DIY/tool/automotive-related books

I thought I'd start a general hopefully-ongoing thread for people who like reference books about DIY home repairs, construction, tool usage, automotive stuff, drafting, etc.

I've been gradually acquiring cheap DIY/etc books at garage/estate/library sales for a number of years. I have dozens of them now, and have had to make a list to bring to sales so I don't accidentally buy one I already have. Maybe one of these years I'll have time to more fully absorb all their information, but just flipping to sections for an immediate need has already been useful. I especially like good diagrams.

There's been quite a few small DIY-book-related threads on GJ in the past, so I thought linking to the old threads would be a good place to start. Later, as I have time, I plan to add replies about some of the books I've found. Feel free to join in.

Past book threads:

General:
The book that saved my kid's life - 2014 ("Reader's Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual" from 1973)
Garage Journal Bookshelf...what's on your reading list? - 2013 (some DIY/etc-related, some not)
Favorite DIY books/magazines - 2009
What To Buy From the Book Store? - 2006
Old Popular Science projects anyone? - 2013 (read vintage Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines free on Google Books)

Tool Usage:
"Blackhawk Idea Book", ca. 1940's-50's - 2012 (book about ways to use jacks, with some page photos)
1945 Book of Tool Usage. - 2011 (tool intro book for kids, with some page photos)
Rusty on the Basics...Book on Using Shop Tools? - 2009
Vintage Shop Reference Book/Guide - 2015
Hardware store reference book - 2011 ("Pocket Ref")

Tool History:
BOOK? Antique and Collectible Stanley Tools: Guide to Identity and Value - 2014
Book: America's 100 Year Love Affair With The Automobile and the Snap-On Tools that keep them running - 2009 (sold for-sale listing with brief description, sounds worth seeking out elsewhere)
Picked up a new book.. history of the screwdriver - 2008

Metalworking:
The brazing book - 2017 (available online as a free PDF)
Found a great book yesterday... - 2010 ("Metalworking, Sink or Swim. Tips & Tricks for Machinists, Welders & Fabricators")
I just got the coolest damn book! - 2011 (1907 book "Metal Working, A Book of Tools, Materials & Processes for the Handyman", can view it all free on Google Books)

Framing:
Good framing book recomendation - 2011
Looking to buy a good instrucional book on wood structure building. Any opinons? - 2012
I need some [pole barn construction] book recomedaton.. - 2009
Recommend a book on framing? - 2006
Building code book for dummies??? - 2014

Electrical:
Good "electrical for dummies" book - 2010
[Electrical] Reference Book - 2016
DIY [Electrical] Book Recommendations - 2014
Basic Wiring Book Recommendation? - 2009
Best Basic DYI [Electrical] Book for Beginners - 2013
DIY garage lighting book - 2008

Automotive:
Basic automobile book for son's GF, suggestions? - 2016
Looking for a General Motors Book. - 2015
ScannerDanner [automotive troubleshooting] book-Anyone have it? - 2013
Recommend a book to learn how a modern engine works - 2011 (among other books, links to a free US Army manual PDF)
Auto Engineering book FREE! - 2017 (1940 book given away, with some page photos still viewable)
The Gasoline Automobile Book 1920 FS or TRade - 2011 (sold, but with some page photos still viewable)
Recommendation for automotive electrical book? - 2010
Build Book - Rogan's Sick Fish Cuda... - 2005
Looking for a VW Beetle 'guide book' - 2013

Small Engines:
Small Gas Engine Repair book - 2011

Garage Design:
Ultimate Garages II Book Due October Release - 2007
Anyone have this book.... - 2007 ("Garage & Workshop Gear Guide", not recommended)
Book Review -- Part 1 - 2006 ("How to Design and Build Your Auto Workshop", pros and cons)
Book Review -- -- Part II - 2006 ("Ultimate Auto Workshop Design and Planning", pros and cons)
Book Review III - 2006 ("Ultimate Garage Handbook", highly recommended)
Book Review IV - 2006 ("Your Garagenous Zone; Innovative Ideas for the Garage", not recommended)
Book Review Part V - 2006 ("Garages: Inspiration and Information for the Do-It-Yourselfer", pros and cons)
Anyone know what book this is from? - 2010 ("The Motor Cyclist's Workshop" from 1930, some page photos viewable)
Garage "How To" Book - 2010
Manspace - The Book - 2006
[Motorcycle] Dream Garage Book Out / Thanks to GJ - 2009
"Dream Garages" Book - 2007

Book/magazine storage ideas:
Garage Book Cabinets? - 2015
pipe book shelvs - 2015
Let's see those book shelf's, Can't decide wood, steel, aluminum, or whatelse? - 2015
Hide a door behind a book case, need some ideas for the hardware. - 2015
Book/manual storage ideas for the garage - 2012
Magazine, Book, and Manual Storage? - 2011
magazines, what to do.... - 2010
How Do You Store Shop Manuals? - 2009
Magazine racks/displays? - 2006

Any edition of Machinerys Handbook is a great resource.
The same goes for a McMaster Carr catalog.

Tips from Private Lugnutz in the 2018 Garage Sale thread about how to ask Google Books to unlock an old book/magazine from snippet view to full view:

Private Lugnutz said:

When you're using Google Books to search for digitized historical documents (books, journals, magazines, etc) and you find one that is locked, showing you a Snippets View only, with snippets that contain your search terms, you can request the Google Books team unlock the book, by following these steps...

(1) Copy the URL of the book from your browser. You will need to paste it later.

(2) Underneath the snippet(s), click on the Where is the rest of this book? link.

(2) That will take you to a How to Use Google Books page. Scroll down to the Fix Common Problems section. Click on the You can't see the full book link.

(3) That will expand into a list of bullets. Click on the last part of the bullet that reads, “If you think the book is available in the public domain in your country, ask us to review it.”

(4) That will open a Your Google Books Inquiry page with a form on it. Fill out the form. First name, email address, URL of the book, and page number or range (of the snippets your search terms are showing up in…). For the ‘Categorize your issue’ options section, you can check the I’d like to see the entire book, and I believe the book is in the public domain or Other.

I have better results with Other and filling in the How can we help you? line with something like “I’d like to see page 89, 219 and 320.”

More times than not, even when I request certain pages, I get the whole book. Note that I get plenty of rejections, too, though. It's hit and miss.

In a week or so, sometimes several weeks, you'll get a very formal email making you feel like an important researcher informing you if it has been unlocked or not. If so, they will provide a link to the unlocked book in the body of the email.

Click to expand...

Everything from before 1923 should already been in full view if Google has scans of them. 1923 through 1978 are usually in snippet view by default if Google has scans of them, but are worth asking to unlock. (Convoluted changes in copyright terms over the decades are the reason.)

The Internet Archive at http://www.archive.org/ also has an enormous amount of scans of old books freely available, for reading in your web browser or downloading in various formats including PDF.

KnurledNut said:

Any edition of Machinerys Handbook is a great resource.
The same goes for a McMaster Carr catalog.

Click to expand...

The Machinery's Handbook is invaluable! For anything regarding turbocharging, I will vouch for Maximum Boost by Corky Bell and/or Street Turbocharging by Mark Warner.

Turbochargers hugh mcinness is probably the best turbo book ive read.

The current version of automotive technology is worth the price of admission. Many many things learned about stuff i thought i already knew.

Pay for scanner danners website, a real complete course in automotice diagnostics.

Watch pine hallow auto diagnostics, scanner danner, south main auto, new level auto, youll start picking up stuff so fast youll be your local whiz kid in no time.

I have always liked the Audels guides, and an old copy of Popular Mechanic's "The Boy Mechsnic" was a favorite when I was a kid.

Farmall 1066 said:

I have always liked the Audels guides, and an old copy of Popular Mechanic's "The Boy Mechanic" was a favorite when I was a kid.

Click to expand...

That one is available for free viewing and PDF/etc download, via the Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg (and also Google Books).

Project Gutenberg version:
The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1: 700 Things for Boys to Do : Popular Mechanics Co. : Internet Archive
The Boy Mechanic, Volume 1: 700 Things for Boys to Do by H. H. Windsor - Free Ebook - gutenberg.org

Google Books version (scans in the original formatting):
The Boy Mechanic...: Things for Boys to Do... : Popular mechanics magazine : Internet Archive
The Boy Mechanic...: Things for Boys to Do... - Google Books

And check out this collection on the Internet Archive... a Popular Mechanics book about concrete showed up while I was looking for the Boy Mechanic book, and I noticed that the concrete book was part of the
Building Technology Heritage Library.

"The Building Technology Heritage Library (BTHL) is primarily a collection of American and Canadian, pre-1964 architectural trade catalogs, house plan books and technical building guides. Trade catalogs are an important primary source to document past design and construction practices. These materials can aid in the preservation and conservation of older structures as well as other research goals."

They have 9,500 scanned vintage books and catalogs uploaded! All freely viewable online and downloadable as PDF and other formats.

Just the top few rows of their items list (sorted by popularity):

Shop Theory by Ford is very good for meatal working and machining.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0070016127/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Various editions/years were printed.

Machinery's Handbook 29th Edition

Free Ebook in PDF format. 24.8MB

http://allaboutmetallurgy.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Machinery_s_Handbook_29th_Edition.pdf

Bill

Hexen said:

I thought I'd start a general hopefully-ongoing thread for people who like reference books about DIY home repairs, construction, tool usage, automotive stuff, drafting, etc.

I've been gradually acquiring cheap DIY/etc books at garage/estate/library sales for a number of years. I have dozens of them now, and have had to make a list to bring to sales so I don't accidentally buy one I already have. Maybe one of these years I'll have time to more fully absorb all their information, but just flipping to sections for an immediate need has already been useful. I especially like good diagrams.

There's been quite a few small DIY-book-related threads on GJ in the past, so I thought linking to the old threads would be a good place to start. Later, as I have time, I plan to add replies about some of the books I've found. Feel free to join in.

Click to expand...

Could you post the list?

Bill

bczygan said:

Could you post the list?

Bill

Click to expand...

I plan to be posting about the books I have gradually, as time permits. Looking up links/pics and such for each. I was going to do one this weekend but I had various unpredictable demands on my time. Plenty of other books have already been shared to get started with. I'm a fan of the Reader's Digest and Time-Life books, but have a lot of other stuff too, including an old automotive book from the 1910s or 20s.

These books any good? The reviews are extremely positive.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996491511/?tag=atomicindus08-20




https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996491503/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Hexen said:

Project Gutenberg version:
The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1: 700 Things for Boys to Do : Popular Mechanics Co. : Internet Archive
The Boy Mechanic, Volume 1: 700 Things for Boys to Do by H. H. Windsor - Free Ebook - gutenberg.org

[/CENTER]

Click to expand...

I find old books like this fascinating, if for no other reason than the use of materials that would be considered insane today. 20-some pages in there's a recipe for a solution to try to save overexposed photographs- just needs a couple ounces of potassium cyanide. Just what every boy should have rattling around in his backpack!

I have some photograph of automotive mechanic, which is translated from your language, in Spain we have very little to choose to choose. Also some manual Haynes, also in English, but I think it's the best I have seen, many photos and explanations.

HondaCBMan said:

These books any good? The reviews are extremely positive.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996491511/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996491503/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Click to expand...

2 - STROKE PRE-MIX for LIFE !!!

Great thread! I will have to bookmark this just to get to the links up front. I tend to hoard technical books when i find them online. A lot of there only temporarily so its hard to provide a link especially if its currently being published.