1800 Mechanical Movements, Devices and Appliances (Dover Science Books)

This was marketed a "used" book in good condition. The book I received was actually in excellent condition and I am very pleased. I am enjoying the old inventions referred to in the book. It is not the kind of book you "read" but more the kind of book you "look at" being that it is mostly illustrations and their descriptions. Originally published over a century ago, this book is about MECHANICAL stuff, nothing digital or electronic (but some electric things).

It's a reference book that is very well organized and illustrated. I couldn't ask more from a reference book on this type of subject matter.

In order to cram that many mechanical bits into so few pages, the illustrations are frequently small, but intensely detailed. You'll find several of them on each page. This is great reference material for steampunk, sci-fi, and fantasy artwork, but since each device has only one illustration, it would be next to useless as a technical manual. There is a huge array of different devices - from tiny gears to giant steamworks - so as long as you're browsing for inspiration, this is a great book to have on hand.

I keep buying this book. I keep it at my desk and give it away every year or so to young engineers anxious to reinvent mechanical solutions. Here is fodder for the seeking mind. I've consulted these old designs for over 50 years to consider solutions. The trained eye, personal experience and the need to bring solve mechanical problems make these old books relevant. Some solutions are elegant, some are fraught with inefficiency that make them their own sort of application curious, all of the designs have worked for their purpose to make the collection. The visual enjoyment and puzzle aspect to visualize just how these solutions work make them fun. No need to reinvent the variable transverse drive.

I love these types of books that give a brief (1 paragraph) and diagram about some machine used in the past (1700's, 1800's, 1900's). I have probably 8 other books of this kind. This book had some devices, that I had not seen before. It does not give the details of size, shape, how to make, how to use. Just a diagram. If you like mechanical devices, this is a good book for you. If you are looking for plans or directions on how to build mechanical devices this isn't the best source.

Being a mechanical engineer, this little handbook is awesome for a bathroom companion! I always used to break open everything in order to figure out how it worked at the fundamental level, and then my parents bought me K'Nex and Legos so I wouldn't break as many devices around the house lol. When I got into college, I realized that 'mechanical engineering' is basically a grown up version of playing with K'nex and I couldn't have been happier with my choice! Now this book entertains me for hours!

In order to fit all these examples in one book the amount of description for each item is rather brief. The other book I ordered, "507 Mechanical Movements: Mechanisms and Devices (Dover Science Books)" has much better descriptions. A few items in that book are still a bit brief, but overall it's a better book. edit to add: Getting further into the book, there are a lot of simple devices do ok with the short descriptions, it's mainly any more complicated device that suffers. You might have a single small cross section of an entire machine with a two sentence description.

basically this is a vast collection of various mechanical designs, showing how previous people have solved problems. There is little critique of the designs, so some may prove weak, or difficult, but it is an excellent sourcebook for ideas. in this age of CAD and modelling, it's not hard to take ideas from this book, and test them in your designs. There is some repetition in the designs (less than 5% of the designs) but once you look at the designs there are subtle differences which may matter in your work.

Para los que les gusta la Mecanica, es un libro muy útil para a aprender de los principios de mecanismos

very good

The first section of the book Isn't there It's 29 pages missing

Das Buch ist einfach nur schlecht gemacht und ging sofort retour. Bilder kaum zu erkennen schade für das Papier.

After reading some reviews I was hesitant in ordering this book, but I did and I am glad I did. Some criticism was aimed at small size and lack of description of each mechanism, BUT, this contains 1800 mechanical movements, YES 1800, the book would have to be as big as a house to contain comprehensive detail and diagrams on 1800 mechanisms. As an off the shelf reference book or just to thumb though while enjoying a coffee, this is a great book, the concise nature of each diagram and description means it covers an immense range of mechanical movements and I suspect I will be thumbing through this book in quiet moments for many months.