Education

A must-have for beginners and a great review for the pro. Learn the right way to use a wide variety of machining tools. Read it cover to cover and you will be setting up your work and machining like a pro in no time. 275 pages.

This palm size reference manual should never be far from your reach. It gives charts for everything from math formulas to gears, tolerances, drills and materials. 308 pages. 9th Edition Revised.

This reprint of South Bend's classic manual will teach all the functions you need to operate your lathe. It's great for history buffs, too. 126 pages.

Start thinking and producing like a master machinist. Author James Harvey provides tips and techniques to get the job done, faster, better and most importantly right. It doesn't matter if you are drilling a hole or threading a rod, there is a tip in here to help the novice or seasoned machinist. 313 pages.

Author Frank Marlow makes it easy to understand complicated machining procedures and setups. The question and answer format gives simple and straight forward machining techiniques for the machinist at any level.

Here, fully updated to include new machines and electronic and digital controls, is the ultimate guide to automated machines and toolmaking. Whether you’re a professional machinist, an apprentice, or a trade student, this fully illustrated volume helps you work with metal–safely, precisely, efficiently–using today’s tools and techniques. It’s packed with review questions for students, and loaded with answers you need on the job. Understand automated machine fundamentals and work with jigs and fixtures Learn the basics of spiral and helix milling, gear cutting, and cam machining Discover how to cut, punch, or shape a die with minimum waste Master the operations of today’s grinders and lapping machines Find out all about toolmaking, from allowances and tolerances to layouts and master plates Follow the clear, step-by-step illustrations to gain a hands-on knowledge of techniques and procedures

Here, fully updated to include new machines and electronic/digital controls, is the ultimate guide to basic machine shop equipment and how to use it. Whether you’re a professional machinist, an apprentice, a trade student, or a handy homeowner, this fully illustrated volume helps you define tools and use them properly and safely. It’s packed with review questions for students, and loaded with answers you need on the job.

Machine Shop Projects by South Bend Lathe Works. This was produced as a companion to "How to Run a Lathe" to teach students in vocational and industrial schools basic machining skills. You get 34 different plans from a very simple nail set to 1/4 hp gasoline engine. Each project comes with a "blueprint" and a step-by-step list of operations. For instance, step 5 might say "Face one end only." You're expected to refer to "How to Run a Lathe" to get details on how to do that. Projects include: lathe mandrel, lathe centers, spur center, 1" bolt and nut, screw drive, machinist's clamp, clamp lathe dog, boring bar for lathe, milling arbor for lathe, surface gauge, small bench vise, adjustable tap wrench, 6" improved water motor, arbor press, hand power emery grinder, and more. 8-1/2 x 11 softcover 104 pages

This video is designed to get you familiar with the lathe and its terminology, and take you all the way through to making your first cuts. The topics covered include introduction and shop safety, nomenclature and terminology, setting up and using your 3-jaw chuck, cutting tool types, shapes and uses, successfully dealing with backlash, setting cutting tool height, calculating depth of cut, face cuts, basic turning, compound angled cuts, using the lead screw, calculating TPI on double reduction, feeding normal cuts, and finish cuts. Also included is a short section on general shop safety. Running time: Approx. 65 minutes.

This DVD video, by Jose Rodriguez, provides an hour and a half instruction on sharpening lathe cutting tools and other grinding tasks. Learn how to create perfect lathe cutting tools from high speed steel tool bit blanks with a bench-top grinder. Create perfect left or right hand lathe cutting tools for brass, aluminum and steel. Produce a 60 degree threading tool that is as good as any commercially available threading tool bit. Learn how to prepare a parting tool for optimum results. Watch Jose as he revives an old jobber-length drill bit to give it a new lease on life. Put a new edge on worn two flute end mills and get many more hours of work out of them. Regrind screw driver tips to keep them from slipping off screw heads.Grinding is an art that can take months or years to fully master but with the right grinder and a bit of patience, you will be able to produce perfect results right in your shop.

This DVD, by Jose Rodriguez, provides a four hour introduction to making gears.

Shop Secrets, Volume 1 Is a two-hour video on the use and care of machinist measuring tools and related machine shop operations. Produced for the beginning machinist, this video is in use at technical high schools in the US and in industry both in the US and the Far East. Running time: 1:52 hours.

This DVD, by Jose Rodriguez, provides a 2 hour introduction to threading on the mini lathe.