Customer Reviews

Metalworking Sink or Swim: Tips and Tricks for Machinists, Welders and Fabricators

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a professional machinist of about 22 years experience, and I found this book to be both entertaining and informative. Some of the tricks shown here, while not situations I've ever encountered, were real eye-openers nonetheless. And there are tips I expect to put to use in the near future, as well, including in areas such as sheet metal work where my own experience is limited. Of recently published books of this type, this is the best I've seen. Another reviewer states that the book contains a lot of bad grammar and poor spelling... I suppose there was some, but I'm real sensitive to and annoyed by that stuff myself and I did not come away from this book with the impression it was significantly flawed in that way. Also I thought the "lame" stories were mostly funny. Especially the Russian spy one.

EDIT: I was just looking through this book again yesterday, after owning it for over a year, and I continue to be more and more impressed by it. It is really a fantastic effort at compiling clever and useful advice. I own dozens of books on metalworking, from 1890's tool catalogs to 1960's school textbooks to modern books on CNC macros, and I have to say this is the best one of all. The author's love of the craft, love of industry, love of creativity, and energy to get things done really shine through. The only bad thing I can say is that many of the author's criticisms of Bridgeport milling machine design are either unfounded or trivial... but his discussion of that only occupies maybe 1 page in the whole book.

Great book. I loved it. It does not contain basic step by step instructions on how to complete a task, so I would say that this book is geared towards people with some experience who are looking to improve their craft overall.

With regard to the other reviewer, while I agree with most of his points, I have a completely different interpretation of the negative ones - I think they're all positives. I will not address each one, but I liked the corny stories (I think they're hilarious) and the medical advice - well, I've been using electrical tape for this exact purpose for years.

Overall - five stars across the board.

This is a significant book to read, with over 300 large pages, beautifully printed in full color on high quality paper. The cover says that it has over 1000 color photos, but the photos are relatively small, so there really are 300 pages of text about nearly everything.

Foremost, this book has many great tips, both simple and advanced; such as tips on making sketches, tips on dimensioning, tips on choice of materials, tips on setting up shop, tips on sawing, turning, milling, CNC, welding, bench work, sheet metal, and much more. Much of it is common sense, like having handles on files and good lighting, but a lot of it is also novel, smart, and practical advice. There are some great ideas for fixtures and homemade tools. Tom definitely knows his stuff and covers a very wide range of material in one great book.

This book also contains off-topic and questionable advice, such as advice on emergency first aid (use Scotch Super 33 electrical tape to wrap cuts), tips on working for a boss (consider profit before considering getting paid), and tips on handing your mistakes (blame the guy who just got fired or paint it black and ship it at night). It also has many stories, and these tend to be corny and dull. The author also includes some rants, such as a diatribe about how stores should not have self-checkout lines and how CD packages should be easier to open.

I think that the author is trying to imitate Guy Lautard's folksy style of mixing advice with anecdotes, but the author lacks Guys storytelling skills, so for me, those parts land flat. In addition, the author spells words wrong, uses bad grammar, and tells jokes which may bother some readers.

Do I recommend this book? Absolutely! Tom Lipton is an extremely experienced machinist who learned from great teachers, learned a lot on his own, and tries his best to share this with you. You will get more useful advice from this book than you would from two years of any magazine or a general metal shop textbook. Each short paragraph teaches something very useful. Metalworking Sink or Swim is a very dense tomb of great information. But it is also a wandering read, interspersed with boring stories and poor writing. After one read, youll probably have a few pages of great notes and be through with it, so you may want to buy this book with a few friends and pass it around.

This isn't a textbook but rather it is an excellent supplement to the textbook training one gets from a class. I bought it to expand my knowledge on making a living by caring and feeding of a shop and it's occupants. The book and the anecdotes in the book are simply excellent. This books is exactly what it presents itself to be - those little suggestions, advice and wisdom that a shop foreman or shop teacher would share with you if they had the time.

The author is obviously very talented and skilled in the metal working field, but his writing and photographic skills are difficult to decipher. The book wastes a lot of time on long-winded war stories that have nominal technical value, a significant number of the self-made photos do not capture the detail critical to the points they are included for and a significant part of the text is so cryptic that one is left to interpolate the technique the writer is trying to describe. This could have been an excellent book if the writer had co-authored it with a competent technical writer and professional photographer. The saving points of the work are the raw gems of tips that the author has hinted at. Look for this work as a used book in the $5-10 range and it will be a worthwhile addition to your shop library. This should be 2.5 stars.

This book is not for the beginner as some assumed knowledge is expected and it is a bit pricey. That being said I am absolutely positive I will make up the cost of the book in time and frustration savings from the information that I have gleaned from it. Most shop books I have encountered either spend way too much time covering the basics and are very dull. I literally did not put this book down until I was finished as I was continuously finding new and interesting hints and tricks that I will put to use. That and I thought the stories were very entertaining. The hammer and the finger in the circle had me laughing out loud and whenever I go to weld I think of the poor hapless soul trying to stick weld with a tig setup. Definitely five solid stars. And yes, I use electrical tape on my fingers all the time for cuts.

Well I am not a metal man by any means but it is an area I would like to get involved in.
I had heard of Tom Lipton and his huge reputation on the net so had to buy his book.
I was not let down. The book is everything his reputation stands for.
I started browsing through it the day it arrived and never put it down until I had read every word.
Now I go back through it as a reference book and I am amazed how much more I am learning every time I pick up the book.
Get a copy and see for yourself.

How often do you find a book like this about metalworking? If your looking for information on woodworking, you will be overwhelmed w/ the quantity of books on different woodworking subjects. But if you are looking for information on metal fabricating, welding, and machining you are going to find mostly technical literature that tends to be specialized, theory based, and dry. There seems to be a strong relationship between the popularity of the hobby aspect of a trade and the abundance of literature about the trade. Try finding some books on working with marble or granite (good luck).
This is a great book because it it covers a diverse field of information pertaining to multiple aspects of metal fabrication. I would say it is written for the tradesman, but the metalworking hobbyist will definitely find a wealth of information here.
The author spends some time relating his philosophies on learning, mentoring, and the relationship between the designer/engineer and the shop. I found this all to be spot on and I think that many people in the industry would benefit from the read.
Lots of good info, very readable, and a whole chapter on flame straightening.
Thank you Mr. Lipton.

Excellent book about the metalworking trade! Got it today and can't put it down. Its like having a very experienced mentor tell you what he knows and his little stories and experiences along the way. Its great for someone who has desire to learn more about metal fabrication. Highly recommended.

I am not a machinist or metalworker by trade, nor have I ever received any formal education or training on the subjects. I'm just a guy who was immediately fascinated by metalworking in high school shop class, has dabbled in it occasionally throughout the years as it relates to my automotive career and hobbies, and just recently started to devote more of my free time to the art after a several-year hiatus. Before purchasing this book, I picked up a couple of similar titles by other authors and was not impressed. Either the subject matter was over my head, or the lack of organization and insight left me wanting much more. Once I discovered Sink or Swim and began reading it, I knew I had located the resource I was looking for all along. And now that I've finished reading the book cover-to-cover, I have no doubt this will be one of my most valued reference materials on any subject... as verified by the countless post-it note bookmarks I've attached throughout the book. In addition to the descriptive and well illustrated technical content, the stories that the author shared from years of experience working in machine shops were priceless.

Thank you Tom Lipton for creating this excellent book, and I hope it will inspire you to share more of your metalworking experiences and anecdotes in print.

Tony Curless | AFTERMARKETING, LLC
Marketing and Advertising Services for the Automotive Aftermarket