Book recommendation

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

I like the Machining Fundamentals by John R. Walker. I browsed it many times in the last months. It is a practical book that covers different machining methods. But many times I found it to basic. There are a lot of chapters where I would like to know more details. For example the EDM chapters is only a few pages. The same for surface grinders. And grinding wheels are only enumerated by shape or hardness. But why there are so many types? What backslash removing methods exist? And many more.
In other words, what is in machining world the equivalent to Horowits’s The Art of Electronics?

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

I don’t think you can go far wrong with the Workshop Practice series and some of the more up to date books from the likes of Harold Hall and yes still GHT.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

That is why the book you have is called the “fundamentals”, ie basics.

The subject is too broad to be covered in any one book, I think,

I have a shelf full of all the old model engineering workshop books by the likes of LH Sparey, Radford, Duplex, Ian Bradley, Tubal Cain (the original not the US YouTuber) and of course the maestro, GH Thomas. Also many of the Workshop Practice Series are invaluable and tend to be about one focused topic, eg Threads, or drills, or taps and dies, etc.

For specialised stuff like surface grinding, you can often google around and find downloadable copies of old out-of-print books such as apprentice and military training books and the machine manufacturers original handbooks. There are also many such books on early toolmaking and machine shop practice on Google Books for free download. The early 20th century books are relevant to our home workshops still because they did not have a lot of expensive modern equipment and often had to make do with very basic equipment as we often do too.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Backlsh is an item that almost every one of us has to contend with.

Industrial nachines have backlash elimination, AT A PRICE!

Mere mortals like us just have to remeber to back off more than the backlash and thewn wind in again to where we wanted to be. Lock the slides, other than the one in use, if you want to be more certain.

As Hooper says, there are so many aspects to machining that it would be almost impossible to combine everything in one volume. (Which might be out of date before the ink has dried)

The books by Tubal Cain, Radford, Bradley, Sparey, Hall, Bray, Clark, Fenner and Wyatt will cover most of what model engineers wsant to do.  Not mamy of use have facilities for cylindruical or surfce grinding; hence very little on the subject in our environment.

Not all model engineers have cutter grinders, even.

Cylindrical and surface grinding are more likely to be covered by books aimed at industry and industrial apprentices.

Not all jobbing machine shops will have such facilities.

In the same way, very few model engineers will have capstan or turret lathes, so there won’t be books on their operation in our libraries!

Howard

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

https://www.sandvik.coromant.com/en-gb/knowledge

https://archive.org/details/treatiseonmillin00cincrich/page/4/mode/2up?view=theater

 

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

There are I think 3 books on building an EDM, though they do not go into great detail on the industrial process. They are not difficult to build but if using a SN754410 NE chip this needs a heatsink or the use of TIP switching transistors to be sure it can take the current. Noel.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Machine Shop Trade Secrets by James A Harvey is an excellent current book to have too. It has a chapter on surface grinding with lots of good pro tips.

Click on “Read a Sample” below to view the table of contents etc:

https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Trade-Secrets-James-Harvey/dp/0831132272/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.H_5uXt_cetQ7vsC7z70hFXDuH4dUex9fv4ZeL2tpSOwnbqEQe1TgeQfwtIqctFuxl2h2_Qhu3ozMpwh-VnWqqXc_ci0eAnXME1RfgH3SANXv-0qfWY2nLljXz6zDkF63Hmf-3kxI_iPIdtKJchBmFpSrl3EWA86veViEJoYEq1V1UK1RxlnkcF2nRYSMkBKo.Pmh7RRRe4RfF87J5vEBCNFNhrm5gCnEKTv81M7nHON4&dib_tag=se&keywords=machine+shop+trade+secrets+by+james+harvey&qid=1713233289&sr=8-4

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

PS, my above post prompted me to get “Trade Secrets” down off the shelf and start re-reading it. It really is a treasure trove of invaluable tips and tricks on all sorts of machine shop work from a guy who has been doing it all day every day of his working life. Lots of good milling machine how-tos in there along with a bit of everything else. I don’t think you ever get to the end of learning this stuff.

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

Thank you for all suggestions. “Machine Shop Trade Secrets” is indeed an interesting book. I browsed it a little online. The whole book is basically a list of tips and tricks. Also the other titles mentioned are very promising.

 

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

Just searched for Machine Shop Trade Secrets, cheap it is not!

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

Yes, it is expensive. Especially the second edition. The good thing is that it makes Workshop Practice series books look dirty cheap. I ordered a few 🙂

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

I am sure I did not pay that much for “Trade Secrets” when I bought it some years ago! I see that googling around for its title, prices seem to vary from over $100 at Amazon to a more sane $45 elsewhere. Of course shipping has to be added to that, which has also gone crazy in recent years.

Yes Workshop Practice Series are very good value. As are GH Thomas’s two books if you buy them direct from the publisher Tee Publishing. IT is worth browsing their website. https://www.teepublishing.co.uk/books/in-your-workshop/model-engineers-workshop-manual/

They are also the cheapest place to buy Workshop Practice books too, I believe.

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

I found this two volume book. It is the “Guide for raising the qualification of turners”. From ’86. It has some interesting things, for example different methods to check the lathe precision, some info about different materials and many more. I’m not sure how it is in English, but in Romanian the title sounds very proletarian and funny.

Like any technical book from that era it contains the mandatory preface with instructions from the party. I guess this was needed to get the printing approval. Bellow is the image translation. So after reading it I will do my best to increase my productivity with 7%/year during the current five year plan.

Now I’m waiting for these Workshop Practice books to arrive.

I think I’ll buy the GH Thomas books from RDG tools. They have also a lot of interesting things and I can combine the shipping cost in this way.

 

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Haha, yes good you will stick with the 5 year plan and up your productivity. Well done! That type of industrial training book from that era should be very useful though. When you are standing at a lathe all day every day for a living, it is a whole different level of work from tinkering in the home workshop, so many useful skills are developed.

The GH Thomas books contain many chapters on making specific projects, but even if you don’t make those projects they are worth reading because he outlines many methods and tips and tricks in the process. He was a time-served ex-apprentice who worked all his life in some kind of factory and undertook further training in engineering. His application of professional knowledge to the home hobby workshop is excellent. I made a version of his versatile dividing head which is precise to one thousandth of a degree, much better than commercial models and it was a very enjoyable project from which I learned a lot by following his instructions. His books seem to cover from beginner to quite advanced level. You never stop learning with this stuff!

[SoeeParticipant @soee]

While you are waiting for all the good books you have ordered to be delivered (I have also with pleasure read parts of GH Thomas books and some of the other ones) coul you also take a lok into US Navy’s Machinery Repairman!

A pdf version of this document is aviable online from:

https://maritime.org/doc/pdf/machinery-repairman.pdf

 

[IanTParticipant @iant]

I have quite a large collection of ‘ Model Engineering’ books covering just about every subject. The question of which ones are “best” has been covered here quite a few times. GH Thomas and Sparey get a lot of honourable mentions.

However, I was thinking about which of my model engineering books were my personal favourite and I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind that they are Kozo Hiraoka’s books.

Although I will never build any of his locomotives, I always enjoy paging through his volumes and reading short sections. There is a wealth of information and useful methods contained within them but more than that, they are just so beautifully written and illustrated.

Mr Hiraoka is a very talented engineer, writer and draftsman – a true Artisan in fact.

His books are a pleasure to own.

Regards,

 

IanT

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Kozo’s books are even more expensive than “Trade Secrets”. Crikey!

When did model engineering books leave the realm of skinflint pensioner’s budgets and move into the rarefied stratosphere of university engineering textbooks?

Thank goodness for Tee Publishing and the couple of others still catering for model engineers at reasonable prices. Stock up now while they are still in business.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

At the other end of the cost spectrum, here is a free download from Archive.org of the very extensive “Model Engineering” by Henry Greenly. Published 1915 so now copyright free. Lots of good basic stuff in there specific to model engineering including some nice drawings of classic model engines to make. https://archive.org/details/model_engineering_1915/page/n1/mode/1up

 

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Those books cover workshop processes but if making models of ancient machines – as is the mainstay of model-engineering – it can be useful to seek out the “… rarefied … university engineering textbooks” but ones closer to the prototype’s own time.

Specifically, engineering designers’ textbooks. These give a lot of information on proportions of common machine parts, how things work, and so on, often quoting from manufacturers’ drawings.

These texts don’t tell you how to make the machine components but how to design them; particularly valuable when you stray from the safety of proven, published plan-sets.

””’

As for the tome pleasing Comrade Ceausescu, clearly obtaining a copy I need my projects therefore advancing must be by 98 percent.

[Has someone banned the % sign? My local newspaper can’t spell ” % ” either.]

I should point out the Romanian author’s English is rather better than my Romanian….

 

[Ches Green UKParticipant @chesgreenuk]

There’s a good summary of Mr Kozo’s career here …. A Master at Building Steam Engines, and Showing Others How To Do the Same – https://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/artisan/kozo-hiraoka/

Blondiehacks is currently building his Pennsylvania A3 Switcher – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiAWsopdr0A&list=PLY67-4BrEae-xhrvZX33gPk4Q87S1ttae

Ches

 

[Gary YeadonParticipant @garyyeadon51936]

Machinery’s Handbook may be worth a look.

[Ches Green UK]

On Ches Green UK Said:

There’s a good summary of Mr Kozo’s career here …. A Master at Building Steam Engines, and Showing Others How To Do the Same – https://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/artisan/kozo-hiraoka/

 

Wow. Just wow. A fascinating character and beautiful work.

I particularly warmed to the two below quotes:

“Mr. Hiraoka chose to hand-draw nearly all of his plans, because they have a warmth and personality that cannot be conveyed in CAD drawings. His drawings are an important part of relaying his steam engine plans to others—particularly because they act as a universal language.”

Luddite that I am, I too particularly love the old hand-done drawings. True works of art some of them.

And I thought this quote very wise:

To beginners, Kozo always says, “Think, and find a sure and easy way. The pro does his job in a way by which even the novice can do it—while the novice tries to do it in a way by which even the pro fails.” 

Totally unrelated, my favourite hand-drawn work of art:

The Village Press linked to in the Kozo article also has many good books. They have one of of Kozo’s at a more reasonable price than Amazon. They also have Guy Latard’s Machinist’s Bedside Reader which is quite famous and in-demand, having been out of print for a while. But I have never read it so cant say much about it other than it is there.

[Ches Green UKParticipant @chesgreenuk]

Hopper,

Yes, Mr Hiraoka does go about things in good way. I like his quotes also. And he somehow found time to write a number of top class how-to books.

I doubt I’ll ever build a model steam railway engine but can still appreciate all the skill and learning that goes in to doing so.

Ches

PS: I do like that hand-drawn art.

Edit: A little voice in my head reminded me that in Japan the family name comes first eg Mr Kozo ….I may be wrong. But on my visits to Japan I was addressed as Mr ‘First name’ …which was quite nice, somehow 😉

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Soee mentioned the US Navy repairmans book, For those interested the Reprint of The US Navy Foundry Manual  is a book written for someone who may be doesn’t want to be there but needs to know ! A very good book on the subject ! Noel.

[Sonic EscapeParticipant @sonicescape38234]

I recently dug in an antique book store and found a very old book. I bought it out of curiosity. It is a vocational school manual printed in ’52 and it is a translation of an 1950 book from the workers paradise. Not many revelations inside except the mentioning of various types of brazed carbide tools. I thought carbide tools were a more recent discovery.

Another interesting (at least for me) thing was the recommended method to ground them, using an EDM machine. With a spinning cast iron disc 0.005 to 0.2mm away from the tool. How can this method produce an accurate cutting edge with such a large gap

Also HSS steel was recommended to be used only in small quantities, welded at the end of the tool. Due to high cost. It is not degraded by the high temperature during welding?

[Author]

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