Hand Deburring is a treasure trove of information on deburring tools and practices. The book not only compliments the Deburring and Edge Finishing Handbook, Gillespie previous book, but offers insights into the many technical and human issues that encompass deburring technology. Though the prevailing manufacturing culture sees automation as the solution to deburring problems and researchers conclude that the future lies in learning to avoid creating burrs, attention to hand deburring is important. In a worldwide survey described in chapter 5, hand processes out number other methods by a factor of 20 to 1.

Opening sections of the book provide a background on deburring technology and a context in which hand methods function. Chapter 2 addresses the question of what right about hand deburring showing why hand methods will continue to be an essential part of manufacturing. Chapters 3 includes a glossary, sections of recent standards developed by the Worldwide Burr Technology Committee and a discussion on the tie to edge finishing-- factors that illustrate evolution of deburring into a engineering discipline. A chapter on cost calculations provides a critical review of cost evaluation methods and a look at four aspects of determining the real costs. An established rule of thumb estimates costs at 3% of machinist time, but current research places the factor closer to 10%. A chapter on common practices is a collection of observations of both good and bad practices in industry as well as an overview of common procedures to select tools and remove burrs from threads and other common machined surfaces. Noteworthy are discussions on social and management issues that affect quality and performance of deburring operations.

Center portions of the book cover deburring tools, which are divided equally between metal tools (files, burs, scrapers, etc.) and abrasives (mounted points, coated abrasives ,etc.). In covering the wide variety of tools, the book offers brief, encyclopedic data for less common products and separate detailed chapters for popular items as shown in the table of contents. The inclusion of unusual tools such as wood abrasive tools shows the effort to make the book comprehensive. Line drawings and recent photos of products from vendors are useful aids in exploring the variety of available tools Typical structure of a product chapter incorporates description and classification, usage, and references to technical literature. For the most popular tools, subsections on how to select a product and troubleshoot an application are added. Comparison of different methods is easy with the many tables and charts scattered throughout the book.

Environmental, health, and safety issues are covered in a separate chapter as well as in specific detail for selected products in their respective chapters. A discussion of human factors such as carpal tunnel syndrome appears in a chapter on ergonomics. In the chapter headed Getting the Most from Your Operations Gillespie offers advice on human and technical management issues that could reduce costs and improve productivity of deburring operations. Rounding out the coverage, closing sections discuss training, and inspection tools.

It does�not an exaggeration to describe La Roux Gillespie as a crusader who has dedicated 37 years of work to burr technology. As director of Deburring Technology International, he has been a leader in conducting national and international conferences on deburring, setting standards for burr technology and encouraging dialog among people in manufacturing on the many facets of the subject. In preparing this book he reports reviewing 4,500 technical articles, a clear example of his tireless work to compile information from diverse resources. Without question this book should be a standard resource for everyone concerned with deburring technology.