Welder's Handbook

[deepblue175plus]

Hello, Im new to welding and purchased this book
(Welder's Handbook: A Complete Guide to Mig, Tig, Arc & Oxyacetylene Welding
by Richard Finch). Those of you that have read it can imagine whats coming next, not sure if i can use it to start a fire in the back yard or not. Im looking for primarily Mig welding information. I know that a welding school/class is the best way to go but I do not have the time/money to allocate towards formal training. Has anyone seen or read any training literature that they feel would benefit any newbie to the Mig welding process. Portable Mig welders might be "power up and pull the trigger" but there are numerous hidden snags that rear up and bite the new welder that i believe good training books will atleast mention and suggest solutions. I know there is no substitute for good ole expierence but that will only come with time, you can't get expierence in the book but they can make the learning process less costly. Thanks everyone and i look forward to your replies.

[Zrexxer]

I share your sentiments about that book, except that burning it might be a noxious source of air pollution Seriously though, check out Miller's website at http://www.millerwelds.com/education...dex.html#books . They have some very good reference materials geared toward specific processes. I believe the best value there is the "Student Package" toward the bottom of the page, which includes a set of 13 Miller reference books and 3 Miller process set-up calculators.

Also check out Lincoln's website - the James F. Lincoln foundation publishes quite a few welding reference books at unbelievably low prices. They're an excellent value too.

[James D. Clark]

Zrexxer's suggestions are good ones. Also, try a public library for books about welding. There are some good books on the subject in the libraries and as you've noted-some that aren't so good.

[Wyoming]

Deepblue, As has been noted, both Miller and Lincoln have some great resources available to you. If you care to look into Miller's site a bit further they also have a downloadable course for MIG welding that may be of interest to you. Click on the link that Zrexxer gave and head to the top of the page, hilite "education", click on "Welding Library", from there either choose "Books and Pamphlets" or "eTraining" and you should be able to find what you were looking for. Hope this helps.

[W8KI]

The Student Package at the Miller website... $25.00. Best deal I've seen!
Covers GTAW, GMAW, SMAW, etc with calculators, free Miller jacket offers, etc.

[TJButler]

I also like "New Lessons in Arc Welding" by the Lincoln Foundation.
If you can find a Communiy College or Voc School that has the Hobart welding technology videos, I think those are great.

[hmhoek]

The US Army training circular on welding is available online at http://the-land-rover.com/. I have found it to be a useful primer.

[deepblue175plus]

Thanks for the good tips. Information is knowledge, knowledge is power and with a lil of both i might save some blood, sweat and tears. Not to mention time and money.

[bcraytor]

Might be able to "help" a local welder. He might trade off some lessons or give you tips in exchange for your time with the grinder/sand blaster. A little one on one goes a long way.
Good luck,
Bart

[Ray C.]

The one book that helped me the most is WELDING ESSENTIALS by William Galvery and Frank Marlow. It is easy to understand and is good reference.

[hmhoek]

How could I forget?

http://www.technicalvideorental.com/...og_welding.php

You'll have to wait until I'm done with Arc Welding I and II though...

[enlpck]

The Finch book is, IMHO, basicly useless. Too many mistakes. Welding Essentials is good, as are any of the books from Lincoln

[USA]

The Finch book is, IMHO, basicly useless. Too many mistakes.

Doh! Just bought it the other day. What are some of the mistakes?
I don't want to use the bad info. I was enjoying reading through it

[speedycheater]

I actually found it was a great book. It was recomended to me by several experienced welders. It is intended as a beginner's book, and therefore does not go into great detail, but it is great for a beginner.

[Zrexxer]

but it is great for a beginner.

If you don't mind stuff that is just wrong.