Foundations of mechanical accuracy
by Wayne R. Moore · first published 1970
70% recommend30% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Detailed, well-illustrated treatment of how extreme precision is bootstrapped from scratch, from the three-plate method for flat surfaces to measuring millionths of an inch. Suits machinists and the precision-curious.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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On the book front, I'd also recommend Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy by Wayne R. Moore. It's a great treatise on how you can measure things like one millionth of an inch, and has lots of incredible pictures. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/foundations-mechanical-accura...
on “Metal Lathe Made from Scrap Auto Parts” ↗If you're going to go down such a rabbit hole, you'll be well served by checking out the ostensible bible on the subject as well, "Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy" by Moore.
on “Hand Scraping a Truly Flat Plane (1908) [pdf]” ↗…https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/calibrati... Further more, if you're really interested in how modern precision engineering/industrial manufacturing came to be; I highly highly recommend you look into Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy by Moore. (it's a $150 book, pdf easily found by googling.) (I'm a flatness/metrology nerd. I recently lapped three cast iron plates together just because I wanted to create as flat a surface as I could.…
on “Wringing” ↗The "bible" though, is "Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy" by Moore. Machinery's Handbook is more of a practical reference used in the shop (like when you want to know what a certain spline or thread profile should look like), whereas Foundations is more theoretical.
on “Hand Scraping a Truly Flat Plane (1908) [pdf]” ↗…reading about that stuff (it's everywhere on the web if you know the right codewords "three plate method"), your next step is to find a copy (electronic, probably, it's long out of print) of Moore's "Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy". I keep a copy beside my bed so on nights when I can't sleep, I can caress the covers and ease my soul.
on “Spherical Gear [video]” ↗Machinery's Handbook is similar, but sort of a step back on the production chain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinery%27s_Handbook Edit: And a step further back would be Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy, by Moore. That book is a marvel of applied reason. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/foundations-mechanical-accura...
on “Getting humanity to bounce back faster in a post-apocalyptic world” ↗…anyone working with precision mechanical stuff. It mentions ways to measure and machine parts down to millionths of an inch, and stuff like mills and lathes using temperature-controlled cutting fluid. “Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy” Wayne R. Moore – 1970 https://archive.org/details/FoundationsOfMechanicalAccuracy
on “Watchmaking: Machining a 0.6 mm Screw [video]” ↗…most important step toward modern mass production. All precision machining ultimately depends on accurate surface plates, so without them interchangeable parts are impossible. See the excellent book "Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy" by Wayne Moore of the Moore Tool Company for details.
on “Why did we wait so long for the bicycle?” ↗People wanting a full treatise on hand scraping should look into Machine Tool Reconditioning by Connelly, available on the used market and the usual other sources. A close runner up for books is Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy by Moore. If you can get a physical copy of the latter, and can afford it, you should - the photographs are magnificent.
on “Hand Scraping a Truly Flat Plane (1908) [pdf]” ↗This machine was made by Moore Special Tool Co, using the techniques that they document in detail in their famous book Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy. It's unfortunate that such a business couldn't survive making such products to the modern day, and these days the remaining Moore machines -- in many ways works of art -- can be found either rusting…
on “Bob, PML's Second “Primary” Coordinate Measuring Machine (2016)” ↗In mechanical engineering: - Mechanical Engineering Design, Shigley - Mechanism and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, Sclater - Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy, Moore - Machinery's Handbook - Structure and Interpretation of... Classical Mechanics, Sussman And just for fun: - 507 Mechanical Movements, Brown - Handbook of Compliant Mechanisms, Howell
on “Ask HN: What, in your opinion, are the greatest and most useful textbooks?” ↗Dropping a pointer to _Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy_ (Wayne Moore) for further reading in this vein...
on “Maudslay's Methods of Originating Screws” ↗…match, one will not match the third. By continually lapping or scraping the high points of their contact until all three show perfect bearing when intercompared, three flat planes are created" [1] [1] Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy by Wayne R. Moore c. 1970 (An absolutely fantastic read)
on “GitHub Copilot X: The AI-powered developer experience” ↗Moore Tool Company -- manufacturer of some of the machines that NIST uses to measure stuff[1] -- published a book called Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy that's pretty good: https://archive.org/details/FoundationsOfMechanicalAccuracy/... [1]: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2016/09/meet-bob-pmls-...
on “Ask HN: What is the best book a company has ever produced about itself?” ↗…Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World_ (alternately title _Exactly_) https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/56364115-the-perfect... and for further technical details see: _Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy_ by Wayne R. Moore https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262130806/foundations-of-mechan...
on “Blacksmithing and Lisp” ↗