A Machine Shop Companion for the Manual Vertical Milling Machine

A Machine Shop Companion for the Manual Vertical Milling Machine: Helpful Information for Starting with Precision Metalworking.

The goal of this book is to increase the odds that your next project on the vertical milling machine will be successful, safe, and efficient.

You may have taken a safety and basic operation class, or read through the operating manual for your mill, but you may still have questions, still have some anxiety about turning the mill on. This book is for you.

This book discusses the critical things to get right on the milling machine:

workholding
cutters
toolholding
spindle speed
cutting depth
feed rate

Included is a “pre-flight” checklist so before you even turn on the mill, the odds are already in your favor.

There are no good surprises in the machine shop. We can reduce the number of surprises dramatically by a consistent approach to setting up and using the milling machine. Soon, we hope you count the mill as a trusted tool that enables you to produce precision parts, as it has for countless machinists, professional and amateur alike.

115 pages, 7″ x 10″, paperback. Full-color photos. Published March, 2025.