Algebra for the shop floor and the drawing office: a 1914 primer that teaches formulas and equations through the kind of problem a machinist or a draughtsman actually runs into. Erik Oberg (1881-1951) edited the first Machinery's Handbook with Franklin D. Jones, and it is still the standard desk reference in machine shops a century later. Oberg's starting point is a plain one: a workman needs algebra only when no ready-made rule or table hands him the answer. From there the book works through the use of formulas, the use of equations in solving problems, the principles of algebra, equations of the first degree, and quadratics, each step tied to a problem from real engineering practice rather than a classroom exercise. Reference Series numbers were written for men who had left school early and learned their trade at the bench, so nothing is assumed and nothing is padded. Forty-five pages take a reader from substituting values in a formula to solving a quadratic, at a pace that suits somebody working alone at a kitchen table as well as it once suited the drafting room. This edition features:Five chapters running from the use of formulas through to the solving of quadratic equations Worked examples taken from machine design, workshop practice and the engineering drawing office A compact refresher for anyone picking the subject back up after many years away from it The original figures and worked tables, reset page by page for a clean modern edition