Machinery's Handbook What Edition?

I bought a thirteenth edition (1946) of MACHINERY'S HANDBOOK along with a 2nd edition (1919 printing) of AMERICAN MACHINISTS HANDBOOK at a consignment auction for less than $20. I wish these books could talk! The MACHINERY'S HANBOOK has the owners work hi story written in pencil in the back, starting in 42 with the NICKEL PLATE RR and ending in 83 with Astatic Corp as a Tool and Mfg, engineer. I think the original owner would have had some great stories. John
 
I have the 15th edition that belonged to my father in-law when he was working as a mine engineer at the Bancrfot Copper Mine in Rhodesia/Zambia Africa now.
 
I have been trying to sell (profit to HM ) an eleventh edition, printed 1942
and in "Perfect" condition . Has all those strange British threads,plus up to
date manual machining- the perfect home shop reference !. Have seen these
offered from $150 down . For our own benefit..........
 
This is how the addition number is arrived at. A new edition comes out every 4 years. 30 came out last year, so 2020 should bring the next change. The changes occur because new technology was added. Technology that is old or outdated and not used anymore is dropped. Given that info you can decide which edition you need or want.

This link will help guide you in your choice.

http://www.anvilfire.com/bookrev/in...eview of over 90 years of Machinerys Handbook

"Billy G"
 
Get the cheapest one you can find!:encourage:
As a home gamer and not a collector you should go for the one that has cosmetic flaws and is cheap. It will not matter if there is a few folded pages bent binding or yellowing around the edges as you want it for your daily uses, and any damage suffered at your hands will not matter. :encourage:
 
tomh said:
Get the cheapest one you can find!:encourage:
As a home gamer and not a collector you should go for the one that has cosmetic flaws and is cheap. It will not matter if there is a few folded pages bent binding or yellowing around the edges as you want it for your daily uses, and any damage suffered at your hands will not matter. :encourage:
Click to expand...
The cheapest I could find on ebay would still cost around $70 CDN by the time the dreaded Global Shipping/ import fee charges are added, the same if I buy from Amazon Canada, I thought a used one was around $40, .still looking.
 
Not a great time to be looking Ken. Prices are going up to get the early editions on the market again. Low single digit editions are on all collectors want lists. They figure if holders of the lower editions see the prices go up on the higher editions then they will finally sell their low editions. Any edition below #5 is a prize even though they are the same except for the edition number. Edition 5 had the first changes.

"Billy G"
 
As Mentioned ALL editions are geared towards the professional. That includes Engineers, Designers, Fabricators, and Machinists. I have at least a dozen different editions. As time goes on older obsolete information is deleted and newer information more appropriate to the current stage of industry replaces it. Most of my older editions contain information about now obsolete thread configurations. Without them it would be difficult to create replacement nuts, bolts, and screws used in turn of the 20th century machinery. Later editions contain information about different types of cutting tools that are no longer commonly used. Each edition has it's own special information. The latest editions have more information on CNC machinery. Since I don't have any those sections are of little interest to me.

In my opinion the editions you need are closely related to the types and age of machinery you have in the shop, and the type of work you do.
 
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