just bought a lathe,now i need to learn. any recomendations on books etc for
a beginner
thankx

Ron wrote:

just bought a lathe,now i need to learn. any recomendations on books etc for
a beginner
thankx



First one to get is "How To Run A Lathe" by the South Bend Lathe Corp.

Lindsay reprints it. I have several old (vintage!!) copies, $5 plus
shipping will get you one. Or get one on ebay or go look at powells.com
or search abebooks.com or something.

After that I recommend you skip to Moltrecht's "Machine Shop Practice"
which is a decent 2-volume set.

Thing is, there's a lot to running a lathe. You need to understand the
geometry of a lathe bit, how to sharpen one, how to lubricate, cutting
speeds and feeds, some metallurgy, how to take care of a machine, how
to not wind up with a chuck key stuck into your forehead, stuff like that.

GWE

"Machining Fundamentals" by John R Walker 1973.

I got a used copy of the 1973 512 page version on the internet for ~$25.

There are different versions of the book available:
1) 1973 512 page edition
2) 2000 140 page edition
3) 2003 640 page edition
4) Teacher's editions and other crap.

Engineering Workshop Practice is a handy book, 3.2MB, downloadable he

http://www.geocities.com/magdyno/EngWkshpPrac.zip

Jordan


Ron wrote:
just bought a lathe,now i need to learn. any recomendations on books etc for
a beginner
thankx

Machinery's Handbook will get you a reference for virtually any aspect
of metal working. Old editions show up in second-hand bookstores. Keep
an eye out for one.
Bugs

Quick and cheap: Go to the local used bookstore and pick up some
machine shop textbooks. I have several versions, all cost around $5.00
each, and are specifically aimed at the novice, with lots of illustrations.
- -
Rex Burkheimer
WM Automotive
Fort Worth TX

Ron wrote:
just bought a lathe,now i need to learn. any recomendations on books etc for
a beginner
thankx

In article ,
Grant Erwin wrote:
Ron wrote:

just bought a lathe,now i need to learn. any recomendations on books etc for
a beginner
thankx



First one to get is "How To Run A Lathe" by the South Bend Lathe Corp.

Lindsay reprints it. I have several old (vintage!!) copies, $5 plus
shipping will get you one. Or get one on ebay or go look at powells.com
or search abebooks.com or something.

An alternative is the Atlas book of similar name. If you have
either a South Bend or an Atlas, you should select the one which matches
the brand, as it will have some detail stuff which the other will not
(such as change gear trains for threading on a machine without a
quick-change gearbox. But most of what is there will be quite similar
in either book.

After that I recommend you skip to Moltrecht's "Machine Shop Practice"
which is a decent 2-volume set.

An excellent one.

Thing is, there's a lot to running a lathe. You need to understand the
geometry of a lathe bit, how to sharpen one, how to lubricate, cutting
speeds and feeds, some metallurgy, how to take care of a machine, how
to not wind up with a chuck key stuck into your forehead, stuff like that.

That last one -- in case you don't see it in print anywhere, the
basic rule is *never* leave the chuck key stuck in the hole on the
chuck. It is so easy to forget about it and switch the machine on, at
which point it either goes flying (possibly doing damage to you), or it
does damage to the bed of the lathe, and perhaps other parts.

Many modern chuck keys have a spring around the square end so
they pop out if you are not *holding* them in. I like to keep this
feature, even though it can be a bit awkward at times -- it is *far*
safer.

You can also pick up quite useful books in pdf form from the
Army web site -- or it is archived on other sites as well. But the two
which you have already had suggested to you I consider to be the best
starting place. I still dig into the Moultrecht books from time to time
when I get something unusual in the way of tooling, or when I have
something to do which I don't know how to handle.

Good Luck,
DoN

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

DoN. Nichols wrote:
You can also pick up quite useful books in pdf form from the
Army web site -- or it is archived on other sites as well. But the
two

Good Luck,
DoN



what is this 'army web site'

I can't find a website where they are posted. There are PDF versions of
most of the military training manuals for machine work. They include
basic machining, lathe operation, mill operation, and a few specific to
certain brands, such as Rockwell lathe. Probably 5 - 7 titles. They do
show up on alt.binaries.e-books.technical routinely.
I have them all downloaded at home, could email them if you wish.
- -
Rex Burkheimer
WM Automotive
Fort Worth TX

stone wrote:
DoN. Nichols wrote:

You can also pick up quite useful books in pdf form from the
Army web site -- or it is archived on other sites as well. But the

two

Good Luck,
DoN




what is this 'army web site'

"Rex B" wrote in message
...
I can't find a website where they are posted. There are PDF
versions of
most of the military training manuals for machine work. They include
basic machining, lathe operation, mill operation, and a few specific
to
certain brands, such as Rockwell lathe. Probably 5 - 7 titles. They
do
show up on alt.binaries.e-books.technical routinely.
I have them all downloaded at home, could email them if you wish.
- -


Right here...
http://metalwebnews.com/machine-tools/fmt.html

Corollary to below is make sure hands and (especially) fingers are free
of the chuck before powering on.

Good luck!


That last one -- in case you don't see it in print anywhere, the
basic rule is *never* leave the chuck key stuck in the hole on the
chuck. It is so easy to forget about it and switch the machine on, at
which point it either goes flying (possibly doing damage to you), or it
does damage to the bed of the lathe, and perhaps other parts.

Bugs wrote:

Machinery's Handbook will get you a reference for virtually any aspect
of metal working. Old editions show up in second-hand bookstores. Keep
an eye out for one.
Bugs


If you can figure out how to operate a lathe with a copy of "Machinery's
Handbook", you are better than me.