Best books?

[Steve Crum]

Grandpa was often noted as saying that "when you stop learning, it is a sad day for you". I've always followed that. Here I am 35+ welding years later and thinking outside the box (twilight zone). I want to gather more information. I can read the bible a dozen times and find new things each time. I enjoy reading as that is what puts me to sleep at night.
I would like to get a few new books with relatively up to date information on MIG, TIG and stick welding and of course plasma cutting. I have all processes and use each, but as stated I can always learn more. What book titles do you folks get the most useful information from? Bear in mind that I really don't need the very fundamentals or every other page safety warnings, been there done that, have the battle scars to prove it. I perfer bound paper books over CD rom so I can lay in bed at night and read a page or chapter at will.
I have Finch's Performance Welding book that I've gleaned some useful stuff from over the years. It looks like a Sears catalog in an outhouse these days.

[fjk]

i'm an occasional weekend weldor, so that may color my opinion a bit,
but i like lincoln's "procedure handbook of arc welding" -- available on
lincoln's web site for $25 -- probably the cheapest book, pound for pound,
i've ever seen :-)

i also like going to used book stores and flea markets and getting
old (say pre 1950) mechanical engineering/shop books. they
seem to have a different, more hands-on, approach to things
compared to modern books. besides, they are fun to read :-)

your mileage may vary

f

[Craig in Denver]

I'm an occasional weekend weldor, so that may color my opinion a bit, but I like Lincoln's "Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding" -- available on Lincoln's web site for $25 -- probably the cheapest book, pound for pound, i've ever seen :-)

Me too. The problem with books, they're years behind the 'dreaded' internet and magazines. Another favorite on mine is "Modern Welding" by Althouse-Turnquist-Bowditch. But it's copyrighted 1992. The paperbacks sold by HomeDepot and Lowes are fairly up to date. Too many young weldors have never read a word about welding. I have 26" of welding books on a book shelf and have read all or most of them. There are hundreds of post-it's in their pages.

[Mr Meck]

Check out the weld cracking article at lincolnelectric.com. Download and print it off. A good read.

[ptsideshow]

Having 10 or so books on welding text book type and the others. Most bog you down with a lot of info that you will never need if you are an artists/hobbyist or even a certified daily working welder. And they all seem to lack the info that comes up from time to time that we all need.
I have two candidates that I feel are a must have for the newbe or old hand.
The first is:
Welding Essentials: Questions and answers
Second Edition
by William L Gravery Jr
Frank M Marlow
Industrial Press
ISBN#978-08311-3301-6
Trade Paperback
copyright©2007

It is in a question and answer format that covers what is the most asked questions on safety, general welding of most types, as the contents page lists. With out all the theory and mumbo jumbo the text books put in.
In its 500 plus pages it has a great glossary with clear to the point definitions. Good clear illustrations. And a simple to understand safety info. Some fun stuff, ok I'm an fact geek for off beat info. Like what do all those numbers mean stamped on the neck are of the tanks etc.

Welding Fabrication & Repair
Questions and Answers
by Frank Marlow PE
Industrial Press
ISBN#0-8311-3155-1
copyright©2002
Trade Paperback

Again in the Q&A format, Dealing with real world fabrication issues. And tips and insights for solving them. They give clear concise info on the correct terms descriptions. Of steel, piping, tubing, and other stuff we tend not to know the correct terms or use age of scheduling # of pipe/tube and the wall thickness. Again the contents page and the back cover says it all.
If you weld these two should be on you shelf.

The attachments are the covers and contents sheet.
http://www.industrialpress.com/en/default.aspx
I have no other connection other than a statisfied reader/customer

[ptsideshow]

Creative Welded Sculpture
by Nathan Cabot Hale
Copyright ©1968 Waston-Guptill Publications
New revised edition copyright©1994
Dover publications Trade paperback
ISBN#0-486-28135-3
library shelf# 731.4'1

* Basic tools of welded sculpture
* Basic welding technique
* Constructing abstract shapes
* constructing organic shapes
* Modeling solid figures
* Finishing the sculpture
* Welding steel sculpture with the electric arc
* Welding large scale commissioned works
* Some notes on the economics of fine arts
* Gallery of sculpture-welders


Again originally done back in the day when they did include more than the author and friends works in a book. He shows you how to do the very things he is talking about. What a novel idea! It does have a lot of B&W photos of works and processes of the construction along with line drawings. He covers a lot of things that are generally left for another book from the publishers for you to buy. He has some stuff for the hammer and tong set in the relationship of constructing a piece and using all available techniques that will do the job.

This is another one that will further the education of somebody just starting out, or been whacking at it for a while. If nothing else used they are a lower dollar book. And a good read. Around here they turn up at the library books sales.
http://store.doverpublications.com/

[ptsideshow]

Jewelry and Sculpture through unit construction
By: Patricia Meyerowitz
Bonanza Books
copyright©1967 hard cover
LCCC#67-20232

It was also published by Dover press
ISBN# 9780486236780
copyright©1978 2nd ed.
It is a true how I did it book. Even through it has jewelry in the title the only difference is in the scale of the units used. The book is filled with B&W photos of work and then she goes thru the process of making the units and the completed piece.The couple of pages on her creative thinking and the limits that are imposed on the pieces she creates due to the use of repetitive units etc. Were informative, more so if you lean towards a liking of massed same shaped objects and what assortment of different things that can be done with them.
Whether it be the bar and solid shapes to hollow or tubing slices.
If you are even a slight kin to the Count of Sesame Street, with the repetitive objects this may be one you will enjoy.

worldcat.orghttp://worldcat.org/

Just a note of explanation of why I don't just post the link to the book here. The only reason is the search engine is driven by your ISP zipcode to generate the locations of the books near you.

And just a short plug If the local library isn't hooked up with this search engine you might point it out to them. As some seem not to know about it

[ptsideshow]

Direct Metal Sculpture (Creative Techniques and Appreciation)
By: Donna Z. Meilach
A Schiffer Art Book revised edition.2001
Hard cover
ISBN# 0-7643-1254-5
copyright©2001
What can be said about THE GRAND DAME of metal work, she did recently pass on to the big junk yard beyond. She has done more to expose more people to metal working, smithing, iron work in all forms by accident or on purpose than any three others.
I'm glad she got around to revising and updating it.
From the contents page shows
She covers the new equipment in the process section. And then goes on about the rise of the forges return in the art process. With a color plate section with new pictures of a new segment of what is called Public Art. A updated resource section.
The revised introduction tells more about metal art than most other books on the subject.
I could go on about it but will control myself. This is one though that I will recommend that you get from the library and at least read it.
This book is a must read

[ptsideshow]

The Thames and Hudson Manual of Direct Metal Sculpture
by: Trevor Faulkner
Thames and Hudson Ltd
ISNB#0-500-68015-9
Trade paper back
copyright© 1978
A short description, direct metal sculpture is done with no other media other than a pencil between the artist and sculpture. As others use a many step process from sketch to finished original.
There are a number of good and great works dealing with direct or additive sculpture. This can be added to them, It takes even a noob from the start to the end of the process.

Yes it is a higher education text book. Yet there are no chapter questions or quiz's. Whether you can weld or not, you can skip the basic info and just cover the interesting bits. After the tools, both hand and equipment, processes and materials.

He covers stuff other have missed or gone over lightly.

* Inlaying other materials or insertions
* Associated crafts and their connections
* Artist as director or craftsman
* Fixing and mounting both wall and floor along with a section on first aid. Which I have not seen in a text book or other on sculpture before


It has 144 illustrations drawings and B&W with 10 color plates of some amazing pieces
It is written by a practicing teacher with industrial and professional
experience.
you can try a library near you
http://worldcat.org/

[ptsideshow]

Welding Basics
An introduction to Practical & Ornamental Welding
by Editors
Creative Publishing International
http://www.creativepub.com
copyright ©2004 Trade paperback
ISBN#1-589923-139-2

This is one you will see at the local home center, and other places that sell things of a mechanical nature. A slick paper full color, every tool new shot in a studio.(photo) With nary a spark burn in site.
Covers the standard for a basic intro book. On the types of welding, and cutting along with the equipment needed.

The second sections is 23 shop projects for the beginner level.
They are simple and clean in design. And could be done to good effect by the old hands to.
Shop,(rolling weld curtain frame,carts table)
Lighting,(lamps and candle holders)
Furniture(coat rack, kitchen stuff, headboard)
Outdoor(gate,boot brush and arbor).

All in all It is a well written and photographed intro welding and simple projects. If you have people asking about an inexpensive book this is probably the one to fill the bill.

Along with the great projects for the gifting season or all right what are you going to do with all them tools now that you got them.

[ptsideshow]

Oxy-Acetylene welding manual
by:NCG
Stock number 400124-28
copyright©1950

You may only come across this one at a garage sale or in the sale bin at a flea market. But it is an interesting handy guide. It is chock full of gas welding info with good clear drawings and pictures. Mostly of their brand of product.
It has good descriptions of all the equipment plus Acetylene generators and calcium carbide.

I don't even know if NCG is still around or what name it is now they may have an update version. You can always ask your supplier if their company puts out a booklet.

[ptsideshow]

Audels Welders Guide
Question and answers
by: Frank D. Graham
Theo Audel & Co
Copyright©1940

This is another of the books that got me hooked on the subject of welding. It was written at a time when the field of welding was changing and improving rapidly. The advances are amazing when you compare the then to now.
It is a great look at the past and how far we have come. It does contain loads of info on gas welding that are still good today. Along with Drawings and B&W pictures it is set up in a Question and Answer format with an index of word linked questions so it is easy to use. I have dealt with some of the current Audels pocket trade info books in other reviews. They are a little different in layout and scope.
Forge and Fire welding was still considered part of the welding art, but was fast being replaced by electric welding in the field.
It has a brief description of each of the major welding areas at the time.

* Forge & Fire welding
* Resistance welding
* Arc welding
* Carbon arc welding
* Metallic arc welding
* Shielded arc welding
* Atomic Hydrogen welding
* Gas welding
* Thermit welding
* Fusion welding, as it was still up to discussion at this time which version of which society's definition would be used


Atomic Hydrogen Arc welding: In this method an alternating current arc is maintained between two tungsten electrodes,and at the same time, a stream of hydrogen gas is passed thru the arc and around the electrodes.
The atomic is referring to the change from an molecular state to an atomic state releasing a considerable amount of energy. I believe this was along the lines of a plasma type arc welding system that is no longer used since the advent of TIG.
As it had a monster of an hand piece but was considered extremely mobile at the time. Because of the fact that the arc is independent of the work so the work doesn't have to be grounded.
It has a complete chapter on eye protection and what happens and why you need it.
It is a good asset for the gas welding info, on sheet, SS, copper and other materials as gas welding was the most used system at the time after forge/fire welding due to costs of the equipment.
Some edition could be at a library near you

[ptsideshow]

The Oxy-acetylene Handbook 2nd-ed
Linde,Union Carbide welding products
copyright© 1943,1960


Sold as the be all and end book of its time on Oxy-Acetylene. It was used as text book in some advanced welding classes. It is divide into 7 parts and then in to sub chapters and sections of each subject covered.

* Part I General Principles of Oxy-Acetylene Process
* Part II Ferrous Alloys
* Part III Non-Ferrous Alloys
* Part IV Miscellaneous Applications
* Part V Cutting
* Part VI Inspection and Management
* Part VII other info

From covering the history and development of it. The application of the systems. Equipment, everything about the flame,more than you want to know about Oxygen and Acetylene production.

Everything you needed to about the assorted welding of iron and steel and braze-welding.

Non ferrous covers from lead,Aluminum,copper and alloys. nickel and alloys, to magnesium.

Then moves on to bronze-surfacing,hard-facing, wear rod application,Silver brazing heat and flame-treating.

To four chapters on cutting, then on to inspection and management.

To finish up with something I hadn't see before now The air-acetylene flame and its uses, of course at the time I got this I had no use for the presto lite style torch.

[ptsideshow]

Introduction to Welding
Ronald F Gonzales and I G Edmonds
ISBN 0-06-453303-4 trade paperback
copyright©1975
Canfield Press

This is a hobbyist type book when it was written. As it only covered stick arc and oxy-acetylene welding. As it is for the beginner and or somebody coming into welding with little knowledge or experience. It goes thru the basics, along with the equipment,metal prep, types of welds. Along with inspection and testing during practice. It has a lot of photos and some drawings so you can see what is going on.
It does finish up with, art metal sculpture welding, not an in depth discussion, but more than other books on welding give to the area. The home shop, and about were to go from here. On to TIG and MIG welding.

It does give a pretty good description and info on the solid oxy type welding system. which the younger crowd may not know about. Lucky for me I knew somebody that had one, and heard about the oxygen pellets only lasting for 8 minutes and having to be reloaded.Since I already had the full rig I didn't become seduced by their advertising and purchase a set up.
But if I find one in the box with pellets I may buy one now for a collectors /talking item of the good old days.

All in all if you are looking for a good step by step of stick and gas welding and cutting. With none of the other welding covered then this is the one for you.

[ptsideshow]

Welding, Principals and Applications 3rd
by: Larry Jerffus
Delmar Publishers
copyright ©1993
ISBN#0-8273-5048-1

Well as text books go it was a pretty good read, All though I will say that when ever you are buying a text book type book or one in a field that changes or advances rapidly. You have to make sure the copyright date is recent (3to4 years) or that it has been revised to keep up with the advances.

It has lots of B&W pictures, drawings and diagrams. Along with some color pictures in a section related to the chapters that can use color pictures to show things better.