This book really was a great help through my apprenticeship so I thought I should share it with you today. The book is titled Technology of Machine Tools. I got this book through my training college as it was part of the core curriculum and I feel, if you’re not given this book to learn from or something like it, your instructors may not have your best interests in mind.
The Technology of Machine Tools is really all-encompassing, because of this they have done their best to organize this textbook. It is broken down into 18 sections and in those sections, there are subunits, 100 of them in total. So like I said it covers everything related to machining and machine tools or almost everything.
All the essential topics are covered, such as Safety (section 3), Measurement (section 5), Layout Tools and Procedures (section 6), Lathe (section 11), Milling Machine (section 12), Grinding (section 13), and Drilling (section 10). Each of these sections has several units covering all the information you could ever imagine on each topic helping you become more efficient and, therefore, more professional.
If you’re preparing for your C of Q, this book may live on your nightstand. The sections that I mentioned earlier, along with chapters like, Metallurgy (section 14), Hand Tools and Benchwork (section 7), and Computer-aged Machining (CNC) (section16) are the sections you are going to have to get really comfortable with.
The book also has several academic sections that I feel cater to apprenticeship prep courses, sections such as: Introduction to Machine Tools, Machine Trade Opportunities, along with section 15 about Lean Manufacturing. Not the most practical sections for applying at work, but good information to get a general understanding of what may be expected in the job market.
I could go on and on about this book. One example I can give you about how useful I found this book was when, in my first year, I was asked to turn a ( thread size) thread on the lathe. At this point I had very minimal lathe experience and absolutely no threading experience. I spoke to the journeymen in the shop and, most of them led me to believe the last time they cut a manual thread on the lathe had been 15 years ago, so they were no help in demonstrating it. Luckily, I had already bought my college book list and so I studied the unit on lathe threading and, within under an hour of reading the unit, I was able to set up the machine for the appropriate thread and understood what number to use on the spit nut dial. Yes, my feed and depth of cuts were much much slower than recommended because I was being cautious, but I did feel like the instructions in the book were on point, because I was able to follow everything and get the outcome I wanted as a very inexperienced lathe operator.
As you can see, I think this book is a pretty useful tool, not only to help you get through the schooling portion of your apprenticeship, but I feel it should sit on your bench right next to your machinist handbook as a reference, if you’re in a maintenance shop where you’re not using all your tool and die or machinist skills on a regular basis. Having the Technology of Machine Tools can be the ace in your pocket letting you feel confident you can take on almost any job.
I hope you found this review helpful and if you’re new to the industry or getting ready to start an apprenticeship check out some of our other articles on how to be a tool and die maker or how to be a machinist. Better yet, join our email list to get updates as we put out more tool and die and machining content.