Newnes Mechanical Engineer's Pocket Book

This book does have a lot of useful information for mechanical engineers but if your company, like mine, uses inches then all of the reference charts are not going to be applicable to you. Even for something as simple as finding the standard tolerances on a key is only provided in metric sizes. This is not the fault of the author but I do wish I had known this before I bought it. I gave the book 5 stars because that's what it would be if I was able to utilize all of it's content. Regardless, it is still a useful book with a lot of good information at a good price so I am not entirely dissatisfied with my purchase, though I might not recommend it to anyone else in my position.

This is a thick little book, but small enough (about 7 by 5 by 2inches?) to fit handily on top of other books, in a little draw or somewhere to hand. Covering a multitude of subjects from SI units, trigonometry, forces, levers, moments, material properties, motion, power transmission and a comprehensive list of bolts threads and other info, this little book does have probably all the basics and more for the learning/learned engineer. Containing a variety of simplified diagrams and brief explanations, there aren't massive sections of text to get lost in, even if there is a few good pages to get you started at the beginning of a topic to explain the subject matter. As someone just starting out, this was great for me, but I can imagine it would still be a good reference guide for those in the industry.

Essentially this is the very large Zeus table. It has just about every general engineering mathematical equation you would need, geometric concepts and formulas in abundance. It is also a fantastic reference book for things as diverse as fittings to thread sizes to beam strengths. To those of us who have gently aged to the point where our original education is something in the dim past, this book acts as a wonderful refresher if you are a mechanical engineer of any type, from the hobbyist to the professional. One thing to note. This might be called a pocket book but it certainly would not fit in any pocket in any trousers I own. Overall this should be on the shelf of anyone involved in mechanical engineering.

Ideal desk book for any quick references and calculations on Mechanical issues. Limited information but that goes with the size. Highly recommended.

For years, my main reference book in English was "Machinery's Handbook", an American publication. The other being "Tabellenbuch Metall", a German publication. Both of which are excellent. It is good to see a comprehensive handbook available that covers a wide range of topics relating to mechanical engineering. Though it is a little large to be called a "Pocket Book", it is nicely set out. The data/information is to the point and clearly explained. I would recommend this book "Mechanical Engineer's Pocket Book" as your mainstay source of information.