[TheForge] Books

[ries]

A lot of people have covered the basic How To blacksmithing books  
pretty well.
But I think a decent metal shop library ought to have a few other  
things in its as well.

As mentioned,
Machinery Handbook
- but not for the blacksmithing section- for feeds and speeds, thread  
charts, info on grinding wheels and pulley sizes and reamers and morse  
taper measurements and a thousand other things.

I also refer quite a bit to the ASM (American Society of Metals)
  Metals Handbook, Desk Edition.
this is not worth paying new retail price for, at around $250, but if  
you can find a used copy (mine was $25 at a used bookstore) it is the  
best all around reference book for metals composition and processes I  
know.
It has pages and pages of info on aluminum alloy numbers and what they  
mean, or the exact composition of the hundred or two things we  
ignorantly call "bronze", or what is forgeable and what is not. Its  
dense, and technical, but has more info in a smaller package than  
anything else I know of.

Another book I really like is the late, great, Oppi Untracht's book,
  Metal Techniques for Craftsmen.
This is oriented towards jewelers and benchworkers, but is an  
incredible source of info about all kinds of techniques- soldering,  
sawing, filing, using all kinds of tools, info about actual experience  
working with all kinds of metals.

Then, I find myself referring to two books on sheet metal quite often-
Metal Fabricators Handbook,
by Ron Fournier, has all kinds of great, practical info about cutting,  
welding, riveting, hammerforming, and shaping sheet metal into 3D.  
Written from the perspective of an auto guy, but applicable to ANY  
metalworking. A great book, cheap and easy to use.
and
Sheet Metal Shop Practice,
by Leo Meyer- this is the apprentice textbook for most sheet metal  
Union Apprentices, and it is clear, simple, and goes start to finish  
thru sheet metal- layout, tools, info on gages and types, how to  
actually make most anything from sheet metal.
http://www.amazon.com/Sheet-Metal-Shop-Practice-Meyer/dp/0826919022/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243802496&sr=1-1

For machining, my standard reference is the Kibbe book-
  Machine Tool Practices.
Again, a textbook. Unlike Machinery's Handbook, which is more like a  
reference book of facts, this one has photos and drawings of step by  
step how to run a mill, or a lathe, using a rotary table, reading a  
vernier caliper- for an occasional machinist like me, its the go to  
book for something I did once, 20 years ago, for a refresher.
http://www.amazon.com/Machine-Practices-Richard-Roland-Warren/dp/B000MYFQQM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243802448&sr=1-2

A few other books I really like having in the shop- I dont use em  
often, but when I need em, I am sure glad I have em-

Moving the Earth, by Nichols- EVERYTHING about bulldozers, surveying  
roads, drainage, and heavy equipment of all sorts for BIG construction.

Moving Heavy Things, by Jan Adkins- basically, a kids book for adults,  
which has big drawings of simple tricks from the old days.

Linemans and Cablemans Handbook- How those electrical linemen do it.

Handbook for Riggers- by Bill Newberry- tiny, pocketsized, and has  
everything about wire rope, knots, hand signals for cranes, and, in  
general, how to lift things safely.

A lot of these books, new, are expensive- because they are the  
standard reference books for the industry, up to date and FULL of  
great info.
But I almost never buy em new. I haunt used bookstores whereever I go,  
and more and more, I buy used from either Amazon or ABEbooks online.
virtually any book you can think of is available from one or the other  
of these, usually much cheaper than new, and delivered right to your  
door.



Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist
http://www.riesniemi.com/