Drawing board

Drawing table

Engineers and draftsmen use the drawing board for making and modifying drawings on paper with ink or pencil. Different drawing instruments (trisquare , protractor, etc.) are used on it to draw parallel, perpendicular or oblique lines. There are instruments for drawing circles, arcs and other curves too (compass, French curve, etc).

Also known as a drafting table, or draughting table.

The drawing table is an early form of drawing board which was usually found in a gentleman's private library or study in the pre-industrial era. It was used for drawing, but also for reading oversized books.

The expression "Back to the drawing board" is used when a plan or course of action is unsuccessful and needs to be changed, often drastically.