The Mini-Lathe (Crowood Metalworking Guides)

Other books on this subject have dealt with large lathes whereas this is specific for the mini lathe - I know its in the title but it is a well written book that explains things in an easy to follow manner

Excellent, informative book. A great aid for the beginner or born again machinist in selecting a lathe and associated tools and accessories. Very clear explanations with good photographs of each item being described and all in plain English with no over the top technical terms etc. There's also a section at the end with a couple of projects to do when you get your lathe.

I have always wanted a mini lathe for model making. I bought one last month from Amazon. Great machine but having never used a metal lathe I had many questions. I also bought a book "A beginners guide to the Lathe" which was no help at all. I then read the review of this book and purchased it. This book deserves 6 stars. It is exactly what you need to know if you are starting out. The text with excellent photos is perfect. Written by a man who is not a turner to trade but by a model engineer using a budget lathe. I have not read right through this book yet. By page 30 I was on my machine and thoroughly enjoying facing up cast iron wheels for a steam loco. I can relate to an author who "cut his teeth on Airfix models". Great buy.

If you’re curious about mini lathes or getting into machining this is the book for you, great start however very little in the way of projects but enough to get started. You will quickly put grow the book though

Feels and looks a quality book. Looks nice on the bookshelf. Mine was damaged so I returned but not before giving it a quick look through. It has plenty of pictures but if you are a novice there is probably not enough clarity in many of them to help you understand what is being written. I think you need some experience of lathes or perhaps read one one two novice books before reading this one to properly follow it. The text is littered with explanations which are not as clear as they could be for the novice . I'd prefer the text to be a bit bigger to make reading a bit more comfortable and in that regard the Kindle version may be more suited to some people.

A good introduction to owning a mini lathe. Explains much and wets your appetite for things to do with your new machine.

Having purchased several books on mini-lathes I found myself still looking for something that made sense. New to 'turning' lots of things were a mystery until I found this book. It's brilliant, loads of colour pictures and written in a style that is simple to follow and as clear as can be. Well done to the author - fabulous.

This was recommended from a number of machinist / model engineer websites as a superb book but I was a little disappointed. If like me you know nothing of lathes, then alot of the book seems to assume that you can picture what is being described. Well I couldn't so found it a bit disappointing and had to supplement alot of the book with Google searches. Not a bad thing for learning but a few pictures would have made a considerable difference. Also I found it grammatically challenging with poorly constructed sentences that didn't flow nicely when being read. It is however an OK little book, just not as good as some reviews made out.

Ottimo libro pratico per mini tornio in lingua inglese

I believe I have read the books in print on the mini lathe and find this to be the most useful.

I'll strongly recommend this product to everyone that has purchased the fist minilathe. This book is advicing you in what is needed to perform in your mini lather when you're purchasing a brand new one

I found this book to be very informative. It helped me make the decisions I needed to.

If you are thinking of buying one of the several flavors of Mini-Lathes (7X10 to 7X16), or already own one, this is a must have book! I am not a professional machinist, nor would I claim to be a highly skilled one, just a hobbyist. I have, however, rebuilt two 12 inch Atlas lathes, and spent a fair share of time using them. I recently had to sell my last Atlas, and as part of the deal, picked up the new owners old Harbor Freight 7X10 mini-lathe. When I started with my Atlas lathes I bought several good books on using and maintaining a “Full Size” lathe, including the Atlas and Southbend manuals, and used much of what I learned. This book is the equivalent for the mini-lathes. This book is filled with chapters on the construction of various vintages of these lathes, discussions of how to adjust them for better precision, and work piece finish, and easy modifications to improve their range and usefulness. The book is also fair in pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of a mini-lathe. The book explains how to use the lathe for those who have never used one, as well as several projects that you can use to improve the lathe and your skills at the same time. I would recommend the book to those who have been using this type of lathe for a while, if only for the adjustment tips, examples of after-market accessories available, and the projects. Many of the adjustments are the same as for a larger lathe, but there are also many specific to these types.