Machinery’s Handbook

[GregLaROCHE]

I’m looking to buy a copy of Machinery’s Handbook. There seems to be a lot of comments about the latest not being the best. Partly because of pages being so thin, that the print comes through to the other side, making it difficult to read. There is supposed to be a version with large print, that I would consider a plus, but not if it has the same problem with the thin pages. Some have advised getting an older version, because they are better and cheaper. Dose anyone have any advice on this subject ?

Thanks

[M-Tecs]

Haven't looked at the most current one. They do reflect what the current needs of industry are. For manual machining I prefer the late 70 to mid-80's version. The really old ones have a lot on steam boilers and pipes. Same for forging. For CNC and stated of the art inserts the new the better.

[Gewehr-Guy]

I use the 13th edition , 1948 , lots of outdated info but has given me answers every time I looked in it. I should try to find another newer one like M-Tecs recommended.

[longbow]

If you do a Google search you can find older copies on line for download free. Not sure of the legality but they are out there in PDF for the taking.

[country gent]

I have my Grandfathers, my Dads and mine, all have a lot of information in them and can be a big plus when doing a project. My Grandfathers has no vee belts information in it. But does have flat belts. Dads ( 1960s edition) has a lot of good info that's in line with a lot of hobby shops. Mine is good and has a lot of info but nothing on flat belts ( 1980s edition). I wonder what edition they are up to now. All three are on thinner paper possibly to save on size, so they still fit in the drawer for them in tool boxes. I believe having 2 or 3 in different editions about 15-20 years apart would be a big plus.

[alamogunr]

I have one from the '90s that I used at work. Just as a reference in my job. I'm not a machinist and have never played one on TV. I am a book nut so I looked around for an old copy and ended up buying one from before WWII from a bookstore in England. It was published and printed over there as best I can tell.

Went back to AbeBooks.com and looked up Machinery's Handbook. Helps to specify Industrial Press as publisher. Using the results, you could follow country gent's recommendation. The older editions get somewhat pricey. I never thought to look for info about flat belts. One place I worked as a manufacturing engineer still had flat belts running off of a line shaft.

[John Taylor]

My first one dated 1936. Has the formula for figuring out horse power of a steam engine.

[john.k]

The early/pre 60 s/ones have a large section on logarithms and slide rules and such,which is useless today..............Ive generally seen the 60s /70s ones at vintage car swaps for $20,and they dont sell .Most look like they have never been opened ,which I think is a fair comment on their usefullness to most people.........Ive found some of the other smaller machinists books are more use,and certainly easier to read.Books like Marks Engineers Handbook /two vols/ are even less use ,unless you design bridges and powerstations.

[samari46]

Pretty sure they make a large print edition.That and you can get it on cds also. Mine is about 30 years old. Check some of the machine shop supply houses like MSC or Travers Tool for what is out there. I still grind my bits from the blank and good info regarding grinding them with different angles for various metals. Probably have enough blanks to last till they shovel the dirt over me. This is kinda subjective but while wages were low when I dot my first lathe you could pick up blanks in HSS, M2,5% colbalt and 10% cobalt. I once bought a couple blanks of some super alloy and a red heat from either grinding or machining wouldn't loose their temper. Trick was back then was to hone the heck out of them would cut mystery metal like a knife through hot butter. Tantalum or something like that. But have started drifting to the 21st century, Look up A.W.Turner they are on the east coast. They will grind your bits or theirs to whatever angles you want. They make bits,cutters,end mills and their prices ain't bad. For the amount they charge and the usage I give them (never could get the 60 degree threading but exactly 60 degrees) They even make HSS inserts like they do carbide and holders to match. The other super toolbit I think was tangtun. Over 30 years ago. Frank

[john.k]

Most of the HSS square you get now is rubbish,made you know where,and if ground to a fine point crumbles at the edge....the old makers like Poldi and Fagersta seem be entirely into sintered throwaways..............Fagersta Werke HSS was the best,especially the cobalt grades....Ive been cutting up old Landis threading chasers,why buy what you already have.

[GregLaROCHE]

The latest edition is the 30th, as far as I know. I have my father’s, I believe it’s 1945. Unfortunately, it is stored away somewhere. When I ask my wife to help me look for it she just rolls her eyes.

There is what they call the Pocket Companion. It’s less than half the price and I think it will probably have most of what I would need. I still hope to find my father’s copy. It’s interesting looking at the way things were once done.

https://www.amazon.fr/Machinerys-Handbook-Pocket-Companion-Manufacturing/dp/0831130954/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1548855118&sr=8-2&keywords=Machinery+handbook

[alamogunr]

There is what they call the Pocket Companion. It’s less than half the price and I think it will probably have most of what I would need. I still hope to find my father’s copy. It’s interesting looking at the way things were once done.

https://www.amazon.fr/Machinerys-Handbook-Pocket-Companion-Manufacturing/dp/0831130954/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1548855118&sr=8-2&keywords=Machinery+handbook

I assume there is an English edition.:bigsmyl2:

[Green Frog]

I had to go to my Grandfather's 1916 edition to find the info I needed for cutting square threads. As M-Tecs said, lots of stuff like boilers and steam, but some good classic info nonetheless! :mrgreen:

Froggie

[Jeff Michel]

The new versions aren't worse than the older versions. The contents are different because technology is always moving forward. If your working with advanced synthetics and plastics, doing CNC stuff, the newer copy will serve your needs best. If you need to cut a thread, tap a hole or find out the DP of a spur gear, an old copy will do everything you need. There are many different versions of the same beast. I use MH and Mark's Engineering and a couple other iterations depending on where I'm at in the shop or in the house. Two of the better one's are The American Machinist Handbook by Colvin and Stanley and the Student Reference Shop Handbook. Either one will supply you with all the practical information the average person will ever need in the shop. Better still, they are real cheap on places like the Ebay sight. Good luck.

[bob208]

I have a 1941 and a 1945 copy. but I used the machinist guides the most. there are three pocket sized books. one for taps one for carbide and one general machining.

[GregLaROCHE]

Can someone give me some names of the small pocket sized quick references, that a lot of machinists carry. The really small ones that will fit in a shirt pocket.

Thanks

[alamogunr]

Pocket Ref. There are several with various primary subject matter. Actually, I only found one besides the original.

[ulav8r]

I assume there is an English edition.:bigsmyl2:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_6_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=machinery%27s+handbook%2C+large+print+30t h+edition&sprefix=machiner%2Caps%2C202&crid=CE5YVJHZ1PJU

[M-Tecs]

Can someone give me some names of the small pocket sized quick references, that a lot of machinists carry. The really small ones that will fit in a shirt pocket.

Thanks

In 40 years I have never seen a machinist with a machinist pocket reference in his pocket. Most have a Machinery’s Handbook in their toolbox. Seen lots with trig. pocket references since the used them daily. With CNC and online trig not so much anymore. What information are you needing from the reference?

[country gent]

I always told people that big drawer was for the pistol I would use on the first to scratch the gerstners. LOL. I never carried any books or references in my apron pocket. There was a machinists handbook and small trig book in that drawer and notes on special jobs. My apron did have a 6" scale, pencil, and 1" mics in the upper pockets. The last shop I worked in actually had a small library of various reference material for our use. Macinnist handbook, trig, and others

[bob208]

search morse cutting tool division pocket guides. I had all three in my box at work the one on taps gets used a lot.

[samari46]

John.K, most if not all the blanks are rex plus a few of the older American brand names. I got my first lathe a sears craftsman 6" soon after I got out of the navy in '67. That and there was a place that bought out old machine shops near where I lived. They had unground blanks as well as ones they picked up. I wasn't making much money in those years but then again they weren't asking much for the blanks either.
All this was many years ago, how about a 12"x18" surface plate?. They had a 20' storage container full of them. Frank

[country gent]

The old cast surface plates are also about gone from most shops being replaced with granite plates. Ive seen some nice cast iron plates sell at auction that didn't bring scrap weight price. Those plates were in decent shape but reworking one is time consuming to do. Did a lot of scraping using a 4' X 6' Starrett black granite plate years ago. It was resurfaced and certified every 2 years. Last time the guys came in they had the surface within .0002 on its surface. This was done entirely by hand with flat iron blocks and rubbing.

Cant think of the name for it but if you have 3 plates and scrape them to each other in the correct sequence you get 3 true flat surfaces all matched. Its a slow process and tedious but it does result in some high precision surfaces.

[bob208]

I have one of the cast iron plates used it for awhile then at a auction I got a granite plate it sets on the cast plate. I also have a small granite plate I had in my box at work. maybe the wife will use it for a head stone.

[country gent]

bob208, used to tease the boss I worked on a granite plate for my career and when I die they will bury me under one. We moved our big plate in he shop and everyone was so worried about it. I looked at them and told them Shoot its just a rock how hard can it be to move. Got a lot of dirty looks there.

[GregLaROCHE]

I guess the small pocket book I remember seeing was the one with the trig tables. I just thought there might be something with what size drill to use with what size tap etc.

So why have shops gone to granite instead of cast iron surface plates?

[alamogunr]

I guess the small pocket book I remember seeing was the one with the trig tables. I just thought there might be something with what size drill to use with what size tap etc.

So why have shops gone to granite instead of cast iron surface plates?

The twist drill vendors used to pass out plastic pocket size cards that had tap drill sizes on one side and decimal equivalents on the other. I've got several that I had the purchasing people save for me.

[M-Tecs]

I guess the small pocket book I remember seeing was the one with the trig tables. I just thought there might be something with what size drill to use with what size tap etc.

So why have shops gone to granite instead of cast iron surface plates?

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/cast-iron-versus-granite-surface-plate.30593/

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tap+drill+chart&qpvt=tap+drill+chart&FORM=IGRE

http://www.harveytool.com/secure/Content/Documents/Tap_Drill_Chart.pdf

[country gent]

If you want the tap drill chart then stop in to one of the tool supply stores they may have a Starrett, Moarse, Brown and Sharp tap drill chart that's a free be. Most tool companies made these up as give away's from a nice plastic stock similar to a playing card. Most drill index's have one in them also. MSV T&S and a lot of the suppliers catalogs have tap drill charts conversion charts and other info in them besides what's for sale. We used to cut out 1/8" lexan or plexiglass 2 pieces that were 1/2" larger on all sides and glue the chart between them. Clean up and deburr the edges and they didn't stain or get brittle with age. And when oil got on then they were easier to clean up. I always wanted one of the big wall charts for in the shop. This one gave tap drills and decimil sizes of letter number fractional and metric drills. Those little plastic cards were handy but after a few years in the trade were left in the tool box, It became natural to convert from memory due to the constant usage. LOL

[john.k]

Newton s method,invented by Isaac Newton,the first man to produce a perfectly flat surface.

[longbow]

Here is a link to the 26th edition of the Machinerys Handbook:

http://theminimachineshop.com/Technical/Machinerys%20Handbook.pdf

[samari46]

Have a cousin who worked for one of the big aero space companies on Long Island NY. Was attending a sale from a large machine shop and did buy a large assortment of tools and machinery. When he asked about the huge surface plate in the brochure the guy told him he was standing on it. My little one rarely gets used so it gets a couple shots of the special protectant that goes on wet and dries to a waxy film. Sort of like the stuff they dip the reamers in. No rust in over 30 some odd years. Just clean off the coating use the plate and when done spray it and store it away. Frank

[Jeff Michel]

Granite is more wear resistant and doesn't raise a burr if impacted. Easier to recondition and cheaper to purchase. I "think" it was Joseph Whitworth that developed the three plate method.

[Willbird]

My dad gave me one as a Vocational High School graduation gift in 1983. Kinda crazy but back then the "thumb index" one was a LOT more expensive and most folks bought the cheaper one. Mostly I used it for speeds and feeds of various materials. In today's world I never use it...smart phone has replaced it. As others have said on tap drill sizes most drill index like Hout have the data printed in them. Also I like the Huot tap indexes too, and they also list the tap drill size.

For a person who will spend their life drilling and tapping holes it is worth learning how to calculate tap drill size. Simply subtract the lead of the thread from the major dia...Really easy for metrics...take a M6x1.0 thread, major is 6mm, lead is 1.0mm, tap drill is 5mm. 3/4-10 bolt, major is .750, lead is .1, tap drill will be .650. There are a few in the mix where no exact number, letter or fraction hits 75% thread exactly and the charts sometimes will offer two sizes.

But another thing I used machinery handbook for was taper per foot of morse tapers...each is different slightly...but again google is your friend, and often a quick cad sketch of the part combined with some google gives me what I need.

Now in a situation where the power went out worldwide for 5 years...yea the book would be REALLY good to have :-).

I have some older ones the they have some good data as well. Another good book if you stumble across it is "Marks Handbook".....again esp the older ones, the one I have from the 40's even details the weight of steam loco and tenders. It is sort of the plant Engineers version of Machineries....all kinds of useful stuff in there.