American Machinist

The ''American Machinist'' is an American trade magazine of the international machinery industries and most especially their machining aspects. Published since 1877, it was a McGraw-Hill title for over a century before becoming a Penton title in 1988. In 2013 it transitioned from combined print/online publication to online-only.

History

The journal was founded as a monthly magazine in November 1877"American Machinist," in International Magazine Co., ''Periodicals,'' vol. 1, no. 1 (October–December 1917), pg. 7. by Horace B. Miller and Jackson Bailey at 96 Fulton Street in New York City. The publication moved to a weekly publication schedule in July 1879.

Fred H. Colvin explained:

In 1888, the editors decided to launch another title, specific to the railroading industry, called ''Locomotive Engineer''. They asked Colvin's father, Henry F. Colvin, to recommend someone to become the new title's editor. He recommended an ''American Machinist'' correspondent from Pueblo, Colorado, whose writing he considered to be of good quality. The man was hired, and this introduction to technical publishing was auspicious, because John A. Hill went on to be a cofounder of McGraw-Hill.

''American Machinist'' was published weekly from 1877 to 1960 by various New York City companies, from the original American Machinist Publishing Company, through John A. Hill's Hill Publishing Company, to McGraw-Hill from 1909 onward. From 1968 to 1988, McGraw-Hill issued it biweekly and later monthly, briefly titling it ''American Machinist & Automated Manufacturing'' during 1986–88. Starting in 1988 it was published by Penton; in 2013 it transitioned from combined print/online publication to online-only. Penton was acquired by Informa in 2016; Informa sold ''American Machinist'' as part of a batch of titles to Endeavor Business Media.

William Harris, a professor emeritus of Middlebury College, summarized that the ''American Machinist'' appeared weekly since "after the American Civil War, and was published continuously through the 19th and into the 20th century. This time period spans a very important interval, at the beginning of which new machinery began to appear in response to arms needs arising from the war, and the concept of mass production was invented. Interchangeable parts for military equipment followed immediately, and gave a new sense of what machines could do, in fact what they were going to have to do, as a matter of course in the future."William Harri
"The American Machinist Weekly"
at community.middlebury.edu. Accessed 13.02.2015

Long-time editors or coeditors included Frederick A. Halsey and Fred H. Colvin. Other editor-in-chiefs were Fred J. Miller, Leon P. Alford from 1911 to 1917, and John H. Van Deventer from 1917 to 1919.

For decades, ''American Machinist'' and several other key trade journals, including the Industrial Press's ''Machinery'' (of which Colvin was the founding editor), helped machinists, from machine tool builders and job shop operators to factory hands, to keep abreast of current practice and new developments in a way that they formerly had not. Both editorial offices also issued handbooks for machinists ('' American Machinists' Handbook'' and ''Machinery's Handbook'').

In 1969 the ''American Machinist'' magazine, under editor-in-chief Anderson Ashburn, was awarded the National Magazine Award, for its special issue, “Will John Garth Make It?” The study of U.S. industry's role in combating unemployment, especially among those that companies might consider unemployable, included Mr. Garth, a 26-year-old high school dropout and parolee.

See also

* '' American Machinists' Handbook''
* ''Engineering''
* ''Engineering Magazine''

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

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{{Authority control

1877 establishments in New York (state)
2013 disestablishments in New York (state)
Online magazines published in the United States
Weekly magazines published in the United States
Defunct magazines published in the United States
Engineering magazines
Magazines established in 1877
Magazines disestablished in 2013
Magazines published in New York City
Online magazines with defunct print editions