A certain technique is required to manipulate the Leroy scriber with the template and, at the same time, hold the template against the working edge of the T square or straightedge without slipping.

The T square or straightedge must be held in position with the ball of your left hand resting on the blade, while the fingers of the left hand hold the template against the working edge and change the position of the template when necessary. The scriber is held between the thumb and first three fingers of your right hand. The little finger of the right hand presses the right side of the template against the working edge, preventing the tracing pin from slipping out of the character grooves of the template. Care must be taken to keep the tail pin in the straight-guide groove at the bottom of each template. When you are making long lines of large lettering, you may find it helpful to secure the T square or straightedge at both ends of the drawing board with drafting tape.

Using the above techniques to manipulate the scriber and template, follow the steps listed below to form uniform letters, words, and sentences. As you follow the steps, refer to figure 3-59.

1. Select the template with letters of the desired height. The distance between each graduation at the bottom of the template is equal to the height of the letter that can be made with the template. The numbers in a fraction are made by using a template one size smaller than that used for whole numbers.

2. Lay the template along the top edge of a T square or straightedge.

3. Using the table of recommended template and pen sizes previously mentioned, select the proper pen to give a well-proportioned letter.

NOTE: On drawings with a great deal of lettering, the recommended combinations may be altered by one pen size, either under or over the recommended size, for variation and appearance. Never use a pen size more than two over the recommended size.

4. Insert the selected pen into the socket of the scriber arm until the shoulder of the pen rests on the scriber arm.

5. Tighten the screw on the side of the scriber arm.

6. Loosen the locknut on the adjusting screw in the scriber arm.

7. Set the tail pin of the scriber in the straight-guide groove of the template.

8. Set the tracer pin of the scriber in the groove of a character.

9. Lower the pen gently to the drawing surface.

10. Raise or lower the scriber arm by turning the adjusting screw until the tip of the cleaning pin within the pen just touches the drawing surface. Tighten the locknut when the desired height is reached. To prevent blotting, you should make this rough adjustment before you put ink into the pen.

NOTE: To prevent the ink from flowing straight through the pen, you should not remove the cleaning pin of a Leroy pen No. 4 or larger from the pen.

13. Fill the reservoir of the pen with drawing ink. The Leroy pen should be filled with ink in the same manner as any common drafting inking instrument. The reservoir should be kept from one-fourth to three-fourths full; too low an ink level results in irregular lines.

14. If the cleaning pin was removed, reinsert it into the pen.

15. Wipe the lower tip of the pen with a cloth to remove any excess ink that may have been pushed through by the cleaning pin.

16. Draw a test line on a piece of scratch paper to ensure that the ink will flow smoothly.

17. Gently lower the pen to the drawing surface after inserting the tail and tracer pins in their proper grooves.

18. Proceed with the lettering by moving the tracer pin in the grooves of the characters, keeping the tail pin in the straight-guide groove. If the ink does not flow properly, turn the cleaning pin inside the pen and wipe the tip with a cloth; also, make any necessary minor adjust-ments to the adjusting screw to allow the ink to flow properly. Tighten the locknut. When you will not be lettering for short periods of time, place the tip of the pen, still in the socket of the scriber arm, on a piece of moist cotton. This will prevent the ink from drying around the opening of the pen and will help the ink to flow properly when you begin lettering again.