---
title: Machining Basics
description: Machining basics covers the subtractive manufacturing processes used to shape metal with precision machine tools. Learners will understand how to operate lathes, mills, and drill presses, read technical drawings, and measure parts accurately using precision instruments.
category: trades-crafts
subcategory: metalworking
difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced
url: /subject/machining-basics
---

# Machining Basics

Machining basics covers the subtractive manufacturing processes used to shape metal with precision machine tools. Learners will understand how to operate lathes, mills, and drill presses, read technical drawings, and measure parts accurately using precision instruments.

## Available Resources

1 Books • 1 Courses • 3 Websites

## Websites

### 1. Hobby-Machinist

Large forum community of home-shop machinists discussing manual lathes, milling machines, tooling, workholding, and shop projects, organized by machine type and process. Useful for getting practical answers to specific machining problems from experienced hobbyists and retired professionals.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.hobby-machinist.com/

**Tags:** machining, metal-lathe, milling-machine, home-machine-shop, tooling

### 2. Practical Machinist

A long-running discussion forum where machinists, toolmakers, and shop owners trade advice on machining, tooling, and shop practice. Useful for practical answers about real equipment, feeds and speeds, and running a machine shop.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.practicalmachinist.com/

**Tags:** machining, cnc, machine-shop, metalworking, manufacturing

### 3. cnccookbook.com

CNCCookbook is a practical CNC machining resource that provides tutorials, guides, and calculators for CNC milling and turning, G-code basics, feeds and speeds, tooling, and CAM workflows.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://cnccookbook.com

**Tags:** websites, engineering-manufacturing, mechanical-engineering

## Courses

### 1. Titans of CNC Academy

Free CNC machining curriculum from Titans of CNC, combining video lessons, CAD/CAM programming tutorials in Fusion 360 and Mastercam, and step-by-step project parts. Teaches learners to program, set up, and run CNC mills and lathes.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://academy.titansofcnc.com/

**Tags:** cnc-machining, cad-cam, fusion-360, cnc-milling, cnc-turning

## Podcasts

### 1. The TWIML AI Podcast

**Author:** Sam Charrington

Long-running interview podcast hosted by Sam Charrington in which ML and AI researchers and practitioners discuss their work on deep learning, natural language processing, neural networks and data science, helping listeners follow current research and how it is applied in industry.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://twimlai.com

**Tags:** machine-learning, artificial-intelligence, deep-learning, ai-research

## Books

### 1. Metalworking: Doing It Better

**Author:** Tom Lipton

Tom Lipton draws on four decades in job shops to show practical techniques for manual and CNC lathes and mills, welding, flame straightening, sheet metal, grinding, shop math and sketching. Readers learn faster, more accurate ways to set up and finish metalworking jobs.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://industrialpress.com/product/metalworking-doing-it-better/

**Tags:** machining, shop-practice, welding, metalworking, fabrication

---

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