 www.Proshoppublishing.com |
I received a copy of this new book from Jim
Harvey to review. Based on the title I was keen to explore the secrets which
are often only gained by working in a professional engineering shop over a
lifetime. This book does not disappoint and is crammed full of techniques and
detailed photographs. I have been model engineering for well over 40 years and
was pleased to see many techniques I have used endorsed by a professional
engineer. The best bit is to find many new methods and tips which if only I had
known before would have made my engineering tasks so much easier. The book is
predominately about the use of a milling machine which was a bonus for me as
there are few books giving advice and guidance on milling. For example, the
frequent reference to using fly-cutters and single flute hex end mills. For the
home machinist the biggest financial outlay after the mill is the need for
tooling and this book endorses many methods using simple home-made tools. This
revelation coming from a proven expert shows that a great deal of money can be
saved and know that the tools are not second best! Another wonderful revelation
is the method described to produce square blocks perfectly dimensionally
accurate and all machined on the milling machine with a fly cutter and no tool
changes! This is a book which is appropriate for any engineer but in my opinion the greatest benefit will be for the model engineers and trainee engineering apprentices who are starting out. I only wish I had had a copy 40 years ago because it would have saved me endless frustrating hours puzzling engineering tasks and saved me money in tools. |
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This is a must for any model engineer. The
first thing to know is that the late George Thomas apart from being a very
experienced professional engineer was a perfectionist. The book contains
numerous projects aimed at the model engineer typically owing a Myford ML7
lathe. Each project is described with detailed engineering drawings and a full
commentary on how to make the parts. George provides a detailed analysis of the
design and methods so that the reader can fully appreciate the how and why. I
have made several of the tools in the book and followed his methods to the
letter. The resultant tools are first class and the design cannot be faulted.
For me the best tool is a Retracting Toolholder for Screwcutting.
 I use this every time I need
to cut screws and it never fails - wonderful, but then the design is from a man
who is a perfectionist. Another is a Square Tool Turret for the Myford which
saves countless hours and I agree with George wins over the 'Quick Change'
type. Many of the tools described in this book are available as complete kits
from Hemingway's so that all the bits (stock material, screws, springs etc.)
are ready from day one.This is a must buy for any model engineer beginner or experienced. |
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This is a book I have at my side in the
workshop but use it just occasionally when I need a specific bit of
information. I also have a full volume of Machinerys Handbook which rarely gets
a look in as this ME Handbook usually provides what I am looking for. The best
way to describe it is the following quote from the book... "All professional engineers have a little book in which they jot down those notes of facts, figures and formulae which they feel that they may need in the future. It is more convenient to look up one's own record than to wade through a lot of associated, but irrelevant, material, especially as this may involve a trip to a reference library. Over the years, the contents of such notebooks grow to cover a wealth of vital information and the time saved can be considerable. During his professional career, Tubal Cain filled three such books and, as a lifelong model engineer, he is in a unique position to select (and add to) the material most useful to the amateur engineer." ISBN 1-85486-134-4 |
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This is an essential book for the model
engineer who builds steam locomotives. Every part of the typical model
locomotive is described with detail drawings that have been incorporated into
many of the established models seen at the track side. I use this book frequently to appreciate the 'established' design of a particular part I am either designing or making so that I can be satisfied my own efforts will likely work. I have built two of Martin Evans 3-1/4" model locomotives (Rob Roy and Jubilee). Both have been excellent engines however one must check the drawings carefully as Martin's design often contain a few mistakes. This criticism should not dissuade a model engineer from getting this book as it is full of very good design information. ISBN 0-85242-817-0 |
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XYplorer is all about enabling people who use a
computer to manage files efficiently and simply. MS Explorer is lacking in so
many areas but this program does it all and a lot more. It even provides file
backups which only backup files that have changed since the last backup. This
program is loaded, and I mean loaded, with options and facilities. It takes a
time to learn about these and use them. It is not freeware but costs little
compared to its functionality. Version 7 is on the verge of being released and this brings a host of new facilities. The most exciting is the introduction of scripting which although mainly for advanced users provides automated file processing. The great thing about this program is the more you get to know it the more it blows your mind away - an absolutely stunning program. The program is written by Don Lessau who is a genius who ensures no bugs lurk in this software. Beta versions are available and this is where XYPlorer becomes great fun as new beta versions appear frequently (daily most times). Outstanding software! Go to http://www.xyplorer.com/download.htm to download a copy |
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Ace Utilities is a collection of tools to optimize your PC's
performance. It allows you to find and remove the junk files in your PC,
invalid registry entries, delete your internet usage history, provides plug-in
support to erase the usage-history for over 200 third-party applications,
manage your internet cookies and much more. With a detailed startup-manager you
can see what all programs, services, drivers, etc start automatically with
Windows and optionally disable them. Furthermore, Ace Utilities also includes
options to find true duplicate files, fix or remove broken shortcuts and to
uninstall software completely. Other features include secure file deletion,
disk space analysis, an empty-folder finder and more. I would not like to be without this program - safe and efficient |
| K9 | K9 is an email filtering application that works in conjunction
with your regular POP3 email program and automatically classifies incoming
emails as spam (junk email) or non-spam without the need for maintaining dozens
of rules or constant updates to be downloaded. It uses intelligent statistical
analysis that can result in extremely high accuracy over time. K9 learns from
its mistakes and becomes better and better at being able to identify spam. More
importantly it learns to recognize what you consider to be spam.
This program is very efficient and quick - it is now quite old but it does the job of sorting out spam in a simple and efficient way. |
The Bat! Email Client
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The Bat! is a highly sophisticated and efficient email client. It makes handling even large volumes of mail a pleasant and secure experience. The Bat!'s flexible filters let you do almost anything automatically in your POP, IMAP or MS Exchange email accounts. Custom Folders to file your mail and particularly flexible virtual folders that automatically collect all emails matching certain criteria. Amajor consideration is the high security that The Bat! provides. Options include S/MIME and OpenPGP, remote image blocking, an interface to anti-spam (K9 in my case) and anti-virus tools. |