"To the young man - particularly the young blacksmith - who is endeavoring to increase his usefulness this volume is directed..."

"Hardly a day passes but the progressive smith sees opportunity for increased profit if his shop contained some appliance for doing a little machine work..."

And that's exactly what this book is about - teaching a 1907 blacksmith what he needs to know to purchase a lathe, set it up, adjust it, and operate it.

You get a fascinating book that bridges the years between Joshua Rose's "The Complete Machinist" and the manuals produced by Sheldon, South Bend Lathe, or written by Colvin. This was written (for one reason) to allow blacksmiths to cash in on the repair work that was sure to come from the excitement surrounding that newest consumer product called the automobile.

The twenty eight chapters have no titles but cover scores of topics from setting-up the headstock and using a steady rest to boring small cylinders and threading pipes in the lathe(!?).

It's wall-to-wall practical how-to most of which you don't find is other textbooks or industrial manuals. Hobart complains about castings that break because of poor design, explains how difficult work can be held with calcined plaster or even sealing wax, or how an overhead belt-driven grinding rig is set up, and much more.

If you've seen one lathe manual, you've seen 'em all. Well, not quite. I must have a hundred different ones, and they ARE very much alike, but this is sufficiently different. It's like having an oldtimer (like Osborne in Echoes of the Oil Country) stand over your shoulder and guide you through a new technique.

Good book. Excellent lessons. Great illustrations. Worth having. Add one to your library. 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 softcover 160 pages

No. 23268 ... $10.95