Machinistblog.com

A useful and interesting comparison of rust preventatives, including some common ones such as WD-40 and Valvoline motor oil.

There is a nice diagram and discussion here showing the difference between conventional and climb milling. The second half of the page talks about using fly cutters and grinding fly cutter bits.

This is an excerpt from Frank Marlow's book, Machine Shop Essentials. It has step-by-step instructions for cutting external, internal and tapered threads on a lathe.

Most micrometers can read to one-thousandth of an inch. A vernier micrometer can read to one ten-thousandth of an inch. This is a nice tutorial on how to read them. Near the bottom of the page is a link with more examples to practice on, along with the answers.

A very nice comprehensive tutorial about using a lathe.

Written for the hobbyist, this is an excellent article that discusses the relationship between feed, depth of cut and spindle speed; and their affect on surface finish. It also covers the use of HSS and carbide cutting tools; and includes recommendations about what kind of carbide inserts work best.

A tutorial with lots of pictures showing how to make a straight cutting hob and a spiral hob for cutting spur gears.

First published in 1915, this edition is now in the public domain and has been digitized by Google. It is hard to believe that this book was written more than 90 years ago. It is full of formulas and calculations that machinist still use everyday. They are clearly and concisely explained with practical step-by-step examples. In addition, the author explains a lot of the terminology, equipment and procedures used in a machine shop. Some of the topics covered include setting up and turning tapers, calculating cutting speeds, cutting threads and gears, calculating area, volume and weight, and shop trigonometry.

An interactive Java Applet that lets you practice reading a Micrometer

Nice tutorial

This is an excerpt from Frank Marlow's book, Machine Shop Essentials. It shows how to grind a HSS tool blank to make a general purpose lathe cutting tool. It includes a diagram showing the nomenclature of a tool bit and a table with the typical angles that are ground for cutting various materials. There are also drawings showing how the tool rest should be set and how the tool bit should be held and moved while grinding the various sides.

This on-line machine shop course was developed for beginning shop users and uses many pictures and short videos. It covers five tools: the bandsaw, drill press, belt sander, grinder, and buffer. In addition, it includes information about shop safety, layout and measurement, and the physics of machining. NOTE: There are "Table of Content" and "Return to Index" links used throughout the site that are broken. The work around is to use your browser's back button.

Nice diagram and explanation of terminoloty used for threads, including classes of fit.

Another clear and well written article by Jim Sapp. He also briefly discusses rotary tables.

Learn about the tools and processes used in machine shops