Plane table surveying involves simultaneously conducting fieldwork and plotting details on a drawing board called a plane table. Key accessories include an alidade for sighting, a spirit level and magnetic compass. Common methods are the radiation, intersection and traversing methods which involve measuring distances and angles to map features. Care is needed to accurately orient and center the plane table between stations. While suitable for small-scale mapping, plane table surveying is not intended for highly accurate work.

1. GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE,
BHAVNAGAR.
Civil Engineering Department

2. SURVEYING
• Topic:-
Plane Table Surveying

3. CONTENTS
• Introduction.
• Plane Table and Accessories.
• Setting up the Plane Table in the Field.
• Plane Tabling Methods.
• Adjustments Of the Plane Table.
• Errors in Plane Tabling.
• Merits and Demerits.

4. INTRODUCTION
• Plane Tabling is a graphical method of surveying in which
the field work and plotting are done simultaneously.
• Useful to fill in details between stations fixed by triangulation
or theodolite traversing.
• Particularly adapted for small scale or medium scale
mapping in which great accuracy in detail is not required.
• It is ideally suited to filling in details on a map already
prepared and available on the drawing sheet.

5. PLANE TABLE ACCESSORIES
• Plane Table
• Alidade
• Spirit Level
• Compass
• Plumbing Fork
• Drawing Paper

6. PLANE TABLE
• The plane table is a well-seasoned, good quality drawing
board, varying size from 45 cm to 75 cm.
• A drawing sheet can be placed and fixed on this table.
• There are three types of Plane Table:-
• Simple Plane Table
• Johnson’s Plane Table
• Coast Survey Table

7. PLANE TABLE

8. ALIDADE
• An Alidade is a sighting instrument.
• There are Two types of Alidade:-
• Plane Alidade
• Telescopic Alidade

9. PLANE ALIDADE
• Consists of a metal (brass or gunmetal) or boxwood straight
edge or ruler about 50 cm long.
• The beveled (ruling or working) edge of the alidade is
called the fiducial edge.
• It consists of two vanes at the ends, the vanes are hinged
and can be folded when the alidade is not in use.
• One of the sight vanes is provided with a narrow slit and the
other with a central vertical wire or hair.
• One of the vanes known as sight vane is provided with a
narrow slit with three holes, one at the top, one at the
bottom and one in the middle.

10. PLANE ALIDADE
• The other vane which is known as object vane, is open and
carried a hair or a fine thread or a thin wire stretched
between the top and bottom of the slit.
• With the help of the slit, a definite line of sight may be
established parallel to the ruling edge of the alidade.
• The length of the ruling edge should be equal to the smaller side
of the plane table.
• A plane alidade can be used only when the elevations of
the of the objects are low.

11. PLANE ALIDADE
Sight Vane
Object Vane
Fiducial Edge

12. PLANE ALIDADE

13. TELESCOPIC ALIDADE
• The alidade which is fitted with a telescope is known as a
telescopic alidade.
• It is used to take inclined sights.
• It increases the range and accuracy of the sights.
• It consists of a small telescope with a level tube.
• A graduated scale is mounted on the horizontal axis.
• One side of the metal ruler is used as the working edge
along which lines are drawn.
• The angles of elevation or depression can be read on the
vertical circle.

14. TELESCOPIC ALIDADE

15. SPIRIT LEVEL
• It consists of a small metal tube which contains a small
bubble.
• The spirit level may also be circular but its base must be flat
so that it can be laid on the table.
• The table is truly level when the bubble remains central all
over the table.

16. SPIRIT LEVEL

17. THE MAGNETIC COMPASS
• A box compass consists of a magnetic needle pivoted at its
centre freely.
• It is used for orienting the plane table to magnetic north.
• The edges of the box compass are straight and the bottom
is perfectly flat.

18. THE MAGNETIC COMPASS

19. PLUMBING FORK
• The plumbing fork consists of a hair pin-shaped brass frame,
having two equal arms.
• One end has a pointer while a plumb bob is attached the
other end.
• It is used in large scale survey for accurate centering of the
station location on the table over its ground position.

20. PLUMBING FORK
• It is also used for transferring the location of the instrument
station on the sheet on to the ground.
• The fork is placed with its upper arm lying on the top of the
table and the lower arm below it. The table is said to be
centered when the plumb bob hangs freely over ground
mark.

21. PLUMBING FORK
Plumbing Fork

22. SETTING UP THE PLANE TABLE
Setting up the Plane Table in the Field.
• The table should be set up at a convenient height. (say about 1m).
The legs of the tripod should be spread well apart, and firmly fixed
into the ground in such a way that the table is approximately level.
Levelling the table
• In this operation, the table top is made truly horizontal. For rough
and small scale work, leveling can be done by eye estimation
whereas for accurate and large scale work, leveling achieved with
an ordinary spirit level. The leveling is specially important in hilly
terrain where some of the control points are situated at higher level
and some other at lower level. The dislevelling of the plane table,
throws the location of the point considerably out of its true
location.

23. SETTING UP THE PLANE TABLE
Centring the table:
• The table should be so placed over the station on the ground that
the point plotted on the sheet corresponding to the station
occupied should be exactly over the station on the ground. This
operation is known as the centering of the table. This may be done
using a plumbing fork or U frame.
Orienting the plane table:
• The operation of keeping the table at each of the successive
stations parallel to the position which it occupied at the first station
is known as orientation. It is necessary when the instrument has to
be set up at more than one station.

24. SETTING UP THE PLANE TABLE
ORIENTING THE PLANE TABLE:
• There are two methods of orienting the table:
1. Orientation by the Magnetic Needle
2. Orientation by Back sighting

25. ORIENTING BY MAGNETIC NEEDLE
• This method is used when it is not possible to bisect the
previous station from the new station. This method is not
much reliable and prone to errors due to variations of
magnetic field.

26. ORIENTING BY BACKSIGHTING
• In this method the table is orientated by back sighting
through the ray which is drawn from the previous station. This
is the most accurate and reliable method of orientation of
plane table.

27. METHODS OF PLANE TABLING
There are four methods of surveying with the plane table:
a) Radiation Method
b) Intersection Method
c) Traversing Method
d) Resection Method

28. RADIATION METHOD
• In this method the objects are located by radiating lines
from the point, and measuring the distance with chain or
tape with suitable scale.
• It is chiefly used for locating the details from the station,
which have been established previously by other methods
triangulation, or traversing.

29. A
C
B
F
E
a
b
c
d
e
f
P
RADIATION METHOD

30. INTERSECTION METHOD
• In this method the point is fixed on the plane by the
intersection of the rays drawn from the two instrument
stations.
• The line joining the stations is called Base line.
• The method requires only the linear measurements of this
line.

31. A
B
C
D
p
F
P Q
BASE LINE
d
cba
f
e
q
E
INTERSECTION METHOD

32. TRAVERSING METHOD
• This is similar to that of Compass Survey or Transit Traversing.
• It is used for running survey lines between stations, which
have been previously fixed by other methods of survey, to
locate the topographic details.
• It is also suitable for the survey of roads, rivers, etc.

33. A
B
C
D
a b
cd
e
E
a
a
b
a
b
c
a b
cd
TRAVERSING METHOD

34. RESECTION METHOD
• This method is used for establishing the instrument stations
only.
• A Characteristic feature of this resection is that the
objective is to plot the station occupied by the table on the
sheet rather than obtaining other station or plotting the
details.
• After fixing the stations, details are located either by
radiation or intersection.

35. A C
RESECTION METHOD
a c
B
a
b
c

36. ADJUSTMENT OF THE PLANE TABLE
• The surface of the board should be perfectly plane.
• The vertical axis of the instrument is the line through the
centre of the ball and socket arrangement or the levelling
head or any other arrangement provided. When this axis is
vertical, the plane of the board should be horizontal.
• The ruling or fiducial edge of the alidade should be straight.
• The sight vanes of the alidade should be perpendicular to
the base of the ruler.

37. ERRORS IN PLANE TABLING
 Following precautionary measures should be taken while performing
field work:
o The table must be accurately oriented once the table is shifted.
o The alidade should be correctly centred on the station point on
paper.
o The expansion and contraction of paper should be taken care
off.
oThe table should accurately centred.
o The rays should be accurately drawn through the station points.
o Table should be sufficiently clamped.
o The board should be horizontal.
o The objects should be accurately sighted

38. MERITS OF PLANE TABLING
i) It is most suitable for preparing small-scale maps.
ii) It is most rapid.
iii) The field book is not necessary as plotting is done in the field
concurrently with the field work, and hence the mistakes in booking
the field notes are avoided.
iv) The surveyor can compare the plotted work with the actual features
of the area surveyed and thus can ascertain if it represents them
properly.
v) It is particularly advantageous in magnetic areas where compass
survey is not reliable.
vi) It is less costly than a theodolite survey.
vii) No great skill is required to prepare a satisfactory map.

39. DEMERITS OF PLANE TABLING
i) It is not suitable for work in a wet climate.
ii) It is heavy, cumbersome and awkward to carry.
iii) There are several accessories to be carried, and,
therefore, they are likely to be lost.
iv) It is not intended for accurate work.
v) If the survey is to be re-plotted to a different scale or
quantities are to be computed, it is a great inconvenience
in absence of the field notes.

40. THANK YOU FOR BEARING
By,
 Nitin Charel – 130210106011
 Kartik Hingol – 130210106030
 Bhavik Shah – 130210106049
 Digvijay Solanki – 130210106055