Library
A working reference shelf: our own course notes, the historical stacks that carry the old trade knowledge, and a curated set of outside resources. Free to use. Bookmark it.
NOTES // HANDOUTS
GLYPH_ORIGINALLecture notes, reference sheets, and worksheets written for our courses. Grouped by course; new material posts here as each course comes online.
More courses & notes added as they come online.
EBOOKS // PDFS
DOWNLOADABLELonger-form guides and books we host for download. (Files live in assets/library/ once added.)
THE_STACKS // 1876-1941
GLYPH_THESISAmerica's manufacturing gap is a skills gap. The die makers, tool makers, and pattern makers who built the last century trained in local shops and by correspondence course. That network of shops is gone. Its curriculum is not.
The books below trained the machinists of 1876 to 1941. They are in the public domain, scanned, and free to read. Use them the Glyph way: keep the book on one screen and CAD on the other. Model the parts you read about. Simulate what the author could only describe. The old method plus the modern tool closes the gap. Chapter 4 of the Machine Design notes analyzes the machines in these books with the kinematics of Chapters 1 to 3.
How to Run a Lathe
Learn the first machine. Every part in these stacks meets a lathe at some point.
The Complete Practical Machinist
Vise work, drilling, and hand skills. The hands learn before the spindle turns.
Turning and Boring + Modern American Lathe Practice
Speeds, feeds, thread cutting, and taper work, in full depth.
Accurate Tool Work
Fits, gauges, and tolerances. Precision is a procedure, not a talent.
American Tool Making
Jigs and fixtures make parts repeatable. Model each one in CAD as you read.
Dies + Punches, Dies and Tools
Die making, the endgame. The skill the gap is named for.
All links open scans at the Internet Archive. Public-domain era editions.
EXTERNAL // CURATED
OFF_SITEOutside resources we point students to: free courseware, references, and the standard texts. Links open off-site.
Free full courses in physics, mechanical engineering, and math: lectures, notes, and problem sets.
Approachable primers on physics, trigonometry, and calculus. Good for filling gaps.
Material properties, fasteners, threads, and quick engineering reference tables.
The kinematics course/text behind our Machine Design arm work: forward and inverse kinematics, done right.
Recommended texts (find at your library)
- > Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design - Budynas & Nisbett
- > Modern Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control - Lynch & Park