Metalworking for Dummies Website?

You are there!

Try this site too:

I haven't found anything better than metalmeet and RCM. Mike

Here's a few:

That should keep you out of mischief for a while:-) There's lots more out there. Google is your friend :-) Try various combinations of descriptive words to search on.

David Merrill

Yeah, but if I was well equipped, I would get out my "Metalworking for Dummies - the translation guide" book before I read posts. I can't understand a bunch of this stuff. I am glad you all do! :-)

Thanks for the suggestion.

Hi. Thank you very much. I will check them out. I can't understand a good bit of what is discussed here, though I want to. It's hard to follow along when you don't speak the language. :-)

So ask! The cool thing about ignorance is that, unlike stupidity, it's curable.

GWE

I have several metalworking related questions, and I am trying not to wear out my welcome. :-)

Well, post them all in one message, number. Those that can answer intelligently will address them. The rest of us will make up somthing plausible :)

- - Rex Burkheimer Fort Worth TX

JWho wrote:

There are too many! Everytime I read a reply, another one pops up. :-) I am such a noob that most anything will seem plausible right now. :-)

great! That makes the answers easier :)

But seriously, you gotta start somewhere. Start a new post, and add to it as questions pop up. Hit [send] before it gets too long.

I'm going to assume you aren't a troll. If you really want to spend some time reading and learning, first let me tell you how *I* learned. I lived in NW Portland for 2 years in the early '90s, pre-ebay. I lived alone and had evenings free (my family was still in Seattle) so I wasn't dating. I spent many evenings on a bench at Powell's Technical Books reading. And reading. Tons of great stuff. Some books are so cheap and so well written and so full of information that you'd be well off to buy them outright. An example is "How To Run A Lathe" by the South Bend Lathe Corporation, now reprinted by Lindsay, but surely available for less than $5 anytime you need it.

I also just read and watched this NG for years before I even owned a lathe.

I suggest you visit your local library and search on the subject "machine shop practice" or "metalworking" or something. If you're having trouble, ask the librarian at the main desk, that's their job. Check out a dozen or two books and read them. Skin read, study, memorize, whatever.

Browse the Web. When you find a Web site you like, bookmark it. Organize your bookmarks. I have hundreds of sites bookmarked all under one header called "Tools and Shop Equipment". Look for giant metalworking sites like Ernie's. Go to metalwebnews.com and read all the instructional articles. Go look through the dropbox, found at metalworking.com which you'll often see referenced. Go look through lathe.com, the Logan site, and look at Scott's list of links. After awhile you will get an idea of what it is you want to learn.

But I urge you - buy a machine tool, whatever it is, and learn how to use it properly. My first one was a drill press, closely followed by a 4x6" horizontal/vertical metalcutting bandsaw. I learned really a lot about what you can do and what you can't. When you are trying to do something, you will incur real questions. Tell us what you are trying to do and what you're running into. I often see guys asking things like "how can I make a perfectly square hole" when the simplest thing for him to do would be to weld something.

Finally, let me assure you that you won't wear out your welcome if your questions are genuine, especially if you never let yourself be sucked into namecalling or politics. People post to this NG because they have time to and they enjoy writing about what they know. So ask.

GWE

Yup. As other's have said, there are (almost) no stupid questions. Ya gotta learn somewhere and anyone, even the old salts here, can learn something new from reading answers to the most simple questions.

One caveat though: I suggest you ask what standard practice would be rather than the "if" questions. A ton of newbies come in asking "can I build a skyscraper using #6 screws to hold 1/2" thick webs of I beams together?" rather than " I am planning on building a skyscraper...what is the usual bolt size for steel members in construction like this and where can I learn more?" Come in asking how to do something the right way and learn from there rather than asking if you can do something the half-assed way and debating about why your plan will work if only you can use enough tiny screws and duct tape.

Koz

Best ask - give us something to talk about other than politics!

Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

JWho wrote:

These sites are also very good:

If you feel comfortable with posting your location, you might find other hobbyists in your area that would be willing to show you some of the basics in person.

IMHO, posting one question per post is better than several in one post. Discussions here get sidetracked enough as it is.

Mike

Sort of self-referential but it works for me...

In the "Search this Group" box, put what you are specifically interested in.

And ignorance is nothing to be ashamed of. Unless it's deliberate. ERS

Hi. Thanks for the suggestion on asking about standard practice. I have a few questions, and I will use that format.

Thanks again.

Hi. Thank you very much for all the suggestions!! By the way, I am not a troll. I don't even live near a bridge, much less under one. :-)

I don't know what all a lathe does, so I think I am going to try to find that book you mentioned.

Thank you!! again.