Which version of the Machinery Handbook would you recommend?

[GunsOfNavarone]

Evening gents! There are many versions of the M.H. And would like to get some advice on a version.
"Toolbox", "Guide" and there even be some good arguments on versions previous to the latest (30th?)
I see digital copies available, that sounds appealing, but something about a handbook draws me in. Truth be told, the oldest version I can find calls to me too, I love vintage tools....I know t he meat is unchanged, but there probably plenty that has changed.
Cheers

 

[mmcmdl]

I have a 22nd edition and one from way back when , possibly the 1920s ? I needed / used the newer for thread pitch limits but haven't opened either since 1999 . I guess it depends on what you would need a MH for or what you want to collect .

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

It's for learning/reference....collecting something beautiful and old is priceless, but I need current info and such. I have read people comments that prefer their 24th, 26th and 29th edition....

 

[benmychree]

I bought one, I think the 16th edition in the early 1960s; there is nothing in subsequent editions that I personally need to know or refer to: what we do is not rocket science.

 

[mmcmdl]

I can't think of any reason I would need to open the HM at this point in time , there are so many charts and cheat sheets in my toolbox from years past . About the only thing I go to now is my 2 ft x 3 ft Besly tap and drill decimal chart .

 

[Bob Korves]

They are all good for reference purposes. These days, all the info is available on the web with a search, and you can choose the one you like, for free. Still, if you don't have a computer in the shop, it is not so handy for quick answers. I have the 22nd edition of Machinery's Handbook, and also the first edition (reprint.) Both are excellent sources of data and knowledge, well worth reading from cover to cover.

 

[catsparadise]

Copies turn up very occasionally over this side of the pond. My copy came of the bay of E, sold by a charity shop. 11th edition, fourth printing, 1943.
Every now and then it's nice to open the book rather than stare at a screen to learn/find out something.

 

[MarkM]

I think it would be interesting to see the editions after ww1, ww2, and something from modern times with the reserch and development with materials and modern machining.
In a round about kind of way I bet there closer than we think. Machining is maching but how it is applied has drastically changed.

 

[Bob Korves]

In a round about kind of way I bet there closer than we think. Machining is maching but how it is applied has drastically changed.

My Machinery's Handbook 1st edition (reprint) is a really interesting read. If you think 1914 was the dark ages of machining, you will be surprised to see how advanced the art was in those days. They did not have the technology that has developed since, but their brains were every bit as good as ours, and they had all the basics figured out and in common use. It was not just hammer, file, and anvil, there were advanced gear making machines in use, just one example.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

So, what I’m hearing is;
Get the oldest one you can find, for a machinist, it at the very least can give you the warm and fuzzies (I can appreciate this)
If you need answers, the internet is full of vast shapes and sizes...for free, pick your favorite. ( I also can appreciate this)
Some of you are quite humble...I think technically, some of what you do IS “rocket science” I think you take for granted what a somewhat newb 50 year old sees as fascinating and mesmerizing....I really could do this all day long for free and die a happy man.
Thanks for the input!