It'll be at least six months before I move, so I got a bit of time before I even have chance to go to school or work on building a shop.

I've been checking out my local library on any books on the subject of machining, but i'm looking for advice on 'must haves'. If I'm going to do this I want to get as much good info as possible.

I've got a free issue of "Machinist's Workshop" and am considering subscribing to that, plus maybe "The Home Shop Machinist". Not sure how good they are since I'm new but they do seem interesting.

They have a lot of compilations but they can get kinda expense so I don't want to be buying stuff with no idea of what i'm looking for.

Right now i've taken out a copy of "Machine shop basics" 5th edition by AUDEL.


AS seen here

Other books the library has are:

Exploring Metalworking: Fundamentals of Technology

This one was was pretty well recomended:
Machining Fundamentals: From Basic to Advanced Techniques

Metallurgy Fundamentals

And maybe for shits and giggles

CNC Robotics: Build Your Own Workshop Bot

And I know it's slightly off topic but I notice a lot of guys here do welding and it seems like a very useful skill.

Modern welding : complete coverage of the welding field in one easy-to-use volume! / by Andrew D. Althouse

Anyway I'm willing to read almost anything, but I don't want to be picking up bad info and waste my time.

Thanks for any advice you guys can share!

check out Smart Flix Rentals they have over 6000 videos for rent many on firearms, machining, and welding, as well as numerous other titles that may prove helpfull. They rent for $9.99 with a discount on sets.

Sooner or later, you'll want a Machinery's Handbook:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinery%27s_Handbook

Not quite the bible, but pretty close for machinists.  It's dense, meaning they cram a huge number of facts in there, and it's not a textbook with a long easy teaching explanation.  But if you're halfway clever, there is a gold mine in there of reference material.

A used one ten years old will give you 99% of the utility of a new full price one.

Good luck!

troy

+1 on Machinery's Handbook. When I got mine it came with Machinery"s Handbook Guide, which is sort of a mini course on engineering. Check it out endless hours of education...
take care
Mike

you could take the six months to learn to master a CAD program..That is something that you can do with computer you have now ..Thats maybe better than trying to learn machinists work from text alone..plus you will need CAD eventually if not already.. ..This presumes you dont already own lathe and mill and surface grinder and bandsaw and welders etc.. Without machinery to learn on you cant really learn the subject....Without machinery you'd be as well off to simply read magazines to keep  your enthusiasm going..
.

i am all for having manybooks of a subject and related materials for refrence.
smartflix has a club program of 22.50 a month you have several cds in rotation with them,keep them as long as you like and no limit on how many a month.

look at how you learn  many need to do it hands on other can do it just by books and then polish the skill next.  learning is always a adventure.

Here is a few free videos from MIT about basic machine shop tools.
Will help you get a better understanding.   http://techtv.mit.edu/videos?q=machine+shop

I dont know why but the link is not coming out right no matter what I do to it. So goto techtv.mit.edu and do a search for Machine Shop and the 11 videos will pop up

Quote (big art @ Dec. 11 2008,06:40)

check out Smart Flix Rentals they have over 6000 videos for rent many on firearms, machining, and welding, as well as numerous other titles that may prove helpfull. They rent for $9.99 with a discount on sets.

I saw smartflix, I'm interested in that or something similar. I got to watch a few parts of the AGI milling video and found it very informative. But then again i'm a noob so almost anything will be informative.

Quote

Sooner or later, you'll want a Machinery's Handbook:

I'd like to get a hardbound copy but I think I have access to a digital version of that.

Quote

you could take the six months to learn to master a CAD program..That is something that you can do with computer you have now ..Thats maybe better than trying to learn machinists work from text alone..plus you will need CAD eventually if not already.. ..This presumes you dont already own lathe and mill and surface grinder and bandsaw and welders etc.. Without machinery to learn on you cant really learn the subject....Without machinery you'd be as well off to simply read magazines to keep  your enthusiasm going..

I've been having some fun with a cheap HF digital caliper and autodesk inventor modeling some of the parts on my su-16, so I have some experience doing basic 2d/3d solid drawing. But also I want to learn the fundamentals so I have a more realistic expectations.

For example, when I measured my parts I now realize I probably used more pressure because at the time I had no education on the proper use of a caliper. So even without a mill or a lathe the small amount i've been learning will help with just doing digital modeling and measurements. Also in the little i've learned I have a more realistic idea of what steps and setup would be involed.

So while a lot of what I'm reading wont be useful untill I get my hands on a machine I think it'll help to have a head start on what to expect so at least I know some of the terms, and some of the equipment.

If nothing else what i've learned so far has made me MORE excited because it looks like I can actually do this, instead of it just being a nebulous idea.

Quote

I dont know why but the link is not coming out right no matter what I do to it. So goto techtv.mit.edu and do a search for Machine Shop and the 11 videos will pop up

Thanks!

The finest general machining manual available is "Audel's Machinists and Tool Makers Handy Book" by Frank D. Graham.  It pre-dates common use of the vertical mill, but is absolutely outstanding with respect to info on cutter grinding, lathe work, layouts, accuracy and sources of error, shop math, etc.  I have probably hundreds of books on the subject (I'm an avid reader...) and it is the best of its type.

Once you have a little experience, Guy Lautard's "Machinist Bedside Reader" series are excellent.  (If you're brand new they might still be good, but you'll miss the point of other stuff).

"Machine Shop Trade Secrets" by James Harvey is another in that category, but a little more friendly to beginners - old hands won't find much new in it.

Geo H. Thomas wrote quite a bit, now published in two books "The Model Engineer's Workshop Manual" and "Workshop Techniques" that are outstanding, and if you live in the US, rare and expensive.  The first book is the most fruitful, the latter being largely a collection of projects.

Practice is the only thing that will really teach you, but you could do much worse than the books I've mentioned.

GsT

Quote (GeneT @ Dec. 25 2008,11:29)

The finest general machining manual available is "Audel's Machinists and Tool Makers Handy Book" by Frank D. Graham.  It pre-dates common use of the vertical mill, but is absolutely outstanding with respect to info on cutter grinding, lathe work, layouts, accuracy and sources of error, shop math, etc.  I have probably hundreds of books on the subject (I'm an avid reader...) and it is the best of its type. Once you have a little experience, Guy Lautard's "Machinist Bedside Reader" series are excellent.  (If you're brand new they might still be good, but you'll miss the point of other stuff). "Machine Shop Trade Secrets" by James Harvey is another in that category, but a little more friendly to beginners - old hands won't find much new in it. Geo H. Thomas wrote quite a bit, now published in two books "The Model Engineer's Workshop Manual" and "Workshop Techniques" that are outstanding, and if you live in the US, rare and expensive.  The first book is the most fruitful, the latter being largely a collection of projects. Practice is the only thing that will really teach you, but you could do much worse than the books I've mentioned. GsT

I've read Audel's machine shop basics 5th edition and found it helpful. Those MIT video also was good too.

I'm currently reading "Machining Fundamentals" by John R. Walker which Is pretty big but is well laid out and has lots of visuals which is nice.

I'll check out Lautard's work and some more specific stuff relating to gunsmithing once I've got some hands on experience. Right now I'm just trying to learn as much as I can, After I finish what my local library has to offer I might try that smarflix idea.

I understand books won't replace real life experience but right now that's not practical so I want to prepare myself as much as possible with my free time.

Quote (buster charlie @ Dec. 25 2008,16:01)

I've read Audel's machine shop basics 5th edition...

That's a completely different book than the one I'm recommending - The Machinists and Tool Makers Handy Book has probably been out of print for 50 years, but you can still get them from Amazon.

I though Walker was a waste of time - it's a text book for college courses, and seems dependent on the fact that you'll really do most of your learning in the shop/lab part of the class.  

GsT

I've had pretty good luck picking up machining textbooks from used bookstores and library annual sales.
Those are, by definition, aimed at the neophyte. They also teach manual machining, since most pre-date CNC.

Thanks for the heads up again, I really appreciate it. I hope when I get set up I'll be able to contribute to this place in a more meaningful manner!

IMO, asking questions *is* meaningful.  Sometimes it causes some excellent discussions, and I trust the 1-in-10 rule: if 1 person asks 10 were wondering...

That said, I'd be delighted to see your projects come to life, as well!

GsT

Here are some of my very best machinist books. This Stanley and Colvin knew their stuff.

Here are some more good books. That diemaking book is great. One additional shop book that I recommend is "Shop Theory" by the Henry Ford Trade School, which has been reprinted by Lindsay Publications.

Related more to Design, I have the 4-volume set "Ingenious Mechanisms" which I think Enco sells now. Probably little in those books relates directly to firearm design, but studying them will certainly put you in the right frame of mind. I really recommend them.

Some other books I value are"Tool Steel Simplified" by the Carpenter Steel Company, "Tool Steel Handbook" by Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation, "Republic Alloy Steels" by Republic Steel Corporation, "Modern Steels And Their Properties" by Bethlehem Steel Company, and "Heat Treatment, Selection and Application of Tool Steels" by William E. Bryson.

That set of black Stanley and Colvin books in the first photo was a lucky find for me. I was driving home from work and saw an old guy I knew sitting in a folding chair at the side of the road with a few items to sell. I stopped and he had that set in a box and sold them to me for like $4.00.

Thanks Fuzzbean!
I'm scrambling to find those titles right away. I need edjumacatium  
I have some of the titles discussed earlier in the thread but when someone who's talent and expertise I am in awe of says "Here's a good book to learn from", I need to have it...

You must be in awe of me sitting on my butt for the last year and a half.

As you can tell, most of these books are pretty old stuff and intended for professional machinists. The older info is actually good, as most hobby or home machinery is likely to be basic and out-moded by modern industrial standards. It's like the old stuff, just smaller. But I should warn that the machinery discussed or pictured can sometimes be very esoteric as well as very large.

Metal Web News ( http://www.metalwebnews.com/ ) has quite a few books and articles in .pdf format.
(I gotta figure out how to post a link on here, as it's different than any other forum I'm on...)

Fuzzbean--I've often been impressed by both your builds and your obvious intelligence--but it just occured to me to wonder...

Are you a Mechanical Engineer; Tool-and-Die Maker; or Master Machinist?

No, they are not mutually exclusive; but you know what I mean...

.....RVM45      

some pdf's from above link:

http://www.metalwebnews.com/mr-plans.html

http://www.metalwebnews.com/mr.html

Fuzzbean , any of your books go in detail on designing forging dies?..I dont have many books on metalsworking and none go into any detail for design theory for construction and use of forging dies...For boasting points I'd possibly like to forge a receiver  but I know very little about the process, want to read all about it if text can be found.

I'd definitely recommend Guy Lautard's "Machinist Bedside Readers".  I've got all three, and they're great.

Quote (RVM45 @ Dec. 31 2008,09:37)

Fuzzbean--I've often been impressed by both your builds and your obvious intelligence--but it just occured to me to wonder... Are you a Mechanical Engineer; Tool-and-Die Maker; or Master Machinist? No, they are not mutually exclusive; but you know what I mean... .....RVM45

Well I don't have the education to call myself a mechanical engineer. I've built quite a few tools and fixtures, and even a couple dies, but that's not my job nowadays. I guess "master machinist" fits OK, since I'm the ONLY machinist where I work.

Quote (ALPHAWOLF45 @ Dec. 31 2008,10:08)

Fuzzbean , any of your books go in detail on designing forging dies?..I dont have many books on metalsworking and none go into any detail for design theory for construction and use of forging dies...For boasting points I'd possibly like to forge a receiver  but I know very little about the process, want to read all about it if text can be found.

No, I don't see anything about forging dies. I have two good books on "die making" but they are all about blanking and forming sheet metal. I guess forging dies must be a much more specialized subject.