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Lathe Learnin is both informative and entertaining. Without in any way compromising information and knowledge transmission, this video keeps one interested and learning, and does not bog down in technical trivia which can be found in Macinery's Handbook. Furthermore, this video makes you feel as if you really can do this stuff. First Rate!
This is the first video by this fellow (is his name Jose?) that I have seen. He's not exciting or even particularly personable, but the information is clearly presented and the video answered a fundamental question that I'd had, i.e., whether or not to buy/make a milling attachment for my old Craftman lathe. Because of the information and demonstrations on this video, the answer is definitely yes.
These two videos are really good. I like to read and can usaually learn what I want through a good books, but there are certain procedures like metal polishing firearms, which reading about isn't quite all one wants. To see how Shuey polishes metal without rounding edges or dishing screw holes is worth the price of admission. The actual mechanics of hot caustic bluing are of little interest to me; the types of guns I work on deserve better; but the details of cold rust and nitre bluing which are typically used on things like old trap guns and ancient O/Us were very interesting and nicely demonstrated.
While not very entertaining (and I think good education can and ideally should be entertaining), the material presented in this set is really quite good and complete. Study this set, then watch Lathe Learnin for a set of videos that are more entertaining and an approach that contains useful short cuts.
It's nice to see that this two video set has been released as a single DVD. I bought this set some time ago, and, while I thought the information was really good, I did not think it was good value for money. Now you can rent the DVD, study it and make a few notes and be ready to try the actual processes.
I only rented the first video of this series, and, while not in the same category of completeness as the other AGI Machinists' tapes (the lathe and milling machine courses), this one is quite watchable. Holland, the instructor, seems to me to somewhat slight the drill press, which to me is a rather more useful machine than here indicated. And I'm reasonably sure that watching him demonstrate his engraving machine was a waste of my own time, but still, the video is well worth one's money to rent and time to watch.
This is quite an excellent video. The format which includes an occasional question from an off camera observer seems to work quite well. The instruction is low key, effective, and detailed. Well worth watching.
Mr. Shuey is my own favorite amoungst the AGI instructors. As in others of his videos that I have watched, he is here lucid, complete, and authentic. His manner is relaxed but focused; he's easy to both watch and listen to. There are different approaches to glass bedding, but the one Mr. Shuey demonstrates here is as good as any of them and very good for a first time practitioner. I wish more of the AGI videos had been done by this fellow.
I'm not sure who the intended audience of this video is...which is a polite way of saying the piece is a bit unfocused. I suspect a beginner in firearms would be lost when the instructor begins to take down firearms. He doesn't strip pieces further than I would feel comfortable doing in a gun shop where I am known, but I can't see myself at a gun show or a strange shope gayly field stripping a piece...perhaps that just means I'm a wuss. More importantly, what I had hoped for in this video is just not there,i.e., an explanation and demonstration of just what is meant by the various percentage gradings. It's all well and good to say that that one buy only a pieces that are in 85-100% condition, but what does that mean? I've read several of the descriptions of grading and looked at any number of pictures, but because I don't handle used guns every day, I'm really just guessing. I'd hoped this video would address that...the title suggests it does. But it doesn't.
As with the Lathe Learnin' set, Precision Measurement here produces a remarkably good piece of instruction. The instructor (whose name I never can quite get) communicates his own enthusiasm for machine tool operation, in this case, the Bridgeport type mill. The applications are mostly automotive and very little if any use is made of end mill work, but as an overall introduction and encouragement to the use of a mill this is quite excellent. Many of the set up proceedures are visual using a variety of fixtures;and that may strike some users as superficial; but, they work! There is much to machinig that can seem wearisome to a beginner or at least a less than expert machinist. This video eliminates much of that dread.
This is an odd video. I can't decide who the intended audience is. Unless you like to strip down to you skivy shirt and attack fruits and vegetables like a maddened kung-fu warrior, I'd give this one a pass. Perhaps if one had never seen a folding knife in one's life, there might be a few moments interest here, but I found it embarrassing.
I shouldn't bother with this one. The presenter (I can't really call him an instructor) is almost totally lacking in personality. The production values are non-existent; it all takes place in what appears to be a rather cluttered basement and is taped by the guy doing the work. The information is basic at best. And the last parts of the video are taken up with showing you a really crude mill the presenter made and various tiny engines which he has made and which he describes as "cool' but I would describe as silly. If this were in the publishing world, it would be described as a vanity publication, i.e., something that no one would (or at least should) pay for the "privilege" of experiencing. Spend your money on the really excellent AGI Professional Lathe series and the Lathe Learnin' series both available through SmartFlix.
This is an odd set of videos. The first DVD is sort of an infomercial which proves little besides the fact that both Middlebrooks and his wife can shoot pistols. The second DVD goes briefly into the actual techniques that the system tries to teach. Unfortunately, some of the most important elements (especially his method of indexing) are skimmed over while most of the video is spent showing, again, that the instructor is, indeed, a good shooter.
The things that makes me really uncomfortable on these two discs are the defensive attitude and "what if" mentality of the instructor. My guess is that Middlebrooks has been harshly handled in the press and, perhaps, the internet. In any case, he tells the viewer over and over that his system really does work in spite of what others say. It's sad, really, that he feels he has to defend himself rather than letting his reputation and accomplishments speak for themselves. The other discomforting thing is Middlebrooks' constant playing the "what if" game which seems to be so prevalent among beginners and amateurs in the martial arts. What if this, that, or another thing happens...in the case of pistol shooters it usually has to do with confronting many bad guys in long drawn out fire fights. The majority of real firefights are over in seconds and you'd be reasonably served with the five shot capacity of a S&W Chief's Special. The need to do quick reloads exists, when it exists, mostly in movies and certain kinds of competition shooting. Oh well, rent the video for entertainment, but don't expect to learn much of value.
