The Small-Engine Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) [Paperback]

Peter Hunn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Motorbooks Workshop | Publication Date: June 13, 2005

Peter Hunn. It's common for homeowners to have 2- or 4-cycle small engines in their lawn and garden equipment, utility vehicles, recreational vehicles, generators and other machines. With this easy-to-follow, richly illustrated handbook, homeowners will be able to understanding small engines, troubleshooting them and working on them. The book has a brief history of significant and popular small engines and a guide to setting up a home workshop in which to work on them. It also includes case studies on the disassembly, maintenance, repair and/or rebuilding of: a 2-stroke lawnmower engine, a 4-stroke utility motor, a 2-stroke chainsaw engine, and a curbside junker. The writing is lively and entertaining and the color photos clearly show how to work on these useful engines.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A radio broadcaster by trade, Peter Hunn has amassed a collection of more than 100 classic outboards and other small-engined machines. He is also the author of The Old Outboard Book (International Mariner, 1992), now in its third edition. He lives in upstate New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; First edition (June 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760320497
• ISBN-13: 978-0760320495
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,230,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting, But..., October 13, 2005

By 

J. Jones (Troy, NH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Small-Engine Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I read it cover to cover in a short amount of time. However the title is rather misleading. This is definitely not a technical manual. If you have an old engine that wont run, this is not the book to help. It covers very basic workings of engines. I did find the book to be an excellent starting place for one interested in tinkering with old engines as a hobby. It inspired me to go ahead and give it a shot. After reading it I have proceeded to buy other more technical books. If you're interested in this sort of thing, it's worth reading just for the historical information.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelletn overall review of vintage small engines, June 9, 2005

By 

Water - Bug - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Small-Engine Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

Peter has a wonderful Folksy way of bringing his enthusiasm for a wide range of small engines to us. If you want lots of color pictures and copies of small engine adds you remember from your youth, or if you are looking for some info about that garage sale find, or if you just want to learn a great deal about a range of small engines, THIS IS THE BOOK. Lots of good practical advice as to how to fix and restore, as well as just collect. Tools, methods, gaskets Do's and Dont's ........ Even just fun to read on rainy days at the cottage. Don't Hesitate, it is worth it and more.

1.0 out of 5 stars Won't help you repair your engine, December 25, 2009

By 

Thomas M. Hornick "thornick" (MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Small-Engine Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

Peter Hunn really missed the mark on this book. This is not a instruction handbook. First, this book was released in 2005, but the newest engine reviewed is a 1990's lawnmower engine. It is a series of case studies of very old products. Secondly, it has only about 30 pages related to engine troubleshooting. If you want a process/methodology to repair or rebuild engines or engine parts (carburetors), look else where. Finally, Peter is certainly knowledgeable but really needs more writing help in structuring his knowledge so its' useful to the average person looking for engine repair help.