Recommended books

I also graduated high school three decades ago, in SoCal, and by then the only shop class offered was auto shop. You know, adult Legos. Was fortunate to learn some rudimentary tool use and woodwork from family friends, parents of friends, and others who thought it was embarrassing that a boy might grow up not knowing this sort of thing. I say "fortunate" because I have some childhood friends who to this day aren't sure what end of a screwdriver to use.

I don't equate reading lots of books with havin' only book learnin'. Books are for the evening hours, after you've put in some shop time and when you really shouldn't be looking at anything with a backlight.

Machine Shop Operations sounds a bit like the Navy books - Tools And Their Uses, Basic Machines And How They Work. Great books.
 
I just got an early 1950s copy of the Navy hand tools manual- a great reference for all kinds of stuff they don't teach anymore.

My starting point was Primitive Pete... as was some of you, I'm sure:

 
Evening reading.
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Machine Tool Practices by Kibbe is really good.
If you can find an early edition it will have a section on shapers.
The section on surface grinding is enlightening.
 
There are a lot of great resources available both in paper and on-line. When someone is starting to learn how to run a lathe I always suggest South Bend's "How to Run a Lathe". It's cheap in paper and available free on-line (just search for it). It's old school, but covers the basics and beyond without a lot of fluff and gets right to the point.

Good luck and have fun!
Ted
 
DavidR8 said:
Evening reading.
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Technical Ted said:
There are a lot of great resources available both in paper and on-line. When someone is starting to learn how to run a lathe I always suggest South Bend's "How to Run a Lathe". It's cheap in paper and available free on-line (just search for it). It's old school, but covers the basics and beyond without a lot of fluff and gets right to the point.
Click to expand...

Both of these fine books are available from the HM download library.
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/resources/
 
While not the specific answer you're looking for, it is my practice to find/acquire old U S Navy publications on a given subject. The ones that have been declassified, and often published by other publishing houses. I studied electricity many long years ago in a Navy school (Ca. 1968) and still occasionally refer back to the "Mickey Mouse" book on basic electrical knowledge.

Such course books are designed for "hay-seeds" that came from the dregs of society and needed to be turned into useful persons in the war years. The EM 3/2 books have references to gyrocompasses and CNC machines from before the days of stepper motors. This information is likely still classified, but other references are still timely. And useful~~~

Also on hand are the SeaBees BU 3/2 (builder) book on construction and a Machinist Mate 3/2 on macine tools. There is much information that is considered obsolete and/or not usable in modern day shops that is still useful to hobbyists and home technicians. Even at my age,(~70ish) there is an occasional detail that suddenly becomes relevant to some project that I never attempted before.

I also have on the library shelves such books as "Popular Mechanics Homeowners" books from both ~1956 and ~1972. Although the '72 version is about useless, it is here. Another useful series is Audel's books on the mechanical trades. Even the ones on masonry and carpentry reference some of the mechanical trades. The only thing I can say for sure is that for such series, the older the better. There have been updates and techniques, for certain. But the basic information is still what we, as hobbyists, find useful. And occasionally right on point. Automobile mechanics (and aircraft or heavy equipment) were at one time "low end" machinists on their own. I specifically remember from one of my old books a tractor repairman setting up a piston to be turned on a lathe.

Remember that for every minute you spend removing metal, you can spend up or beyond a day in setting things up. And a week or more studying books on techniques that someone else used.

I am drifting into "preaching" mode and really don't want to go there. So I will go away for now.

Bill Hudson​
 
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Thanks @Bi11Hudson, that was teaching not preaching :)
I appreciate (and need) all the help I can get!


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I'll have to keep an eye out for the SeaBees construction book, sounds great.

Something the Machinist's Bedside Reader turned me onto is the collections of articles released by Fine Woodworking Magazine. There are some decent books on dedicated topics (Hand Tools, Making and Modifying Machines), but the two volumes on Shop Tips are particularly interesting. Many of the tips don't apply to metalwork, of course, but the books are cheap and there are a lot of ideas in there. In many ways, the Machinist's Bedside Reader is kind of a FWW Shop Tips book for metalwork.
 
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