Basic machining books.
- Thread starter tlevan03
- Start date
JoeFin
Well-known member
I would HIGHLY suggest you read The Complete Practical Machinist
The book was originally written in 1885 and was required reading in most college programs up the mid 70s. But what is really important for you is he talks about operating the lathe in the terms of where you are going to start - the look, sound and feel of the work being performed
The book was originally written in 1885 and was required reading in most college programs up the mid 70s. But what is really important for you is he talks about operating the lathe in the terms of where you are going to start - the look, sound and feel of the work being performed
Ign
Well-known member
If at all possible you'll learn as much in 3 nights at a votech program as 3 weeks alone with a book.
Shadowdog500
Well-known member
Here is a PDF of an old version of the how to run a lathe book. http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1617/3789.pdf
Also watch the youtube videos by mrpete222. He was a high school shop teacher for decades and put together some pretty darn good instruction videos.
Here is a basic one on the parts of the lathe
Chris
Also watch the youtube videos by mrpete222. He was a high school shop teacher for decades and put together some pretty darn good instruction videos.
Here is a basic one on the parts of the lathe
Chris
Last edited:
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Another one that is invaluable, if not specific to running a lathe, is Machinery's Handbook (any version is fine...) probably the most comprehensive repository of reference infor for machinists, engineers or anyone doing mechanical work.
That is a good book, very hard to find today I would think. Youtube mrpete222 channel is very good I learn stuff from him to.
Last edited:
The south bend and atlas books are very good. This army manual is pretty good as well.
http://www.metalwebnews.com/machine-tools/fmt.html
There is another one I have saved somewhere that I can't recall off the top of my head. And another one all about tool grinding and feeds and speeds.
Machinery hand book is good, but it is more of a reference book than it is a how to. Say you need an equation or to look up a common thread pitch, you would reach for Machinery's hand book, even feeds and speeds are covered. But it is not a step by step how to run a lathe. I'd probably get how to run a lathe first or the atlas book. Both downloadable.
http://www.metalwebnews.com/machine-tools/fmt.html
There is another one I have saved somewhere that I can't recall off the top of my head. And another one all about tool grinding and feeds and speeds.
Machinery hand book is good, but it is more of a reference book than it is a how to. Say you need an equation or to look up a common thread pitch, you would reach for Machinery's hand book, even feeds and speeds are covered. But it is not a step by step how to run a lathe. I'd probably get how to run a lathe first or the atlas book. Both downloadable.
^^Absolutely!! Those Tubal Cain YT videos are very good.
There's also the excellent MIT Tech TV machine shop series that's free.
http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/142-machine-shop-1
There's also the Darrell Holland series of video that cover lathe and mill. You have to pay for those.
this cat used to be a shop teacher. Good info he has.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tubalcain+channel&sm=1
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tubalcain+channel&sm=1
DieselSaves
Well-known member
I don't think this book can be recommended enough.
innealtoir
Banned
Agreed! The Machinery's Handbook is more or less a must for any shop.
justanengineer
Well-known member
Visit your local library or second-hand book store, the best are all vintage trades texts, WW2-1970's. Whenever I see them for sale for <$5, I automatically buy. Whenever I can, I read.
DocsMachine
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,877
Just for clarification, Machinery's Handbook is really just a reference manual. It's NOT a "how to" book.
Yes, it's very valuable for it's speeds & feeds charts, materials properties charts, references on things like machine tapers, gears & sprockets, heat-treating, and so on. But it's like reading a phone book, not a textbook.
Doc.
Yes, it's very valuable for it's speeds & feeds charts, materials properties charts, references on things like machine tapers, gears & sprockets, heat-treating, and so on. But it's like reading a phone book, not a textbook.
Doc.
FunkyfullWidth
Well-known member
I got the Atlas Manual of Lathe Operation open on my desk right now... It goes through the different shapes of the cutting tools and which ones should be used for which task and how to put it to the peice... That, and making sure you're farmiliar with the dangers of a lathe are number one. Chances are you won't be doing a ton of threading. Turning things down are most common, so getting to know which speeds are best as well as how it should sound and what the chips should look like are important...
Then again... you can learn far more standing next to someone then you can from a book. But books are a good place to start.
Then again... you can learn far more standing next to someone then you can from a book. But books are a good place to start.
I was/am the worlds' worst hobby machinist. So if something worked for me, it will work for you. I bought a war surplus Southbend 9" lathe in the days before the Web and didn't have any machinist friends, so I learned everything from some books and trial and error (mostly error). The Tubalcain videos and the MIT Machine Shop series (also on Youtube) would have helped a lot. Here is what helped me the most.
A lathe book - There are many of them, the lathe manufacturer's produced their own: Southbend's How to Run a Lathe, Colvin's "Running an Engine Lathe", the Atlas Manual, the Hercus "Textbook of Turning". The older editions can be found as .pdf's. I think Sparey's The Amateur's Lathe might be the best overall.
A general machine shop book - I think Rose's Practical Machinist is a little too old (lots on planers and camelbacks). Robert H. Smith's Textbook of Advanced Machine Work is on archive.org. That and his other book is good and free. An old Audel Machinist's Handy book is cheap and I found it useful. Kibbe's Machine Tool Practices is the standard community college textbook. A new one is expensive, but an 5th or 6th edition is cheap. Shop Theory form the Henry Ford Trade School is also cheap on Amazon and those old books are wonderfully illustrated. The US Army Fundamentals of Machine Tools and US Navy Machinery Repairman Handbooks are free as .pdfs.
A Machinist's Handbook - get a used edition from the 60's or 70's.
Once you can make stuff, Tom Lipton's Metalworking Sink or Swim is collection of tips and tricks from a life long metalworker. It has been the best book I have purchased in the last ten years.
Lastly, the book that got me to buy a lathe was Roy Moungovan's Shop Savvy. It had one chapter on using a lathe. This book is what you would have learned in the 1970's from the old guy at the end of the street who had a bunch of tools in his garage and knew how to do everything well enough to get by.
taw
A lathe book - There are many of them, the lathe manufacturer's produced their own: Southbend's How to Run a Lathe, Colvin's "Running an Engine Lathe", the Atlas Manual, the Hercus "Textbook of Turning". The older editions can be found as .pdf's. I think Sparey's The Amateur's Lathe might be the best overall.
A general machine shop book - I think Rose's Practical Machinist is a little too old (lots on planers and camelbacks). Robert H. Smith's Textbook of Advanced Machine Work is on archive.org. That and his other book is good and free. An old Audel Machinist's Handy book is cheap and I found it useful. Kibbe's Machine Tool Practices is the standard community college textbook. A new one is expensive, but an 5th or 6th edition is cheap. Shop Theory form the Henry Ford Trade School is also cheap on Amazon and those old books are wonderfully illustrated. The US Army Fundamentals of Machine Tools and US Navy Machinery Repairman Handbooks are free as .pdfs.
A Machinist's Handbook - get a used edition from the 60's or 70's.
Once you can make stuff, Tom Lipton's Metalworking Sink or Swim is collection of tips and tricks from a life long metalworker. It has been the best book I have purchased in the last ten years.
Lastly, the book that got me to buy a lathe was Roy Moungovan's Shop Savvy. It had one chapter on using a lathe. This book is what you would have learned in the 1970's from the old guy at the end of the street who had a bunch of tools in his garage and knew how to do everything well enough to get by.
taw
Outlawmws
Well-known member
The south bend and atlas books are very good. This army manual is pretty good as well.
http://www.metalwebnews.com/machine-tools/fmt.html
There is another one I have saved somewhere that I can't recall off the top of my head. And another one all about tool grinding and feeds and speeds.
Machinery hand book is good, but it is more of a reference book than it is a how to. Say you need an equation or to look up a common thread pitch, you would reach for Machinery's hand book, even feeds and speeds are covered. But it is not a step by step how to run a lathe. I'd probably get how to run a lathe first or the atlas book. Both downloadable.
Was I somehow unclear about my recommendation?
At the end of the day, after the Southbend and/or Atlas books and experience have gotten you up to speed on how to run a lathe, you will use Machinery's handbook far more than the other books, and on a routine basis.
Absolutely nothing against the other recommendations, but if you find a MHB cheap (used) grab it.
Steinmetz
Well-known member
Any of the many books authored by Fred Colvin.
Was I somehow unclear about my recommendation?
At the end of the day, after the Southbend and/or Atlas books and experience have gotten you up to speed on how to run a lathe, you will use Machinery's handbook far more than the other books, and on a routine basis.
Absolutely nothing against the other recommendations, but if you find a MHB cheap (used) grab it.
It wasn't a personal attack Outlaw, I was just trying to clarify to help the guy out.
If someone has never run a lathe before, knowing thread specifics and what not that machinery hand book is good for is not going to help them much.
Machinerys handbook is like Roark's of the machining world. If you don't know how to apply the formulas and info, it really isn't going to do someone much good to have a book full of info that they can't use.
To me your response read, as if Machinerys hand book was in the same class or "order to get" as the Atlas and South bend books. Which I diagree on.
To me that read like you were recommending that they OP purchase this one instead. I was just trying to point out that Machinerys hand book, while a good reference book is not a how to, lets hold hands and run this lathe, like the Atlas and South bend book are.
So again MY recommendation would be something like...
1.) South bend book
2.) Atlas book (if you find this one first or cheaper get it)
3.) Misc machining fundamentals or lathe book
THEN, after you know how to run the machine get
4.) Machinery's hand book
Last edited:
Outlawmws
Well-known member
I didn't take it as a personal attack at all I was simply baffled that so many felt the need to re-emphasize the reference nature of MHB. I made it (I thought) clear this was not an answer to the OP's questions, but a critical book no self respecting machinist would be without. Can you get the info elsewhere? Certainly, especially with the internet, but nowhere will you find so much information concentrated such a small package.
BTW, for those saying it's "just" a bunch of formulas and reference info, read deeper. There are MANY things detailed for processing different things, if not operational use of the machines themselves...
BTW, for those saying it's "just" a bunch of formulas and reference info, read deeper. There are MANY things detailed for processing different things, if not operational use of the machines themselves...
Last edited:
innealtoir
Banned
If people think the MHB is just a bunch of formulas then they probably aren't *able* to even scratch the surface of the information inside it.
sasquatch12
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2013
- Messages
- 403
Audels, or any of the school trades books, there seem to be a number of them in used book stores.
Any of Tubal Cains videos on here are pretty nice.
Any of Tubal Cains videos on here are pretty nice.
This is a good one I used it in school. School text is probable the easiest and cheapest to get but they will only get you started. You really need to watch a video on safety of the machine you will be using. They are very very dangerous if used wrong!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1566374030/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Basic lathe safety:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1566374030/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Basic lathe safety:
Last edited: