Reddit reviews Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers 11th Edition

Mark's Handbook for Mechanical Engineers

Shigley's is great for learning how to design and why you design the way you do. It's the book I used in college and still reference at work. I'm not so sure it'd be great for a novice engineer. For a more practical approach, I'd recommend a few below (not necessarily in this order):

1. Machinery's Handbook - This is regularly seen as the [mechanical] engineer's bible. It has nearly everything you'd need to know for design. Most of the machinists used this in a shop I used to work in. Nearly every engineer in my current job (and there are a hundred or more) have a copy of this at their desk.
   
2. Pocket Reference - This is kind of (loosely) like Machinery's Handbook but much more broad. It covers a little bit of everything from engineering, to vehicle maintenance, to plumbing. I like it for it's all-around information.
   
3. Handyman In-Your-Pocket - this is by the same author as #2 but is tailored to the building trades. I also have this but I haven't used it much yet. Not because it's not useful, just because I haven't gotten around to it.
   
4. Marks' Standard Handbook for Mech. Engineers - I have an old copy of this book from the 80s, I believe, that my dad gave to me. It is also on the same order as Machinery's Handbook, but instead of covering EVERYTHING, it goes into more depth about the topics it does cover. If I remember correctly, it covers topics ranging from how to make a weldment to how to design a power generating steam boiler and turbine.
   
5. Solutions to Design of Weldments - This is a new one to me. I recently went to the Blodgett Welding Design Seminar and this was one of the reference materials they handed out. I had a few text book sized design guides by Omer Blodgett that I've often used, but this one seems to take all of the info from those books and condense it down to a handbook. Best part is that it's only $3.50 for a copy and I think (but I'm not sure) that it ships for free.
   
   A nice free reference manual that includes all sorts of design equations is the NCEES reference handbook. I used it back when I took my FE exam (the first exam you take before you become what's call a "Professional Engineer" in the US). It's a nice PDF to have around, though it doesn't go into a lot of explanation as to what the equations are.
   
   A few web resources I use are: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/, http://www.roymech.co.uk/
   
   I'm sure I'll think of some more and, if I do, I'll update this post.
   
   Hope that helps.
   
   

"If engineering were easy, they would have sent a boy with a note."

Seriously there aren't any shortcuts. Either you learn the fundamentals or you don't. But if you want a really good general reference book, get The Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual


Other useful references:

• The Machinery's Handbook
  
  
• Glover's Pocket Reference
  
  
• Mark's Standard Handbook
  
  In actual practice, unless we are launching things into space or making them fly through the air, a lot of engineering is just picking thinks that we know will work by experience (if a 1" square tube will work let's use a 2") or by consulting with vendors.

It's Marks' handbook!

http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Handbook-Mechanical-Engineers-Edition/dp/0071428674

Search the right places and you can find non-official digital copies, if you know what I mean...

If you want to buy it, it's edited every ten years, and luckly, next year they will launch the 12th edition.

Mark's Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers.
At least it is a good reference whenever you want to remember how to do something, and learn some things you didn't learn in school.

https://www.amazon.com/Marks-Standard-Handbook-Mechanical-Engineers/dp/0071428674

Marks' Handbook for Engineers - Great specific reference for tolerances and fits, also has good general design "common knowledge", formulas, and practice.

Mark's Standard Handbook is basically every MechE textbook crammed into 1. It is pretty expensive, but a PDF can be found with some googling.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0071428674/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418950920&sr=8-1&dpPl=1&dpID=51X0PIIJgKL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

This what I’m hoping for Christmas if you want to get me it that’ll be great!
Marks standard handbook for mechanical engineers

A mark's handbook will probably get you started --

http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Handbook-Mechanical-Engineers-Edition/dp/0071428674/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398184423&sr=8-1&keywords=mark%27s+handbook

Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers

So good. Fascinating. Put it this way: if you don't end-up loving (loving!) this book, then Mech certainly isn't for you. So worst case scenario, this is a cheap way to find that out.

You can look for an old copy of Mark's Handbook. This is a handy guide to pretty much everything to do with mechanical engineering.

additionally check:

Stress : http://www.amazon.com/Roarks-Formulas-Stress-Strain-8th/dp/0071742476/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426174330&sr=8-1&keywords=roark%27s

Machinery: http://www.amazon.com/Machinerys-Handbook-29th-Erik-Oberg/dp/083112900X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1426174665&sr=8-3&keywords=Mechanical+Engineering+Handbook

General handbook:http://www.amazon.com/Marks-Standard-Handbook-Mechanical-Engineers/dp/0071428674/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426174463&sr=8-2&keywords=Mechanical+Handbook

and this source as a list of mech. engineering formulas to calculate and plot:
http://www.fxsolver.com/browse/?cat=4&formulas=on

Mark's Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers: has everything you would ever need, and more.

Mark's Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers

https://www.amazon.com/Marks-Standard-Handbook-Mechanical-Engineers/dp/0071428674

Machinery's Handbook
https://www.amazon.com/Machinerys-Handbook-Large-Print-Oberg/dp/083113092X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519088516&sr=8-2&keywords=machinery%27s+handbook

Mark's Handbook
https://www.amazon.com/Marks-Standard-Handbook-Mechanical-Engineers/dp/0071428674/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519088467&sr=1-3&keywords=Mechanical+Engineering+handbook