What's this book about?

If you’ve ever wished you could take all of the knowledge of a master machinist and pour it directly into your brain, here is your chance. Machine Show Know-How proves that there are no secrets in the machine shop, just information that is rarely documented—until now. This book focuses on manually controlled machine tools, but moves beyond the basics to present the problem-solving insights, shop shortcuts, and clever tips and tricks that normally take years of first-hand shop experience to learn.

Who this book is for

This book is for industrial model and scientific instrument makers, R&D lab technicians, model engineers, home shop machinists, prototype designers, custom motorcycle and car builders, gunsmiths, teachers, students, and anyone who has a fundamental knowledge of machine shop practice and wants to advance to the next level.

How does this book relate to Machine Shop Essentials?

How this book is organized

Using an easy to understand chapter format, Machine Shop Know-How presents hundreds of imaginative shop solutions devised by top industry professionals, including how to really organize your shop; how to truly master your lathe, milling machine, bandsaws and grinders; how to fabricate ingenious shop-made tools and modify existing ones; how to make clever and useful jigs and fixtures; and how to use the valuable skill-building lessons learned in this book to solve your own shop problems. There are over 100 pages of tips and techniques.

Are there projects included?

Yes, there are dozens of projects that you can make. Not only will they provide important skill-building shop experience, you will own valuable, practical tools to improve your work and your machine tools. Many projects have detailed, step-by-step instructions.

What about illustrations?

There are nearly 600 line drawings developed specifically for this book—no copies of copies of old Army manuals or blurry manufacturers' drawings from the '40s. No other machine shop practice book on the market has such extensive and detailed drawings. None.

What size machine tools are covered?
Lathes as small as Sherline and Levine and as large as Kent and Colchester. Kent, Sherline and Bridgeport-style mills are also covered.