Bolster
Well-known member
It's been decades since I worked in a shop with others, where it was easy to watch and learn good (and bad) tool use technique, just by observation. And it's been even longer since my shop classes from HS and college days.
So...if I want a general book to read, to brush up on my overall shop skills (from how to dress a chisel, to how to weld a bead in thin metal, to how to use a drill press correctly, to how to use a tap, to how to braze and when to braze as opposed to weld, to how to make a home-made gasket, etc...).
What I am basically looking for is an intermediate shop-class-in-a-book. Tips from the trade. I'm not looking for in-depth books on any particular aspect, I can find those easily enough.
I have a set of "Shop Notes" reprints from the 1920s that give exactly this type of information...but they are kinda old, and they assume you own one electric motor you move from machine to machine (!), and usage of hand-held power tools is still in the distant future for that set.
Where can I find the modern version of this type of information?
So...if I want a general book to read, to brush up on my overall shop skills (from how to dress a chisel, to how to weld a bead in thin metal, to how to use a drill press correctly, to how to use a tap, to how to braze and when to braze as opposed to weld, to how to make a home-made gasket, etc...).
What I am basically looking for is an intermediate shop-class-in-a-book. Tips from the trade. I'm not looking for in-depth books on any particular aspect, I can find those easily enough.
I have a set of "Shop Notes" reprints from the 1920s that give exactly this type of information...but they are kinda old, and they assume you own one electric motor you move from machine to machine (!), and usage of hand-held power tools is still in the distant future for that set.
Where can I find the modern version of this type of information?
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