It is a fascinating book that bridges the years between Joshua Rose's "The Complete Machinist" and the manuals produced by Sheldon, South Bend Lathe, or written by Colvin. This was written (for one reason) to allow blacksmiths to cash in on the repair work that was sure to come from the excitement surrounding that newest consumer product called the automobile.

The twenty eight chapters have no titles but cover scores of topics from setting-up the headstock and using a steady rest to boring small cylinders and threading pipes in the lathe(!?).

It's wall-to-wall practical how-to most of which you don't find is other textbooks or industrial manuals. Hobart complains about castings that break because of poor design, explains how difficult work can be held with calcined plaster or even sealing wax, or how an overhead belt-driven grinding rig is set up, and much more.

If you've seen one lathe manual, you've seen them all. Well, not quite. This is sufficiently different. It's like having an oldtimer (like Osborne in Echoes of the Oil Country) stand over your shoulder and guide you through a new technique.