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Basic Lathework for Home Machinists (Fox Chapel Publishing) Essential Handbook to the Lathe with Hundreds of Photos & Diagrams and Expert Tips & Advice; Learn to Use Your Lathe to Its Full Potential

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Description

Expand your enjoyment of the versatile lathe and take full advantage of its extensive capabilities!Essential handbook to the lathe covering everything from the selection of a machine and its construction to tooling and machining operationsHundreds of photos and diagrams help take the mystery out of your latheIn-depth introduction to the modern lathe, including a thorough review of its layout and components, and what to consider when buying a new or used machineUseful advice on steadies, tool height, and setting upExpert tips on how to use cutting fluids and mandrels, plus how to complete a parting off operation with confidenceMost home lathes are probably never used to their full potential. Perfect for any home machinist with a new lathe, this comprehensive guide is designed to expand your enjoyment of this versatile machine and take full advantage of its extensive capabilities. Profusely illustrated with hundreds of clear photographs and concise diagrams, it provides in-depth coverage of tooling and machining operations.This book deals with all aspects of the lathe covering the selection of a machine and its construction, including modern types of machines as well as the more traditional models. All aspects of tooling, both traditional and modern are covered in depth, as are all machining operations, including general machining, taper turning, threading and boring.Inside you'll find a thorough review of basic layout and components, plus the three things you need to consider when buying a new or used machine. Learn to select common cutting tools, and discover the key features of work-holding devices like chucks, tool posts, and faceplates.Basic Lathework for Home Machinists covers all the most important rules and practices for safe general machining operations. Get handy advice on steadies, tool height, and setting up, plus expert tips on how to use cutting fluids and mandrels. Find out how to complete a parting off operation with confidence, and successfully accomplish threading, boring, taper turning, and many other tasks.Author Stan Bray also pays particular attention to modern applications such as the conversion of power supplies from single to three phase and the use of digital equipment to improve efficiency.Basic Lathework for Home Machinists is suitable for use by beginners with no knowledge at all of lathe work, as well as those who are more advanced and want to improve their skills."Basic Lathework is the perfect book for any home machinist with a new lathe. For such a broad subject, the author has effectively managed to cover all the need-to-know areas and this book is all that's required to take the mystery out of that new machine in your shop." —George Bulliss, The Home Shop Machinist magazine Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fox Chapel Publishing; Illustrated edition (April 1, 2013)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1565236963


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 67


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #38,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #5 in Metallurgy Materials Engineering #7 in Machinery Engineering (Books) #8 in Metal Work (Books)


#5 in Metallurgy Materials Engineering:


#7 in Machinery Engineering (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • A good reference
It helps me as a reference to doing lathe work
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2023 by Jim Quade

  • Basic Lathework for Home Machinists by Stan Bray
I purchased this book to enhance my knowledge of working with a small lathe in my own shop sometime in the future. As the description of this book states, it does deal with all aspects of the lathe. Almost overwhelming the novice learner in comprehending what one must know to learn the essentials to select their own machine, but athough there are several models now to choose from, I feel it will most likely be how much you want to spend and whether or not you will indeed go out and buy a lathe for your home shop and actually start doing your own home lathework. Modelers and builders, and surely inventors, who want to make their own machined parts will benefit from owning and studying this book, as by studying it, is what you are going to have to do in the beginning to learn this craft. It does cover machine construction and goes even farther back into earlier models to explain why they are simpler and more basic than modern tools. The depth of the explanations concerning tooling will require additional information as lathework and modern lathes are covered in depth. Many of the actual machining operations are covered, including general machining, taper turning, threading and boring. Mr Bray explains the modern conversion of power supplies from single to three phase which for someone in a home environment will find tedious as three phase powered needs are few outside of industrial use of lathes and will require you to go to a large expense to provide this source of power. The use of digital equipment is explained to some degree and one will need to study their own machine's owners manual extensively to master this at home. I feel this book is limited for use by the beginner with no knowledge at all of lathe work, but will surely help along the path of learning something of lathe basics and any hands on work will be required to develop understanding in this field. For more advanced students of lathework Mr. Bray offers much knowledge for them to improve upon the skills they will need in the future and help them to improve. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2013 by CDP's Onceagain habit of purchasing

  • A good book
I got the book as told, and it a good book, it tell you what to look out for, how to to check a used machine of your buying one. Me I will give it four stars for now because am still reading it.but it a good book I like alot.
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2021 by kenneth colbert

  • Basic Lathe Book
Good book ,great for begin news or someone to refresh their knowledge of using a lathe
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2021 by Josey Wales

  • Fine for starters
It is fine for an amateur homeshop machinist. Quite a few machinist tips.
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2020 by Isaac Acher Melamed

  • Good Entry Level Book
While written in the British version of English, this book was the basic introductory work that I needed. Its survey course nature helped me decide to purchase a lathe & that my soon-to-be-delivered lathe will help me to accomplish some metal working projects that I've considered for years. I would've liked to proof read this book before it was published. Writing & punctuation needs a little refining. Useful purchase, overall. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2016 by BC

  • How did this get published?
I don't know where to begin. This book is a mash-up of vague, antiquated illustrations which go perfectly with the archaic and unintelligible writing. Yes, the author is British, and yes, the book is written in the Queen's English. That said, it also seems to have been written in the 1800s, in a parallel universe where punctuation was still in the process of being discovered: "He called it the Gibraltar Tool Post and the design certainly had an appearance similar to the Rock of Gibraltar but more importantly it works particularly well and work done when using it is far better than that done from the top slide." The entire book reads like the example above. In fact, that sentence was the first that I happened to read upon cracking the book open to look for an example quotation. As I look at the book now, I notice that this is the American edition, edited by George Bulliss. There is nothing American about any part of this book, which is fine, and it has clearly never been edited by anyone. The photos and illustrations are not much better. The photos are very dated, and often taken from a poor angle. Frequently, a single photo or illustration will be used to document a multi-step process. It is painfully clear that the photographs were taken decades earlier, and the book written later. The result is that there is a lot of inconsistency between the setups and perspectives in the photos. The subjects being discussed are clearly being driven by whatever stock photography was available, rather than photographs having been taken afterward to support the natural flow of the book. As rough and disjointed as the book is, it cannot help but convey some useful information about the metal lathe. If you are willing to decrypt the bad writing and poor photography, you will learn a good deal about lathes and their operation. Still, this is unquestionably the worst resource I have found on the subject, and you would do much better to look anywhere else. Update: While my lathe was gathering dust for a few months, I accumulated a small collection of machining tasks that needed to be done. I thought I should re-read through a couple of my books, and this was unfortunately one of the ones I picked up. This is THE WORST BOOK I OWN, on any subject. I am throwing it away. I can't even bear to donate it, as nobody should ever see the contents again. Please, please do not buy this book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2015 by Dave B.

  • A clear concise understanding of lathe BASICS - aka. Lesson 1
A four star BASIC book. Consider this as your first lesson in machine shop lathe understanding, tooling and operations. As the title says, it is a primer in basic understanding. If you want to get started, this is a good place to begin. If you have experience at all. not the book for you. Simple explanations for the novice in an easy to read format. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2014 by Tom Mackie

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