Machining books

Here are some recommended books, listed in the suggested order to read them:

Machine Tool Practices (6th Edition) by Richard R. Kibbe and others. This is one of several similarly good textbooks. You certainly don't need the current edition.

Shop Theory, Revised Edition by Henry Ford Trade School. This is almost uniquely good. Buy it used from Amazon's offerings of independent used bookstores. The original books from 1944-6 are cheaper than the modern reprint.

Metalworking Sink or Swim: Tips and Tricks for Machinists, Welders and Fabricators by Tom Lipton. How to survive the metalworking shop culture.

Machine Shop Trade Secrets by James Harvey. Many fewer war stories than Metalworking Sink or Swim, many more techniques described methodically.

Machinery's Handbook by Industrial Press. An encyclopedic collection of machining reference materials, especially about size and material standards. Does not contain everything; perhaps the missing subjects are claimed by different unions? The various editions differ in content, and people have strong preferences for editions. Has been around long enough that the center drawer in a machinist's tool chest is shaped to fit it.