How To Weld (Motorbooks Workshop)

This book is a required textbook for a welding class I'm taking, but it's not written like a traditional textbook. The writing isn't full of technical jargon and it's written like you're having a conversation with the older guy at work that has learned over the years and is passing down that information. The book covers a wide range of subjects like all of the arc welding processes and even includes gas welding, safety, oxy-fuel cutting and even some interesting history about welding. I've read most of the book before my classes started and it gives me a lot more confidence than just going into class blind. Each welding process chapter gives a detailed description of why you would or wouldn't use the process, the common beginner mistakes, how to weld in each position, and even gives exercises you could do on your own if you just bought this book to learn on your own.

I am a retired engineer and have worked in the heavy energy industry all of my professional life which encompasses 37 years. I ran industrial maintenance departments, which included a lot of ASME/API/AWS code compliant welding, for most of that time and although I am not a welder by trade, I have welded using most of the commonly used processes. I thought I new a lot about welding. However, after reading this book I gained new insights. The author provided a highly detailed and superior, but not overpowering, level of all necessary back round theory relating to the various welding processes such as Stick, Mig, Tig, Brazing, etc., including equipment theory of operation, selection, and shop set up needed to be understood to support an apprentice welder in his/her quest to achieve full journeyman welder status. The author also details exercises that the apprentice should perform to both teach and reinforce proper equipment set up and use, proper welding technique, and includes photos and discussion on how and why both poor and desired results where achieved. In my personal library I own many books pertaining to welding. Some are better than others. However, if I had to recommend just one book for a person wanting to embark on a career in welding, I would have to recommend this text as my first go to choice. I feel that it provides an outstanding degree of all the real life information an aspiring welder must master in order to be successful in this trade without being repetitive nor boring. A great source of welding information. Highly recommended.

I have recently started welding again after about a 20 year layoff. I started by buying a bunch of welding books and reviewing the more modern techniques and equipment. This book is one of the ones that I have found to be well worth the trouble. The book is well written, complete and concise. The images are extremely well-done and seemingly on-point. The book covers all of the conventional welding disciplines...SMAW (stick welding..), GMAW (MIG welding..), GTAW (TIG welding..), and FCAW ((flux-core..) as it relates to MIG..). Note that for an journeyman, or competent welder, some of this information may seem to be a little basic. But, that is the way it is intended. It is a journey through the welding disciplines describing the techniques, the similarities and differences, and the best practices for each. In particular, I found the sections on TIG and MIG to be particularly helpful. The section on basic arc stick welding was a good review, but since little has changed in the preceeding 20 or 30 years it was just a little redundant to me. If you are completely new to welding, or new to the current technology as embodied by modern equipment, this book will really start you off on the right path. This book along with one other, Farm and Workshop Welding: Everything You Need to Know to Weld, Cut, and Shape Metal would make up a great core for learning the necessary subject matter for welding with today's technology. Both of these books are extremely well written and edited. The images are very good and meaningful with respect to the information as it is being presented. This book has a useful index (although it is somewhat limited..), and a small topical section on "Resources" which I found useful as well. If you are interested in learning about welding, you can't go far wrong with this book. I recommend it for everyone other than an experienced journeyman. I am glad that I purchased this one and Farm and Workshop Welding: Everything You Need to Know to Weld, Cut, and Shape Metal as well. It's not perfect, but almost!! Four stars for an almost indispensable reference.

Great book for beginners

if you already have basic idea this is great reference material , clearly divided into sections for easy acess , but no book compares to experience ...so find some scrap and keep trying

Questo libro dovrebbe essere tradotto anche in italiano. Molto semplice da capire e sia per avvici

I found this book the ideal tonic as all the previous books I bought were very stodgy and hard going and could not keep my attention as they seemed to be written in a blindingly dull drone, this author I found to write in a normal conversational manner with good, concise explanations of the many seemingly indistinguishable terms and abbreviations, I would recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of taking up any kind of welding for the first time.

Dieses Buch vermittelt, im Gegensatz zur deutschsprachigen Literatur, wirklich grundlegendes Wissen zum praktischen Schweißen. Es sind im Schnitt vier große Farbbilder je Seite, die sehr nützlich sind, um beschriebenes zu veranschaulichen.