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Author Topic: Interesting text books..........  (Read 10198 times)

compig

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Interesting text books..........
« on: December 14, 2008, 04:31:07 PM »
Bought a load of old engineering  books at a recent auction, have just been browsing them and I've struck gold !!
Two in particular , 1 called The Oil Engine manual and another called Textbook of Mechanical Engineering have a deluge of indispensable info !!  How to lay engine foundations , how to design exhausts , extracting heat from the exhaust , cooling system design etc , etc , etc , etc !!! All this from the actual era of use !!

Another called the Engineers Handbook is phenomenal ,  like an encyclopedia of engineering in very readable form. Starts off with 48 pages of fundamental principles and then goes through things like "Strength of Materials and Structures" , "Pattern Making , Moulding and Founding"  , "Power Transmission by Belts , Ropes Chains and Gearing" , and on , and on , and on !!

Makes you realise just how much of engineering was accomplished in the first part of the industrial revolution as the most recent of these books was 1940 !!   
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SteveU.

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2008, 05:09:00 PM »
Yes, yes

Old books and works of man from all ages goes to show that there was intelligent life before any one of our more modern necessities. Take your pick: instant messaging, the Internet, the IC chip set, TeleVision, Radio, the telephone, the phonograph, the typewriter. . . .on and on. None of these has made us (in my opinion) any  Better people than our elders. Certainly busier, cleaner, and much more noisy.
 
But I really would not want to live in a world without books, music and the arts. And with enough electicity to truly enjoy and preserve these things.
Thats why home grown power. It truely is an expression of freedom and independence in thoughts and actions.

SteveU.

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compig

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2008, 06:03:46 PM »
My view of modern technology , arrogantly referred to as the Technological Revolution , is fluctuating and mixed. Whilst the computer combined with the Internet provides the platform on which guy's like the LEF group can communicate and further our interest beyond the most extreme imaginings of the world of 20 years ago , the same technology allows the abuse and exploitation of almost anyone.
My opinion is that children of the silicon generation are those to suffer most. Many are deprived of the the rich wonder of the world that existed before the computer punched them out with a cyber existance. I am constantly appalled at the inability of the majority of young people to even spell or have basic numeracy !! Their stunted social ability is also very evident , manifested by the need for violence and hostility. Surprise is now my reaction to anyone under 30 that can converse outside the disciplines of Xbox 360 or Beyonce !!
Although maybe my opinions and views are irrelevant ? I wasn't born into Silicon world so possibly I can't relate to it in the way the younger generations can. The latest i phone , games platform , flat screen , techno gadget etc does not fill me with wonder in the way a Lieca , Nikon , Contax , Alpa etc camera (pre digital) can, or Vincent , Ducati (pre 1980) motorcycle can , or old IC engine can or Steam Loco can , or WW2 war bird can !!!  Recent tech is just so superficial and ephemeral. Who will remember the vast majority of consumer goods in 20 or even 10 years ??!!   
DON'T STEAL , THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T LIKE COMPETITION !!!
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Wizard

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2008, 06:12:03 PM »
Consider the jet engine, people understood the issues way back even to 1920's and one earilest experimental jet engine was operational in some sense in 1939.  Even some considered the motorjet concept and dismissed it immietiatly.

Cheers, Wizard

sid

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2008, 09:07:03 PM »
one of the best I use is theSTANDARD HANDBOOK FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERSbyBaumeister and Marks/picked it up for a few bucks and is a 1951 edition but is still very useful.some thing never get outdated//sid
15 hp fairbanks morris1932/1923 meadows mill
8 hp stover 1923
8 hp lg lister
1932 c.s bell hammer mill
4 hp witte 1917
5 hp des jardin 1926
3 hp mini petters
2hp hercules 1924
1 1/2 briggs.etc

contaucreek

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2008, 09:27:50 PM »
I like old books and manuals.Hang around school garbage skips, bound to be lots in there as we all know there is no point in teaching these subjects anymore :(  For the most part nobdy makes a wooden foundry pattern anymore when the Asians can digitize an item and have a knock off made in no time. Sorry Asians but how many N.A. made knock offs on YOUR shelves.
L.E.F. Dip #1 Threadstopper Extraordinaire

Grael

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2008, 05:19:09 AM »
I think that I am the youngest member on this forum (17) and I'd love to get myself some of those old texts. :) I think that it is unfair to say that all of us young folk are hopeless, I for one don't own or play video games; never cared for them. Don't have an MP3 player/iPod. Heck, my record player is playing as I type. (I believe that vinyl has better sound quality than digital ;)) I don't go out and do 'illegal activities' as most my age do. I go work my job after school (Electrician apprentice) to pay for my car, insurance, diesel and whatever other things I want. Right now I'm saving to buy a 6/1 from Troy. I'd much rather be out and doing something constructive. So, I think right now I am going to stoke the wood stove (no furnace), it's -30*C out at the moment and dropping; going to fuel up the gen set, and cruise the forums. :P
GTC 8-1

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Stan

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2008, 05:27:01 AM »
As an old retired teacher (you'd maybe have been in one of my classes at your age) my advice is to not let the old stereotyping get to you.  As I often told my students when they got bent out of shape by being characterized as druggy losers when they really weren't, there's an old S. African saying that goes "Diamonds are easiest to find in the sewer".

Think about that one for awhile.  ::)
Stan

Grael

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2008, 05:34:27 AM »
Oh, I know Stan, stereotyping doesn't really bother me much. I'm happy with who I am. :)
GTC 8-1

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mobile_bob

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #9 on: December 22, 2008, 06:50:00 AM »
middleofnowhere:

i started collecting old text when i was about your age, lets see that would make it a bit over 35 years now
search the old book stores, flea markets, yard sales and most city libraries get rid of old text as they get updated
versions as well.

even ebay is a good source for old books, sometimes at very good prices.

my criteria for an old book is, when quickly thumbing through it i run across one thing that looks useful
or covers an area of interest or i learned something from i will buy it.

interestingly there are tons of old book stores filled with romance novels, that take in books that are dropped off
they have no interest in old tech books and they end up in recycling bins to be gone forever. talking to the usual old lady
that owns such a place will generally get her to set aside such books for you to come by periodically to sort through before
they are sent to the shredder.

my only regret now is that i didn't do more collecting earlier, but
there is no better time than the present to start.

bob g
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compig

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2008, 09:55:09 AM »

my criteria for an old book is, when quickly thumbing through it i run across one thing that looks useful
or covers an area of interest or i learned something from i will buy it.


Thats my criteria to !!  Trouble is , there is ALWAYS one thing thats interesting !! 



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JimB

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #11 on: December 24, 2008, 05:41:35 PM »
If you are interested in old  but good information check out www.lindsaybks.com . Over the years I have purchased many of their books and they are great sources of information that applies to much of what we are doing here.
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mobile_bob

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #12 on: December 24, 2008, 09:01:53 PM »
sometimes i will find several books i am interested in, so i place them all together on the same shelf
so far they are always there when i come back, when i have enough money to get more or whatever

seems like i am the only guy in the area interested in such books?

because they always are there, sometime months later!

my biggest pet peeve lately is a place called "half price books"

i used to get old tech books for between 5 and 10 bucks from them, lately
they check amazon to see what amazon gets for the same title and have adjusted their prices accordingly
so books that were once 5-10 bucks are now routinely 50-100 bucks and even more!!

i don't know what they are thinking because no one buys them but me at the old prices,, now not even i will
buy one unless it is a very special book of particular interest,, and that  is a rare book indeed.

bob g
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SteveU.

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #13 on: December 25, 2008, 04:45:28 PM »
Interesting line of thoughts here.
My guess is the majority here were at some point were  declared to be "bookish", "nerdy" or whatever the current label is. I discovered books when I was about 11 and haven't found any other media to be as satisfying or durable yet.
I requires imagination and skill to bring alive knowledge, skills, stories and wisdoms with just mere words.
And then requires an equal imagination to bring them back alive again when read.
I have quality bound books that are over a hundred plus years old and even a cheap paperbacks lasts up to 30 years. So far that beats out any of the more modern medias.
i am one of the older members and am now beginning to think it's time to maybe start gifting off some of my collected books to appreciative individuals.

So Middle-of-Nowhere whadda' like?

SteveU.
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SHIPCHIEF

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Re: Interesting text books..........
« Reply #14 on: January 05, 2009, 04:07:19 AM »
I'm with Bob & Compig.
I collect old tech books, mostly for Marine Engineering. I love old style machinery, and chide my 25 yr old son about his motorcycle, a plastic covered GSXR 1000. I tell him it's so ugly they had to cover it up. I just got a 1984 Sportster Ironhead. Just like a Lister, it's easy to work on and you can see how it works by looking at it. I've had Ducatis and Laverdas, heck, even an old Yamaha XS650 is fantastic! Working on this kind of machinery is pure joy.
Old Industrial Revolution stuff looks like what it does. I am totally into that. Form follows function, and is beutiful in it'self. In Seattle they have "Industrial Art" distributed thru the industrial part of town. What a sham. Pay some lame ass 'artiste' to weld a bunch of expensive tube together in God Knows What shape, when they could have brought forth a piece of Genuine Industrial Age equipment that otherwise went to the scrapper. An old mill engine under a skylighted Purgola, a Street Car winding engine or some other real life part of the city's past would truly be "art". They do have Gasworks Park; Only because the largest remaining equipment was too huge, heavy, and costly to remove. I love that park. It has a fantastic location, and loads of people go there too.
Old text books give satisfaction. Yet, in a stange possible future, could save a civilization. It's just a fantasy...... ;)
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