Book recommendations for beginner machinist

[TimNJ]

Hi everyone,

I'm back to make another ignorant post on the mechanical engineering sub-forum.

Over the last few months, I've really gotten the itch to spend a lot of money start a hobby machine shop in my basement, but apart from watching a handful of machinists on Youtube and getting some of the lathe/mill lingo down, I am utterly clueless. I'm looking for some reference books, preferably with example projects that I could work through using a small lathe and/or mill. I am interested to learn basic technique with a little bit of hand-holding..

Older the book, the better, in my experience. Anyone have any favorites? I know Machinery's Handbook is a classic, but not sure how it stands as a "teaching book".

Thank you,
Tim

[bdunham7]

Having owned and operated a specialty (engine) machine shop, I can tell you that in practice, the field consists of a lot of very specific solutions and very few general principles.  Ok, there are general principles of course, but you really don't want to be trying to figure things out from first principles.  Machinery's Handbook is filled with those specific solutions and I'd strongly recommend you get a copy in any case.

Also, the drill press is one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in a typical machine shop.  You need one, but be careful!

Anything else specific, just ask.

[TimNJ]

Having owned and operated a specialty (engine) machine shop, I can tell you that in practice, the field consists of a lot of very specific solutions and very few general principles.  Ok, there are general principles of course, but you really don't want to be trying to figure things out from first principles.  Machinery's Handbook is filled with those specific solutions and I'd strongly recommend you get a copy in any case.

Also, the drill press is one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in a typical machine shop.  You need one, but be careful!

Anything else specific, just ask.

Understood. Sounds like good advice. What I gather is that often first principles aren't enough to make anything interesting...similar to how you will struggle to make anything actually useful only knowing Ohm's Law, KCL/KVL etc. That said, I really am in the "Machinery 101" phase, although I've worked many times with a drill press throughout my youth, have some clue about fixturing, feeds/speeds, etc.

Some ideas include: cutting threads, cutting gears, knurling and making small custom enclosures for electronics projects (integrated PCB bosses, front-panel holes, etc.).

By the way, what about the drill press safety in particular? You mean to say that my dad letting me use one with no safety glasses when I was 10 years old was a bad idea?

[jpanhalt]

I presume you are asking about manual machines.  The book on my shelves that I recommend is:

Machine Tool Operations
William J. Patton
Reston Publishing (Prentice-Hall) (1974)

One can also get introductory books from various tool manufacturers, such as Atlas (Manual of Lathe Operation and Machinists Tables, Clausing Corp., 1978).  There also seem to be a lot of books on manual machining from the WWII era.  Used books seem to be aplenty in used book stores and are generally quite cheap.  I suspect as old machinists die off, the family has no use for them. 

As already mentioned, Machinery's Handbook is also a valuable resource for tables, but don't get too hung up on details.  Many older machinists work by feel and sight for grinding cutters.

[tpowell1830]

Having owned and operated a specialty (engine) machine shop, I can tell you that in practice, the field consists of a lot of very specific solutions and very few general principles.  Ok, there are general principles of course, but you really don't want to be trying to figure things out from first principles.  Machinery's Handbook is filled with those specific solutions and I'd strongly recommend you get a copy in any case.

Also, the drill press is one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in a typical machine shop.  You need one, but be careful!

Anything else specific, just ask.

Understood. Sounds like good advice. What I gather is that often first principles aren't enough to make anything interesting...similar to how you will struggle to make anything actually useful only knowing Ohm's Law, KCL/KVL etc. That said, I really am in the "Machinery 101" phase, although I've worked many times with a drill press throughout my youth, have some clue about fixturing, feeds/speeds, etc.

Some ideas include: cutting threads, cutting gears, knurling and making small custom enclosures for electronics projects (integrated PCB bosses, front-panel holes, etc.).

By the way, what about the drill press safety in particular? You mean to say that my dad letting me use one with no safety glasses when I was 10 years old was a bad idea?

I was a machinist for 10 years, and my takeaway is that safety is priority one. I have personally seen tragedy multiple times because someone was a bit careless while operating some machine tool.

Safety glasses are the easiest and simplest PPM to use... please read and understand any safety guidelines for any equipment that you use. Also, spend some time to think through any operations that you attempt from a safety perspective. You don't want your family to find you wrapped around a lathe chuck. In most cases that I have tragically seen, carelessness was the number one cause for the accident.

Hope this helps...

[bdunham7]

By the way, what about the drill press safety in particular? You mean to say that my dad letting me use one with no safety glasses when I was 10 years old was a bad idea?

That was a statistics-based assertion from an insurance person, we never had any major calamities so I can't say from personal experience.  I think the issue with the drill press is that it gets used for all sorts of one-off projects and people don't take the time to go through the full set up process like they would with a bigger machine.  So it's 'well, it's a small part so I'll just hold the vise' and then the drill press throws the vise across a room.

[TimNJ]

I presume you are asking about manual machines.  The book on my shelves that I recommend is:

Machine Tool Operations
William J. Patton
Reston Publishing (Prentice-Hall) (1974)

One can also get introductory books from various tool manufacturers, such as Atlas (Manual of Lathe Operation and Machinists Tables, Clausing Corp., 1978).  There also seem to be a lot of books on manual machining from the WWII era.  Used books seem to be aplenty in used book stores and are generally quite cheap.  I suspect as old machinists die off, the family has no use for them. 

As already mentioned, Machinery's Handbook is also a valuable resource for tables, but don't get too hung up on details.  Many older machinists work by feel and sight for grinding cutters.

Yes, manual machining is the most interesting to me. Thanks for the recommendation. I found a copy on eBay with nice photos of the table of contents...It looks great. I bought it. 

[TimNJ]

Having owned and operated a specialty (engine) machine shop, I can tell you that in practice, the field consists of a lot of very specific solutions and very few general principles.  Ok, there are general principles of course, but you really don't want to be trying to figure things out from first principles.  Machinery's Handbook is filled with those specific solutions and I'd strongly recommend you get a copy in any case.

Also, the drill press is one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in a typical machine shop.  You need one, but be careful!

Anything else specific, just ask.

Understood. Sounds like good advice. What I gather is that often first principles aren't enough to make anything interesting...similar to how you will struggle to make anything actually useful only knowing Ohm's Law, KCL/KVL etc. That said, I really am in the "Machinery 101" phase, although I've worked many times with a drill press throughout my youth, have some clue about fixturing, feeds/speeds, etc.

Some ideas include: cutting threads, cutting gears, knurling and making small custom enclosures for electronics projects (integrated PCB bosses, front-panel holes, etc.).

By the way, what about the drill press safety in particular? You mean to say that my dad letting me use one with no safety glasses when I was 10 years old was a bad idea?

I was a machinist for 10 years, and my takeaway is that safety is priority one. I have personally seen tragedy multiple times because someone was a bit careless while operating some machine tool.

Safety glasses are the easiest and simplest PPM to use... please read and understand any safety guidelines for any equipment that you use. Also, spend some time to think through any operations that you attempt from a safety perspective. You don't want your family to find you wrapped around a lathe chuck. In most cases that I have tragically seen, carelessness was the number one cause for the accident.

Hope this helps...

By the way, what about the drill press safety in particular? You mean to say that my dad letting me use one with no safety glasses when I was 10 years old was a bad idea?

That was a statistics-based assertion from an insurance person, we never had any major calamities so I can't say from personal experience.  I think the issue with the drill press is that it gets used for all sorts of one-off projects and people don't take the time to go through the full set up process like they would with a bigger machine.  So it's 'well, it's a small part so I'll just hold the vise' and then the drill press throws the vise across a room.

Thanks. On multiple occasions, I've been guilty of lazy drill press work, i.e. lack of fixturing, drilling aluminum with no safety glasses etc. All just being lazy, tied into the "it won't happen to me mentality"...good to be reminded from people who have more experience. Better safe than sorry.

[jpanhalt]

Sorry, I focused on the book in my earlier reply and missed this:

Some ideas include: cutting threads, cutting gears, knurling and making small custom enclosures for electronics projects (integrated PCB bosses, front-panel holes, etc.).

With respect to cutting threads, grear, and knurling:

1) Knurling is easy compared to the other two and is not too machine dependent.
2) Threading on a good lathe can actually be enjoyable.  On hobbyist lathes, it can be a nightmare.  I have a Prazi MD300 lathe, and it is terrible for threading.  My Smart & Brown (British, mid-1960's) is a easy.  Hardinge HLVH is shear joy.  You can even do internal, blind hole threads relatively easily.  (I have not used a Monarch 10EE, but that should be easy too.) 
3) Gear cutting in a small shop is usually done on a horizontal mill.  A vertical mill can be used with the proper attachment to make it into a lightweight horizontal mill.  A lathe is the wrong tool.
4) For sheet metal holes, stepped drills are today's answer for either handheld or drill press.  Fly and single edge cutters (e.g., boring bars) cutters are another option with a rigid set-up -- not hand held.  With a mill, one often uses a center-cutting milling cutter.

As for safety, there are two things you need to worry about.  1) You doing something stupid; and 2) A coworker doing something stupid. 

You will learn quickly from your mistakes, assuming you get the chance.  It is rare that a co-worker learns as quickly.  Safety glasses and clamps for drill presses are the standard advice.  I almost never use clamps when doing PCB and other work that self-centers.  But again, I am not using a 3/4" drill in 1/2" steel. Even in that case, I will often let the work center, then clamp it.  Depending on the nature of the work, safety glasses can be ordinary reading glasses, as when drilling a PCB, or more industry appropriate as when using a grinder or a wire wheel brush.  The latter is extremely dangerous in my opinion as wires can/will fragment and fly at you.  Some wheels are much worse than others.  I have found the Dremel wheels to be particularly bad, but they are not alone.  In any case, if there is one situation when I always wear safety glasses, it is when using a wire wheel.

If you also need corrective glasses, let be suggest what I have found to be comfortable -- namely a headband and shield like what is often used for gas welding, but get an untinted shield.  It is comfortable and doesn't fog up as badly.  In fact, that is what I usually use unless I am outdoors doing something like chainsawing.

[455Turbo]

'Metalworking: Doing it Better' by Tom Lipton is very informative. It covers welding, machining, and fabrication. It is very well done and I would highly recommend it for a beginner.

Additionally videos from This Old Tony are excellent.

[TimNJ]

4) For sheet metal holes, stepped drills are today's answer for either handheld or drill press.  Fly and single edge cutters (e.g., boring bars) cutters are another option with a rigid set-up -- not hand held.  With a mill, one often uses a center-cutting milling cutter.

Thanks for all of the tips. I discovered the step bit a few years ago when working on a tube amp enclosure. I was quite surprised how well it worked, and how clean the holes were. On the contrary, for the largest holes, I used a hole saw, and it was quite a nightmare especially with a handheld drill. I just learned about boring bars the other day. Very smart. Only issue is, if I wanted to use boring bars on this tube amp enclosure, I would've needed a pretty huge mill to fit the entire workpiece.

[TimNJ]

'Metalworking: Doing it Better' by Tom Lipton is very informative. It covers welding, machining, and fabrication. It is very well done and I would highly recommend it for a beginner.

Additionally videos from This Old Tony are excellent.

Thank you. I appreciate it. And (officially) welcome to the forum!

[jpanhalt]

Only issue is, if I wanted to use boring bars on this tube amp enclosure, I would've needed a pretty huge mill to fit the entire workpiece.

That depends.  Cutting a hole in sheet metal with a fly cutter or other single point tool requires a lot less power than, for example, boring a large hole or milling.  Much less metal needs to be removed.  If the metal is aluminum, the power needed is even less. 

My drill press (circa 1975) is a Jet 14" (made in Japan in those days).  The column is about 3" in diameter and it is more than rigid enough to cut a 4" hole in aluminum.  Slow speed and good cutting fluid helps.  Quite a while ago, I converted it to a 3 PH motor with VFD.  I can make the spindle go  slow enough to easily count rotations and the power is still great. I also use LinkBelts as they run smoothly, but that is not necessary.  I would not actually try milling on the drill press as it is not rigid enough for that.   Hole saws up to 4-1/2" also work well with it.  I have not tried larger.  Just get a quality saw.

[TimNJ]

My bad, I probably used the word “mill” when I should have said “drill press”. Similar looking, but not the same. Although maybe it’s fair to say that a mill can be a drill press, but a drill press can’t be a mill?

I just struggled trying to get accurate hole placement with a hole saw, handheld, into steel, even with the centering bit. Not bad in the end, but the shearing action of the step bits gave a much nicer hole and basically impossible to “walk” once the first one or two steps are cut. Do people typically get their step bits sharpened from time to time, or treat as expendable?

Thanks for the discussion on the drill press.

[Stray Electron]

Machinery's Handbook is a classic, but not sure how it stands as a "teaching book".

Thank you,
Tim

  Machinery's Handbook is an excellent reference for specifics such as dimensions but it won't teach you how to use machinery. My recommendation are the series published in the 1930s and 40s by McGraw-Hill and written by such notables as Fred H Colvin and/or Frank A. Stanley. I have no idea how many books they wrote in total but I have about 15 covering all sorts of machine shop practices. The one that I just grabbed off of my book shelf is 'Gear Cutting Practice' written by Colvin and Stanley and published in 1937. The good thing about these and other old books is that they were written before the introduction of modern computer controlled machinery and when all machines were still operated by hand so they're all lot closer to what hobbyists are using today than what the "modern" text books teach.

   Here you go https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2054502.m570.l1313&_nkw=%22colvin%22+%22stanley%22&_sacat=0

  Somewhere I have an introduction to machinery book that was published by Ford that's pretty good. I think it was written to help train new machinists that were needed by Ford to operate many of the aircraft and other manufacturing plants in early WW-II. If I can find it, I'll post the title.

   This guy has some very good books too http://www.lautard.com/. Also checkout Brownell's. They carry gunsmithing supplies and tools and everything they sell, including their books, are first rate IMO.  Get a copy of their catalog and start reading https://www.brownells.com/

   Years ago i would have recommended the magazine 'Home Shop Machinist' but I no longer recommend it. They used to have articles about how to build tooling and various devices and they carried no advertisements. However they later started carrying advertisements so now they just want to sell you gadgets instead of teaching you how to build them.  And since they carry ads, they no longer tell you the truth about if a tool is any good or not. They're now strictly interested in promoting items instead of giving you an honest opinion of them.  IF you can find some OLD copies of that magazine from before they carried any advertisements (about 1994??), they're worth reading but don't waste your money on the newer editions.

[Stray Electron]

  In the 1950s and 60s Sears, believe it or not, published a number of very good small books explaining the fundamentals of metal lathes and other machinery. You can still find originals and photocopies on places like E-bay.  Those books are a great place to start. Sears sold South Bend lathes and South Bend also sold the same book under their name. Sears also sold power wood working tools made by Delta and had similar books for those tools so I assume that Delta also sold the same books.

   I had access to a metal lathe in high school but no one knew how to use so I taught myself how to use it by reading the book from Sears and I still have the book 50ish years later.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=craftsman+lathe+book&_sacat=0

[Kjelt]

If you are an american then goto the cnczone forum and start joining if possible member gatherings.
There is not an easy way to learn each machine has its own lingo and usage.
It took me two years to gain cnc router/milling knowledge understanding and reading gcode because the magic that cam programms do will in the beginning not always lead to what you'd expect, understatement. Breaking twenty bits is normal at start so buy cheap ones. Now having 8 yrs cnc millling experience I have no clue about lathes that is my next step, just saying every machine has its own technique and learning curves.
But step one try to meet an experienced member and visit his shop. Take your time learning.
Example most beginners make the mistake of buying a cnc router and start with the difficult workpiece just as with a 3d printer (they think) only to get frustrated because in contrary to a 3d printer you have to take a lot of parameters into account and adjust for the rigidity of your machine:
- material, wood and aluminium are two worlds apart
- feed speed, rotation speed, tool diameter, amount of material remove per pass and this also depends on the trajectory, and cooling to name only a few 

[jpanhalt]

  In the 1950s and 60s Sears, believe it or not, published a number of very good small books explaining the fundamentals of metal lathes and other machinery. You can still find originals and photocopies on places like E-bay.  Those books are a great place to start. Sears sold South Bend lathes and South Bend also sold the same book under their name. Sears also sold power wood working tools made by Delta and had similar books for those tools so I assume that Delta also sold the same books.

   I had access to a metal lathe in high school but no one knew how to use so I taught myself how to use it by reading the book from Sears and I still have the book 50ish years later.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=craftsman+lathe+book&_sacat=0

Are you sure Sears Craftsman lathes were South Bend?  South Bend, except maybe some ancient ones, have prismatic ways, as I recall.  The Sears' lathes were flat.  I was told they were made by Atlas.  In fact, I have one of the books shown in your link,* and it is published by Atlas, copyright 1978. (Authors' credit to the engineering department at Clausing Corporation, Kalamazoo, MI). (attached below) Illustrations in that book look like the lathe has flat ways.  In my earlier post, I originally included that reference but decided to delete is as probably being hard to find or overpriced.

I've never owned a Craftsman lathe, but I did have a flat way bed lathe in about 1958 and later an old South Bend 9" heavy rescued from a local high school..

*Posted image is from the ebay link.

EDIT:  I believe Montgomery Ward sold a small lathe made by Logan.  It has prismatic ways.  They are quite similar to South Bend.

[PartialDischarge]

My advice:

-Watch Abom79 videos from time to time
-Do not wear gloves in a milling machine
-Do not wear any loose clothing while using a lathe

[Jester]

I don’t have any books titles to offer, however about 10 years ago I had the strong desire to be able to create professional looking metal work for my projects. I started with a Chinese mini lathe, upgraded to an Emco and then upgraded again later to a 10x12, that I just converted to an Electronic Lead Screw.

Old Buffalo drill press, added VFD and 3P motor

Old milling machine that I converted to CNC

This is a really fun and satisfying hobby. I was tired of turning out metalwork that looked like it was hand carved with a pocketknife and finished with a piece of sandpaper.

My 2c........

When you go shopping for equipment try to avoid purchasing the bottom end entry level hobby equipment like  the 7” hobby lathes. For the same price you can get a larger used 70’-80’s made in Taiwan piece of equipment that if is not completely abused will give much better results.

Initially I planned to do everything manually, and that is a great way to start, however don’t be afraid to upgrade your old equipment to CNC over time. It’s pretty easy to do with free Mach3 software, and G-code is really simple to learn for basic operations. Watching your part being cut to precise dimensions every time priceless. CNC opens the door to do things easily that would require more specialized tooling and or time if done manually. A simple example you can cut a perfect circle or ellipse any size effortlessly with CNC, try that manually.

Have fun!

[Gyro]

You could always fall back on the good old US Army...

https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/tc9_524.pdf

Not a bad book actually.

[TimNJ]

Machinery's Handbook is a classic, but not sure how it stands as a "teaching book".

Thank you,
Tim

  Machinery's Handbook is an excellent reference for specifics such as dimensions but it won't teach you how to use machinery. My recommendation are the series published in the 1930s and 40s by McGraw-Hill and written by such notables as Fred H Colvin and/or Frank A. Stanley. I have no idea how many books they wrote in total but I have about 15 covering all sorts of machine shop practices. The one that I just grabbed off of my book shelf is 'Gear Cutting Practice' written by Colvin and Stanley and published in 1937. The good thing about these and other old books is that they were written before the introduction of modern computer controlled machinery and when all machines were still operated by hand so they're all lot closer to what hobbyists are using today than what the "modern" text books teach.

   Here you go https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2054502.m570.l1313&_nkw=%22colvin%22+%22stanley%22&_sacat=0

  Somewhere I have an introduction to machinery book that was published by Ford that's pretty good. I think it was written to help train new machinists that were needed by Ford to operate many of the aircraft and other manufacturing plants in early WW-II. If I can find it, I'll post the title.

   This guy has some very good books too http://www.lautard.com/. Also checkout Brownell's. They carry gunsmithing supplies and tools and everything they sell, including their books, are first rate IMO.  Get a copy of their catalog and start reading https://www.brownells.com/

   Years ago i would have recommended the magazine 'Home Shop Machinist' but I no longer recommend it. They used to have articles about how to build tooling and various devices and they carried no advertisements. However they later started carrying advertisements so now they just want to sell you gadgets instead of teaching you how to build them.  And since they carry ads, they no longer tell you the truth about if a tool is any good or not. They're now strictly interested in promoting items instead of giving you an honest opinion of them.  IF you can find some OLD copies of that magazine from before they carried any advertisements (about 1994??), they're worth reading but don't waste your money on the newer editions.

Thanks for the suggestion. I bought a 7 piece collection of Colvin and Stanley books for about $10/each on eBay. I also may pick up the Atlas/Craftsman book others have suggested at some point in the future, but think I will stick with these books and the above mentioned Patton book to start. As I’ve learned with electronics books, they are fun to casually read, but only really become useful once combined with real practice. So I shant get ahead of myself with too many book purchases.

[TimNJ]

Plus, we have Youtube and so many other ways to supplement these days.

[RoGeorge]

Not a book, but as a beginner I found the series to be very useful, see if it suits you:

Dan Gelbart - Building Prototypes
https://www.youtube.com/user/dgelbart/videos