Crowood Metalworking Guides – serie

Electroplating in the home workshop can seem a daunting task due to the range of chemicals, the unfamiliar processes and the underlying chemistry involved. However, the results of a well-cleaned item and a well-maintained electrolyte are overwhelmingly impressive and, compared to sending parts to be industrially electroplated, are very cost effective. The practical advice given in Electroplating will provide you with the confidence and ability to create an electroplating tank of your own. This book will guide you through each of the processes and the equipment needed to start your own plating system and, alongside detailed step-by-step photographs and diagrams, provide instructions on their most effective use. It covers: the history and scientific basics of the electroplating process; types of electroplating metals and their function and applications; formulations and ingredients for electroplating solutions; advice on selecting the best equipment to use depending on tank size; detailed processes of cleaning and its vital importance to the final results and finally, safety information including personal safety and the correct disposal of chemicals.

While pride of place usually goes to a lathe or milling machine, any workshop worthy of the name will have a host of hand tools and accessories to tackle a vast range of other tasks. Yet these are often supplied without detailed instructions, or even any guidance at all. Who has ever seen an instruction manual for a file? However, with the right advice, you can get better results, make your tools last much longer and work faster with less effort.

The ability to perform heat treatments in the home workshop can be a very useful asset, enabling you to make, repair and maintain tools, to anneal and normalize work-hardened metals, and even to create decorative finishes. Heat Treatment is a practical guide to this valuable range of workshop techniques and how to employ them safely and effectively. Featuring step-by-step photography throughout, this book covers metals and their properties; building a heat treatment oven for the home workshop; case hardening, flame hardening and tempering and finally, decorative finishes with colour case hardening, oil blacking and enamelling.

Joining metals is a fundamental process used in all aspects of modern life. It is vital wherever metals are used, which is just about everywhere. Small or large, simple or complex – no mode of transport or method of construction would be possible without the sound understanding of its theory and practice. Written for the home metalworker or model engineer, this book discusses the various methods of joining metals, including strength, testing and applications, and includes useful lessons from historical failures including the sinking of the Titanic, the Flixborough explosion, the capsize of the Alexander L. Keilland offshore platform, the Hyatt Hotel elevated walkway collapse and the Markham Colliery lift bolt failure. With over 100 diagrams and over 200 photographs, this book examines: Mechanical joining: bolting, riveting, clamping - Metallurgical joining: welding, brazing, soldering - Chemical joining: bonding difficult metals - Strength of joints: choice and analysis - Failure of metals and joints: stress, fatigue, corrosion - Design: use of theory and codes to avoid failure, and finally - Testing of metals and joints: destructive and non-destructive (NDT).

The lathe is an essential tool for all but the most basic of workshops. It enables the engineer to produce turned components to a high degree of accuracy. Often called the 'king of machine tools', it is also very versatile and can be used to make a wide range of engineering components. This new book shows you how to make full use of your lathe safely and effectively in your workshop. Topics covered include: a guide to choosing a lathe looking at different sizes and features available; advice on installing and maintaining a lathe, selecting and sharpening tools, and working with chucks, and finally, instruction is given on a range of techniques ranging from how to hold work in a collet through to cutting a screw thread.

Milling is one of the principal and most versatile machining processes for sizing parts in the workshop. Whether a professional engineer looking for advice, or an amateur looking to install your first milling machine, this book will show you how to make full use of your milling machine safely and effectively, and enhance your milling skills. Focusing on the commonly used vertical mill and vertical turret mill, and with practical advice and diagrams throughout, the book includes: a guide to buying, installing and using a small milling machine and accessories. It also covers basic cutting tool principles and more advanced milling methods, including drilling, tapping and reaming. Instruction is also given on a variety of techniques ranging from work holding in the vice to using a rotary table.

This book describes how to make two vertical and two horizontal copper boilers with a capacity of less than three-bar litres. All four boilers are heated with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) contained in small refillable or disposable tanks. With over 285 colour photographs and diagrams, it includes the tools and equipment required, together with important safety considerations; how to work the various materials to make the necessary parts; step-by-step instructions on the technique of silver solder; the testing regime; a review of various sizes and shapes of gas burners and how to connect them; instructions for building replacements for the well-known Verto boiler, a vertical boat boiler, a portable-engine boiler and a Cornish boiler with Galloway tubes. Finally, there is guidance on the efficient operation and essential maintenance of steam boilers and safety calculations and a list of useful contacts.

Workholding for Machinists explains the various workholding options that are available to the metalworker, together with the principles behind them. The book explains the importance of precision in holding work in place and also the importance of tools and machines being held securely, so that the machinist may avoid damage to the machine and to the work being undertaken, and thus achieve a high quality end product. The emphasis is on creating good work within a limited budget, and a limited range of resources. The topics covered in this new book include: work holding on lathes and milling machines; collets and collect chucks; turning between centres; turning on a faceplate and tool holding.

Gearing of Lathes for Screwcutting is aimed specifically at the engineer for use in the workshop. It is intended to take away as much as possible of the mathematics and mystique from calculating gear ratios, so that the more enjoyable work of using your lathe to make things becomes as easy as possible. Topics covered in this latest addition to the Crowood Metalworking Guides includes Myford and other types of lathes; approximations and alternatives; errors and their significance and the non-gearbox mini-lathe.

The techniques of casting are of crucial importance in our day-to-day lives, being used in the manufacture of diverse products ranging from dental implants and hip replacement joints, through bicycle frames and car engine parts, to the most exquisite items of sculpture and jewellery. Nevertheless, the prospect of casting can seem daunting to the home metalworker. Casting for the Home Workshop aims to demystify the craft and make it accessible to all. Topics covered include the history of casting; tools, materials and equipment; techniques; the home foundry and post-casting operations.

Using sharp tools is one of life's great joys. A sharp tool feels right; the job seems that much easier; and the quality of the cut usually means there is less work to do to produce a finished surface on the object. This book provides an understanding of what is involved in sharpening common workshop tools. With over 580 colour photographs and illustrations it covers sharpening techniques for the most commonly used tools - scissors, shears, knives, lathe tools and drills, screwdrivers, chisels and punches, along with the more specialist gravers and scrapers. Advice on types of abrasives, grades, grits and mesh sizes is given. It describes what happens during the sharpening process and provides practical guidance on using sharpening stones and grinding wheels on a bench grinder. Provides essential maintenance instructions such as how to restore the surface of a flat stone and the face of the wheel on a bench grinder. Finally, it gives advice on bench grinders, and includes examples of the use of readily available tools and accessories such as vee blocks, toolposts, collet holders, protractors and gauges.

The cutting edges on engineering tools must lie at precise angles to ensure effective cutting, and sharpening must recreate the original geometry of each tool. This book provides an understanding of what is involved in sharpening typical lathe, milling, drilling and threading tools. With over 550 photographs and illustrations this new book covers sharpening techniques for the most commonly used engineering tools, screwdrivers and gravers, lathe, milling, reaming, drilling and threading cutters. It identifies the two principal types of workhead, and discusses the ways in which their geometry affects typical sharpening setups. It teaches how to use the three basic movements of swing, tilt and rotate to position a tool against a grinding wheel to ensure correct tool angles and sharp cutting edges. Contains useful tables for setting cutting and clearance angles and provides general advice on tool and cutter grinders, and includes examples of the use of workholders to suit a range of tools. Includes information on abrasive materials and the types and shapes of grinding wheel suitable for use on a tool and cutter grinder. Finally, it shows photos of accessories that can be made to simplify setups, including workheads, toolholders and fixtures used to hold circular saws, parting tools and dies, as well as an angle gauge to quickly set clearance angles on reamers and milling cutters.

Welding is an essential technique for a wide range of jobs in the workshop. Whether you are new to welding or ready to try the more advanced techniques, this practical guide gives a thorough introduction to the method, and suggests ways of improving your skills to achieve professional and safe results.

Computer-aided design (CAD) technology is essential for modern design and manufacture in the workshop. With software more practical, affordable and accessible than ever, there has never been a better time to learn how to get the most out of CAD. Whether you are new to using CAD or ready to try more advanced software, this practical guide gives a thorough introduction to the technology and how to greatly enhance design and manufacture in the workshop. Topics covered include: techniques for designing and making artefacts in the workshop (not restricted to any specific CAD software package); guidance on software selection and general functionality; an overview of the conventions of technical drawing and, finally, case studies demonstrating the application of different CAD techniques for a range of projects.

Designing and building a miniature aero-engine is an exciting and rewarding task. Whether a professional engineer or an amateur looking to build an engine to fly your model aeroplane, this book will safely guide you through all the stages of designing and constructing an aero-engine in your workshop at home. With practical advice and details diagrams throughout, the book includes: machine tools, materials and accessories required; designing the engine, including a focus on proportion, valve timing and engine balancing; the manufacture of carburettors, assembly and setting up and, finally, choosing an aircraft for a home-designed miniature engine.

A new practical guide to dividing (indexing) in the workshop. Whether new to the process or looking to enhance your skills, this book will introduce you to a range of dividing methods and explains how to achieve the best results both with and without specialist dividing tools. With step-by-step instructions and photography throughout, this new book explains dividing with the 'coordinate method' and using the lathe; dividing with gears and dividing plates; using the dividing head, the rotary table and the spin indexer; electronic dividing methods and finally a range of case studies to show application of practical techniques.