Machinery's Handbook: Large Print

I stupidly put off buying this book because of negative reviews like page bleed through, poor binding / construction, small print in a large book etc. But dove in anyway because of how tradesman in the field referred to it as the Holy Grail of Mechanical Engineering. Also with this book you could literally rebuild an industrial society...So needles to say I was not surprised when I flipped through the pages and realized what an incredible book it is. Absolutely a must have reference book for anyone working in the mechanical world.So what about page bleed through? Well the book is big, 10-1/4 x 7-1/8 and 3" thick. The pages are half the thickness of standard copy paper which begs the question Why?? I concluded if the pages were twice as thick the book would also be twice as thick making it 6" instead of 3" thick. The print is normal size type 10-11 and sharp and dark. The binding is fine but for a big heavy book I would take it easy on stressing the glue or throwing it in your tool box.I'm trying to avoid whining or responding to whining but thought for those more interested in the books content and not what the shipping box looked like you got my 2 cents.

I inherit the 24th version from my father years ago while I was a Tool & Die Maker, he used to call it "the bible" and it really is. However, I lost it during the years. There is almost everything that you need for machinist and mechanical stuff. Now that I'm a mechanical engineer, I bought it again.Rating:Content rating is above 5 stars, there is no question about this. It may not be for everybody, because it may have more than you ever need, but it's always good to have a reference.Quality: It's true what they say about the paper quality, you can see a significant difference between editions.

As others have stated, this is probably the premier assemblage of machining information. It's a thick book. There are four options with similar covers, I think. There is this size book and there is one called Toolbox Edition. I'm not sure but I think it may be a smaller version of the main reference but with smaller print. (You would need to ask someone who has both.)I believe, based on the print in this main reference, I could have ordered the smaller version and read it easily enough. Also note there is one thin book, it may be called Students Guide, used as a teaching aid/classroom reference which is quite a bit thinner than the main reference and thus has a limited amount of info. And there is the Pocket Companion, which I am not familiar with.

Larger font and new thicker paper makes this the book to get! Had no trouble reading any of the pages.Dimensions: Size is roughly similar to a college or classroom textbook.Highly recommend this over the toolbox version (lets be honest, few will put the toolbox version IN their toolbox)Instead, I recommend getting this larger print version and the Pocket Companion guide. Trust me, its worth the increase in cost to never need another reference guide/book again to satisfy your engineering, machining, or manufacturing concerns.Note: I use this every day!Regards,Matthew SchneiderMechanical/Biomedical Design Engineer

No mechanical engineer can go through life without using some of the formulas or information on some issue related to the design of mechanical machinery (or hydraulic or electrical). Within the thousands of pages is everything from mathematics to strength of materials to bolted fasteners to riveting to hydraulic power to electric wiring. This is a handbook that always gets used by engineers on projects whether big or small. I recommend the large print. I have the smaller sized 23rd edition, and as I aged, I found it necessary to read the print with a magnifier. (That is what happens after age 40.) The large print version is not really large print, it is what we would call normal sized print that we would read every day. Size-wise the book is comparable to the old family Bible passed down through many generations. I have been an engineer for all my life and Machinery's Handbook is my prime source of engineering information.

[update 2021]Many of the formulas are incorrect... Finding the vertex to center to vertex angle of a regular polygon is 180/number of sides, not 360/number of sides. Additionally On circular segment, the letter h is used instead of the letter r for radius..It is the same darn thin pages that made me give this a 2 star.One would think after the fiasco with thin pages in the previous version, Industrial Prints would have figured not to use the same thin paper in their latest 30th edition of the book... This isn't the case. I've attached a picture of the same page used in a review in the 29th edition of this book titled "Please see photos before buying this book" by G. James on February 22, 2012It is evident that the pages of this 30th edition is as bad as the old version of the 29th edition.

I am older and now wear trifocals so this big print edition was real find. A student of mine had one last semester and I ordered it that night. My old edition was the original stander size which was fine for me 40 years ago. I like the big format as I can get a whole thread page projected on the screen when I am teaching thread mathematics to my machining classes.

The book is a must for anyone in the trade and an upgrade to older editions. I paid extra for the book having improved paper, but the paper is still thin to where you can see the print on the other side, making it difficult to concentrate on what you are viewing. So I either got an older print or the improved paper stated in the description really has not improved. I am happy with the shipping as it was very fast and I received the book sooner than expected.

Invaluable. Some people moan about the pages being thin, they're perfectly fine, infact I would say the paper was chosen well. It's strong & durable, & the book is about 3 inches thick as it is, that's about a thousand sheets per inch, & it's not light as it is.

Great content! Paper thin pages - emphasis on the "thin". As others have said with this "improved-paper edition, you can read through to the opposite side of the current page plus the opposing page front side. It is a little distracting on some pages but not all. The key to make the book fully useable is to cut out a rectangle from a black bin-liner and sandwich it in between pages; this stops reflected light from bouncing off Page n+2 and illuminating Page n+1, hence you only see page n. I would have preferred the book in two volumes with thicker pages. I would keep the book out of the workshop because any hint grease or oil on any page will make it fully transparent. I subsequently found a free downloadable copy - but I prefer the book.

as in display

Well pleased with the book

A fantastic upgrade for any Engineer! Ordered and delivered within 1 week. The paper is still quite thin, so not sure exactly how thin the paper on the original 29th Edition was!