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Machine Shop Trade Secrets
 
 
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Machine Shop Trade Secrets [Paperback]

James Harvey (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 15, 2005 0831132272 978-0831132279
“…James Harvey has written an excellent book that fills a void in current metalworking instructional books. Most textbooks are aimed at the beginner in the machining trade and cover basic work practice admirably. What textbooks do not do is sit you down with a veteran of the trade who can fill you in on the tips and tricks that allow working faster, accurately and intelligently. What amazed me is at how all these tips are not recycled versions of the ones we are all familiar with (as published by Lindsay's books and others) but are new tips, all useful and pertinent to the tools and methods of today.”

Nicholas Carter



Written by an experienced machinist and plastic injection mold maker, this groundbreaking manual will have users thinking and producing like experienced machinists. Machine Shop Trade Secrets provides practical “how-to” information that can immediately be put to use to improve ones machining skills, craftsmanship, and productivity. It is sure to be used and referred to time and again. You will discover ways to:

  • Work faster.
  • Select, make, and grind cutters.
  • Surface grind blocks, pins and shapes
  • Cut threads, knurl parts and eliminate warp.
  • Choose realistic feeds, speeds and depths of cut.
  • Remove broken taps, drill bits and other hardware.
  • Apply proven CNC techniques to maximize output.
  • Improve surface finishes and hold tighter tolerances
  • Assist engineers with design and manufacturing issues.
  • Improve indicating skills and develop a “feel” for machining.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...James Harvey has written an excellent book that fills a void in current metalworking instructional books." -- Nicholas Carter, Cartertools.com

"It’s bound to save you time, and trouble and give you the inside edge on lots of procedures ..." -- Roy

"Jim's approach to the content is no nonsense, hands-on, which I found appealing for the shop environment" -- Steven Gray, Steve's Old Engine Shed

"Most of what you find in this book you don't find in standard texts on machine work or metal working." -- Jock Dempsey, Anvilfire.com

"The writing style is akin to having had a friendly and very informative conversation with an "old pro" machinist." -- Dr. Ray Sommer, Ph.D., R.A. Sommer’s Hobby Machine Shop

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

As machinists, how often are we asked to produce hardware that was needed "yesterday?" The fact is, quite often as shop personnel try to keep "squeaky wheels" greased. Squeaky wheels come at us from all sides. Production people count on machinists to keep lines going, research and development people count on machinists to keep new product programs on track, maintenance people count on machinists for repair parts and so on.

The bottom line is when people want parts; they want parts. They don’t want excuses or anything else. That's one of the beauties of being a machinist. Your responsibilities are clear and simple. If you can get people their blessed parts, they'll go away.

Most people, including myself, don’t want to work any harder or faster than we have to. At times though, when the crisis monkey is on us, we have to get the lead out and get going. Crisis machining can be fun once in a while and generally speaking; any glory to be had usually comes from helping someone through a crisis. If nothing else, it can be a nice change of pace. The hours tend to go by quickly when your working on a "hot" job.

The following suggestions may help you work quickly. Keep in mind that doing a job correctly has to be your first priority... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Industrial Press, Inc. (December 15, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0831132272
  • ISBN-13: 978-0831132279
  • Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This has to be the most unusual book I have ever read. Each chapter contains a number of separate numbered paragraphs. Each paragraph contains the author's thoughts about some specific aspect of machining. This organizational format is almost bizarre, but somehow strangely effective. This book has the best description I have ever seen on what cutters are best used for particular functions. I also really enjoyed the do's and don'ts on NC machining. I've gone through it twice now in one week and will probably read it a third time before long.

This is not the usual textbook on machining with numerous pages devoted to cutting theory that somehow never quite gets to the point of telling you what feed and speed to use to accomplish a specific task. Nor does it have an entire chapter telling you what a lathe is and how the various parts are named. The utility of many such treatises is probably exhausted once past the point of contributing to some academician's case for being awarded tenure. This one is really different. It really has a lot of good advice that's applicable to virtually any environment.

Some of the points the author makes may seem trivial at first (buy lots of tools, for example)as noted by at least one other reviewer. But if you take the time to read and understand what he's saying, you'll see there is some interesting and really decent advice here. Buying special purpose tools rather than the 6-in-1 kind, for example, not only produces better work, but helps avoid time consuming setups and reduces bad parts.

I've got a suggestion for the author for another book. He might organize it by "how to" topic. For example, "how to cut an interior keyway". There are lots of ways to do most of these things, ranging from simple hand tool methods to megacredit special purpose machinery. It would be interesting (for me at least) to see 4 to 5 ways presented for each "how to" with a brief discussion of their pluses and minuses.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Machine Shop Trade Secrets provides tremendous value for it's cover price. I've been a home shop machinist for about 4 years now, and purchased half a dozen different books on the subject. This one stands out.

This book is not a reference volume, nor an introduction to machine tools. It is, however, a wide-ranging collection of tips, techniques and observations by a master machinist. None of the tips are deep, dark secrets given only to a chosen few, although his description of how to easily drill compound-angle holes without a universal vise comes close.

The material is clear, concisely written, and well-illustrated. He assumes that his audience has a basic familiarity with machine tools, and offers ways to use them which increase both accuracy and job speed. Some of the material is most relevant to working in a production shop, and some covers specialized tools and techniques. Most, however, is useful advice for a wide range of machining tasks.

I particularly enjoyed his section of advice for engineers specifying machined parts. He provides a number of clear observations about choices which seem to be equivalent from an engineering perspective, but which make producing the part much more difficult. This advice is just as relevant for a home shop machinist designing parts for their own project.

Throughout, the book is written to be accessible to the reader. He doesn't belabor observations which can be expressed in one sentence, nor does he skimp on explanations for more involved tasks. This book is the closest I've seen to having a friendly neighbor, who happens to be a master machinist, who is willing to come over and show you the easier ways to get good results.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Highly Informative. November 1, 2007
Format:Paperback
This is not a machining primer. It does give you unusual access to the mind of an obviously skilled and experienced machinist. The book obviously reflects a great deal of work and preparation. It is entertainingly laid out. The photographs are outstanding and numerous.

If you are anything but a seasoned machinist, this book is worthy of rereading many times. My son and I have separate shops in the same business. This is the only machining book that I felt compelled to buy two copies of, one for myself and one for my son.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Well worth reading.
I found the book to be quite valuable. It's written primarily for the amateur or beginning machinist looking to improve his skills with manual machine tools. Read more
Published 2 months ago by DavidKienholz
Get this book
If you're just starting out in the trade, or if you're a weekend warrior, this will be a hard book to put down. Read more
Published 2 months ago by martinb92002
Trade secrets
The book has a lot of common sense information, but not enough hard core tricks to warrant the title in my opinion. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Richard
Machine Shop Trade Secrets
This is a book well worth having. Its fun to pick up when you dont have much time and just want some lighter reading. I agree with all the positive comments of other reviewers. Read more
Published 13 months ago by RAW One
Decent book for machinists
There are some great points of interests to the machining trade in this book. I agree with some of the other reviews in that its not the greatest, but even if I find only a few... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Fred Lavalley
Great for any novice as well as intermediate hobbyists
I received this for Christmas and was skeptical but with just a few searches found a wealth of information and ideas to help get started with many different projects. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ed Roberts
A good book for beginner.
This type of book is rare. Most book consist of theory after theory and formula after formula.
Finall'you still do not know how to make a real piece. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Eav
Go Figure Gogo Figures
This book provides the sophisticated content I had expected. There is practically a figure on every page, which helps a lot. Read more
Published 22 months ago by MaJ
Not so great to me...
I cannot understand the many rave reviews this book has received here. I'm a professional machinist with 22 years experience, and I simply was not impressed at all by this book. Read more
Published on February 14, 2010 by Fuzzbean
Useful but not great
Not organized well for finding information as a reference. A number of good tips, but very focused on perspective of a working machinist rather than amateur. Read more
Published on February 12, 2010 by Wolfend
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
As machinists, how often are we asked to produce hardware that was needed "yesterday?" Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
preexisting angles, grinding vise, single flute cutter, slow spindle speeds, basic pitch diameter, insert type tools, milling machine vise, collet closer, emergency collets, stub drills, quill stop, flute end mills, lathe parts, conventional milling machine, die buttons, slide fixture, standard end mills, sine plate, diamond lap, web thinning, carbide end mills, angle fixture, fly cutter, knurling tool, grade carbides
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Machinery's Handbook, American National
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