Vintage Wood Machining Books

[Trevanion]

Since I started this thread back in 2020 (2019 elsewhere...) over the last couple of years my collection has continually grown and grown, what started as a very small handful of books has turned into almost a library of over fifty Wood Machining related tomes, excluding catalogues! People often ask me how I've accumulated them, the majority of them have come from dilligently browsing eBay, but some have come from more specialist book sites such as AbeBooks, funnily enough the first few books I bought actually came from Amazon through secondhand dealers on there. Of course, I've been fortunate that some kind individuals have also donated books to me which I am very appreciative of, you know who you are!

A quote from Socrates comes to mind, "Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.", which I think is true of these books as the men that wrote them were the top experts in their fields, there is so much information in these which is still very much relevant to the current Joinery and Wood Machining trades as the machines have changed little for the last hundred years, though there is more of a focus on safety now than there was back then. Information is arguably far more readily available nowadays with the internet, but also disinformation/bad information with many individuals posting content online being rank amateurs posing as "Professional Woodworkers", the individuals that wrote these books were the real deal, and the books are well worth seeking out for those whom wish to learn.

(some titles below are hyperlinked to a separate post in the thread if you so wish to view any particular one)

Wood Machining Books:

Woodworking By Machinery, by R.H.Hordern 1937
The Woodworking Machinist Volumes 1 & 2, by R.H.Hordern 1958
Woodworking Machinery Theory and Practice, by R.H.Hordern 1952
Sawing and Planing, by A.H.Haycock 1948
Tenoning, Morticing and Boring, by A.H.Haycock 1949
Spindle Moulding, by A.H.Haycock 1952
Routing, by A.H.Haycock 1953
Four-Cutter Practice, by A.H.Haycock 1955
Principles of Machine Woodworking Complete in One Volume, by A.H.Haycock 1961
Modern Mechanical Saw Practice, by J.Raymond Foyster 1947
Modern Woodworking Machine Practice, by J.Raymond Foyster 1963
Information and Operation Units in Machine Woodworking, by Robert Smith 1938
Saw-Mills, Their Arrangement and Management, by M. Powis Bale, 1883
Woodworking Machinery its Rise, Progress and Construction, by M.Powis Bale 1914
Handbook of Saw Mill and Wood Converting Machinery, by M Powis Bale 1920
Joiners Machines and How to Work them, by T.R Groom 1933
Saws and Sawing, by Sydney Lister 1937
Planers and Planing, by Sydney Lister 1947
Sanders and Sanding, by Sydney Lister 1948
Boring, Mortising, and Tenoning, by Sydney Lister 1949
Conversion, by Sydney Lister 1951
Woodworking Machinery for Small Shops, by A. Murray Ball 1923
Woodworking Machinery for Small Workshops, by W.J. Blackmur (An updated version of the earlier book by A. Murray Ball) 1937
How to Tend Cutters, Knives, and Saws for Machine Woodworkers and Sawmill Owners, By W.J. Blackmur, 1917 (PDF: HERE)
How to Work a Spindle Moulder, by W.J Blackmur 1918 (PDF: HERE)
Saw Mill Work and Practice, by W.J. Blackmur 1926?
Principles of Woodcutting Machinists Work, by T.Hesp 1951
Two Hundred Years of History and Evolution of Woodworking Machinery, by William L. Sims 1985
Machine Woodworking, by Herman Hjorth 1937
Operation of Common Woodworking Machines, by Herman Hjorth 1942
Machine Woodworking, by John R Clayton 1974
Machine Woodworking Technology for Hand Woodworkers, by F.E.Sherlock 1973
Woodworking Machinery, by H.R.Hudson 1946
Modern Woodworking Machinery, by J. Stafford Ransome 1902
Cutters and Cutter-blocks, by J. Stafford Ransome1927
The Technique of Woodworking Machinery Vol 1 & 2, by Frank. L. Dunsmore 1965
The New Builders Handbook on Woodcutting Machine Work, by S. H. Glennister 1948
Circular Saws, by Eric Stephenson and Dave Plank 1972
The Hanchett Saw and Knife Fitting Manual 7th Edition 1950
The Hanchett Saw and Knife Fitting Manual 8th Edition 1956
Machine Woodworking, by DeWitt Hunt 1956
Safety Hints on the use of Wood-Working Machinery, by His Majesty's Stationary Office 1933
Circular Saws by His Majesty's Stationary Office, 1937
A Handbook of Woodcutting by His Majesty's Stationary Office, 1946
The Art of Sawdoctoring Wide Bandsaws, by Arthur Simmonds 1953
Sawmilling Practices that Pay, by R.R Cahal 1947
Saws: Their Care and Treatment, by Harry W. Durham, 1921
Wood Planing Knives, Hints on Cutting Bevels and Grinding, by Drabble and Sanderson Ltd 1936
Instructions for Grinding Router Cutters No 600/2, by Wadkin Ltd (Not sure of age, 1960-ish?)
Your Guide to Good Sawing with Planet Wide Bandsaws, by H.Pickles and Son (Saws) Ltd (Not sure of age)
Woodworking Machines in Four Languages, by H.E. Horten 1968 (This book is a language dictionary for finding out specific words in relation to woodworking machinery, I.E. Bandsaw, Bandsaege, Scie A Ruban, Sierra De Cinta...)
The Woodworking Shaper, The Spindle Moulder, by C.V. Christie, 1952
Getting The Most Out Of Your Circular Saw And Jointer, by the Delta Manufacturing Company, 1937
The “Mermaid” Saw and Cutter Manual, by Spear and Jackson
Modern Shaper Practice by W.H. Rohr, 1923

Woodworking Machinery & Accessory Catalogues & Miscellaneous:

Tools and Sundries for Woodworking Machinery, Wadkin and Co, 1925
Wadkin Catalogue No. 415, 1936
Wadkin Catalogue No. 790/1, 1973
Wadkin Tools and Accessories for Woodworking Machinery Catalogue No. 745, 1950
Robinson Tools and Accessories For Woodworking Machinery Catalogue NO 17T and Abridged Price List ~1969
C.D. Monninger Catalogue 1926
C.D. Monninger Catalogue 1935 Yellow hardback
C.D. Monninger Catalogue 1935 Yellow paperback
C.D. Monninger Catalogue 1935 Red paperback
C.D. Monninger Catalogue 1947
C.D. Monninger Catalogue of Saws and Accesories, 1952
C.D. Monninger Catalogue 1957
C.D. Monninger Catalogue of Saws and Accessories, 1967
J Sagar and Co Small Tools and Accessories for Woodworking Machinery Catalogue
Oliver Woodworking Machinery Catalogue No 22, 1923
W.M. Ridgway & Sons Woodworking Tools for Machine Use Catalogue, 1960
Dening & Co Woodworking Machinery Chard Catalogue, 1927
Pickles Ransome Woodworking Machinery Catalogue, Circa 1930s-40s
Broom and Wade Woodworking Machinery Catalogue, Circa 1904-05
Danckeart Woodworking Machinery Catalogue, Circa 1930s-40s
Danckeart Woodworking Machinery Catalogue, Circa 1900
Patents for Inventions, Abridgements of Specifications, Class 145 Woodcutting (Other Than Sawing) 1921-25
Patents for Inventions, Abridgements of Specifications, Class 145 Woodworking (Including Sawing) 1921-25
Patents for Inventions, Abridgements of Specifications, Class 145 Woodcutting(Other Than Sawing) 1926-30
Patents for Inventions, Abridgements of Specifications, Class 145 Woodworking (Including Sawing) 1926-30
Cooksley Woodworking Machinery Catalogue, Circa 1940s/50s.
Greenlee Woodworking Machinery Pocket Catalogue, 1925.
White Woodworking Machinery “The White Line” Catalogue, 1950.
Drabble & Sanderson Ltd “Modern Tool Equipment for Sawmill and Woodworking Establishments” catalogue, 1938.
W.A. Fell Modern Woodworking Machinery Catalogue, 1954.
The Machine Woodworker and Sawmill Owner Magazine, 1919
Dominion Woodworking Machinery Catalogue

Books that include sections on Wood Machining but are otherwise unrelated:

Modern Practical Joinery by George Ellis, 1925
Practical Geometry - For Carpenters, Joiners And Woodcutting Machinists, by A.B.Emary 1955
Carpentry, Joinery and Machine Woodworking, by A.B.Emary 1974
Carpentry, Joinery, and Woodcutting Machinery, by W. E. Kelsey, 1954
The Practical Carpenter and Joiner, by N.W. Kay, 1946

Anyone else got any gems of their own? If anyone wants to see the inside of anything in particular just say!

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Mike G]

As AndyT said on UKW, this is possibly a unique collection in the UK, and could be an important resource. How did you acquire/ accumulate it?

 

[Trevanion]

How did you acquire/ accumulate it?

Just looking around every so often, you'd be surprised where I've found some books hiding on the web such as in online charity shops and even on Amazon. I know Wallace also has a fairly impressive collection of rare books so I'm not totally alone in this endeavor

I've also got a collection of old Joinery books.

 

[StevieB]

Fascinating, thanks for posting - they really built things to last in those days! I guess the difference between 'then' and 'now' is that the big lumps of cast iron from ye olden days were industrial machines for a factory/production setting and there were many more smaller workshops and enterprises making stuff before the ubiquitous plastic we have today was widely available. The comparison between those machines and todays equivalent would presumably be robots and precision production lines rather than our hobby end of the market. What would a one man in his shed have had back then - mostly hand tools I suspect, possibly an electric drill if one could afford it!

 

[AJB Temple]

As I said elsewhere, an amazing collection.

It almost feels as if we have gone backwards. Every other post on woodwork forums, or some anyway, is "what do you think of this chinesium branded planer / thicknesser" and they are invariably quite basic except perhaps for a spiral head. If you look at the robustness and capability of these old machines, it's as if we decided to forget what has gone before and start again.

 

[droogs]

The main differences between these old machines and modern ones, apart from electronic advances, to me are the following 2 points.
a) consumerism and building to a price
b) built in obsolescence to drive consumerism

hence machines to day are just stiff enough to do the job and no more, rather than being built with pride to outlast the builder.

 

[AndyP]

I am glad that the world has moved on from those “portable” power saws.

Did portable mean something else back then?

 

[droogs]

I think the army still uses the Victorian definition of portable - If you have a regiment doing nothing then ...

 

[wallace]

Ive been looking for that bill sims book 2OO years of wood working machinery for a while, he was a director at wadkin and quite a character by all accounts, I heard a story that he was coming into work one day and there was a cleaner doing his thing. The cleaner said morning bill. Later said cleaner was dismissed. Bill expected to be called Mr Sims by such people.

 

[RogerS]

There used to be a guy on woodworkuk.co.uk called Scrit and who was a walking encyclopaedia on old machines. Just tried searching for some of his old posts but that part of the forum is bust.

 

[9fingers]

There used to be a guy on woodworkuk.co.uk called Scrit and who was a walking encyclopaedia on old machines. Just tried searching for some of his old posts but that part of the forum is bust.

Scroll down past the gobbledegook on the search page and there are 28 pages of Scrit's posts viewable.
I think he was on UKW too.

Bob

 

[AJB Temple]

I used to live in Guildford and at one time there was a huge second hand bookshop at the top of the High Street. They had a room down the back that was full of books on engineering, tools and machinery. Guildford High Street was prime property and about 10 years ago the shop was closed and became a fashion store. I remember seeing skips full of books being sent to the tip. No doubt the engineering books were amongst them.

 

[Trevanion]

Post amended to add:

Woodworking By Machinery by R.H.Hordern 1937
Handbook of Saw Mill and Wood Converting Machinery by M Powis Bale 1920
The Art of Sawdoctoring Wide Bandsaws by Arthur Simmonds 1953
Sawmilling Practices that Pay by R.R Cahal 1947

I bought a job lot of books on eBay for a great price, some of which I already had but I didn't have the above four. All the books belonged to a Terence Brown, I know this because his name is written in them but also some of the books were given as prizes to him for "Outstanding Work" In Doncaster Technical College, it seems he did the 1st year of his Carpentry and Joinery course in 1957-58 and he was on his 3rd year of Wood Machining in 1962-63.

I like it when the books have interesting history, my copy of "Practical Geometry for Carpenters, Joiners and Woodcutting Machinists" by A.B. Emary is also a prize-book given to an A.J.M. Walker for "Good work and progress" in his 1st year in the Carpentry and Joinery course in Coalville Mining and Technical College in 1955-56. There's also some coursework and examination papers stuffed in the book which are interesting to read.

 

[AJB Temple]

Can you post the examination papers? They would be very interesting.

 

[Trevanion]

Can you post the examination papers? They would be very interesting.

I thought someone might ask that They're not as massively interesting as some proper Joinery exam papers would be rather than general building, but interesting none the less.





















Gosforth Handyman had some interesting examination papers from 1973 from his father-in-law:

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

Post amended to add:

Boring, Mortising, and Tenoning by Sydney Lister 1949
Conversion by Sydney Lister 1951

This completes my collection of Sydney Lister books, it took a while to come across a copy of "Conversion" which seems to be a bit rarer than the rest of them.

 

[Trevanion]

Post amended to add:

Woodworking Machinery for Small Shops by A. Murray Ball, 1923

I've had a later 1937 edition of this book by W.J. Blackmur for some time and I've been keeping an eye out for an original 1923 copy for just as long and I just so happened to come across one. It's a very nice book in near mint condition and has the fold-out pages that are typical with earlier books on the subject, Blackmur's edition did not have these and of course, being a complete revision of the earlier book had much later machinery illustrated than what's seen in the original.

 

[Trevanion]

Post amended to add:

J Sagar and Co Small Tools and Accessories for Woodworking Machinery Catalogue
Saws: Their Care and Treatment by Harry W. Durham, 1921
Saw-Mills, Their Arrangement and Management by M. Powis Bale, 1883
British Saw Milling Practice by Victor Serry, 1963

 

[Trevanion]

 

[toolsntat]

Interesting design on the Whitehill block....
Was fiddling with one of those yesterday but it might be earlier as I don't think it has the outer angle on the clamping part.
Cheers Andy

 

[Trevanion]

Interesting design on the Whitehill block....
Was fiddling with one of those yesterday but it might be earlier as I don't think it has the outer angle on the clamping part.
Cheers Andy

There are a few design variations, you wouldn't happen to have a picture?

 

[toolsntat]

Here you go.

 

[Trevanion]

Here you go.

I've got one that looks like that, although in much rougher condition than that! As you say it's probably an earlier version of the one in the catalogue, which has the relief in the cutter clamp as well as three holes around the clamp rather than two.

I'd love to know exactly when these Whitehill blocks came into being, it's hard to find any information about them.

 

[Vann]

Aha. One of these showed up over here a few years back (2017), and for some reason I kept the pikkies.



I see some minor differences. Anyway, enjoy.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Trevanion]

Post ammended to add:

Oliver Woodworking Machinery Catalogue No 22, 1923
W.M. Ridgway & Sons Woodworking Tools for Machine Use Catalogue, 1960
Patents for Inventions, Abridgements of Specifications, Class 145 Woodcutting (Other Than Sawing) 1921-25
Patents for Inventions, Abridgements of Specifications, Class 145 Woodworking (Including Sawing) 1921-25
Patents for Inventions, Abridgements of Specifications, Class 145 Woodcutting(Other Than Sawing) 1926-30
Patents for Inventions, Abridgements of Specifications, Class 145 Woodworking (Including Sawing) 1926-30

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[Trevanion]

 

[AndyT]

There's a well-known principle among collectors that if you post about your specialist collection "among friends" and somebody else says something appreciative, you'll feel quite normal. It works for me, and I think this fascinating thread is proof of it in action. No eBay listing or used book seller is safe from the reach of the Antlered One!

I'll pass over the patent summaries but pause on that appalling (by modern standards) ad from Sanderson Brothers & Newbould. Ok, it's a reminder of how ordinary racism was embedded in mainstream thinking, but it brought me up short. I've seen even worse stuff from Sheffield makers somewhere but can't find it at the moment.

In an effort to take the taste away, I can offer the information - from Simon Barley's British Saws and Saw Makers - that from the 1930s onwards Sanderson's biggest markets were in India and the Caribbean, so presumably they must have learned to moderate their ads by then.

 

[Trevanion]

I'll pass over the patent summaries but pause on that appalling (by modern standards) ad from Sanderson Brothers & Newbould. Ok, it's a reminder of how ordinary racism was embedded in mainstream thinking, but it brought me up short. I've seen even worse stuff from Sheffield makers somewhere but can't find it at the moment.

In an effort to take the taste away, I can offer the information - from Simon Barley's British Saws and Saw Makers - that from the 1930s onwards Sanderson's biggest markets were in India and the Caribbean, so presumably they must have learned to moderate their ads by then.

I did think twice about putting that particular picture up, for obvious reasons, but I thought it is a hundred-year-old book and while it isn't pleasant it is still history nonetheless.