When ever the chance arises to delve into an old book store, I always ask the question if they have any old engineering books.
A trip into the top end of Blackpool gave one of those opportunities this weekend. Five books picked up
Engineering Workshop Data by Caxton, reprinted 1950. Similar in many aspects to the Machinery's Handbook, not quite as thick.
The theory and practice of Heat Engines by R.H. Grundy circa 1943. Includes steam Generators Steam engine, and turbines and also Internal combustion engines.
Also three volumes from The Gresham Library of Mechanical engineering, the titles are Factory processes and organization, applied mechanics and heat and lastly Internal combustion engineering (1935 to 1937).
I always find these old tomes to be fascinating, some of the illustrations showing work from the period, the scale of the engineering and methods of transport must have been a wonder to see several plates of aircraft as well as car engines of the era and two showing the movement of a 120 ton boiler pulled by four Fowler traction engines.
I can see many a good hour with my nose stuck into a good book or two, perhaps even some inspiration in the months ahead because of it!
Does any body else suffer from the same interest in old books, nothing seems to be new today, just changed to metric?
-- Cheers Adrian.