Of course, I’m not designing the very complex parts and assemblies that can be done with computer-aided design, but I have designed many complex machines, systems, and tooling on multipage sheets of paper with a drafting machine, ruler, and compass during my foundry and woodworking career.

I suppose I’m an anachronism, but I still like the feel of a pencil sliding across drawing paper when more than a sketch is necessary.

Ken Kaiyala
3-6-2023