Welder's Handbook: A Complete Guide to Mig, Tig, Arc & Oxyacetylene Welding

Rating:
Summary: I love this book, great if you are not a pro
Review: This is a great book! The chapter on gas welding is fantastic. Even though I usually do MIG welding, I have done some gas welding again just for fun. The chapter on jigs is great as well. Every "weldor" should own this book!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent beginner book
Review: This was an excellent beginning welding book. It covers the basics of most types of welding and does so in a reatively small number of pages. The book is clearly written and easily understanable to the novice. It was a little lacking in the following areas:1) specifics of metallurgy and nominclature of metal labling(ie what metals and alloys can be welded together and what are all of the alloy and wire/rod/ect classifications are used for/ect). I can hardly fault the author for this since he does give some information in this regard and the book is designed for the beginner and I would not expect that level of detail. 2)characteristics of good welds, there is a good explaination/diagram of penetration but they really need more photos of proper and improper welds showing some of the problems that are briefly mentioned by the author. With 2 extra chapters devoted to the subjects I mention this book would go from great to fantastic. Also, I would recommend that you buy it before you purchase any equipment since there is a good description of the pros and cons of each welding method and what features to look for when purchasing equipment for your specific application. You can then talk more intellegently to the welding supplier that you buy your equipment from and most likely end up with equipment that better suits your needs.

Rating:
Summary: Good Overall Information
Review: Very good information on the welding processes for the beginner. This book is great especially if you're taking an intro to welding class as I am. I practice in class then go back to the book for a good practical understanding of what I did. Another review suggested a couple more chapters would be helpful, I second that opinion. Maybe one on Metalurgy and a better chapter on Projects. The Project chapter is very vague and the drawings are not very detailed. References at the end of the book would have been nice. Overall, a good book for a conceptual understanding of the welding process.

Rating:
Summary: Leading the beginner astray
Review: While some of the information contained in the book is useful, the reviews given here by beginning welders to beginning welders is potentially misleading. For example the author fails to provide proper information on the basic gas welding set-up. He starts with opening the valves and skips to lighting the torch, completely by-passing the installation of the regulators and properly leak checking the complete OFW system (bottle valves, regulators, lines and torches), not to mention the importance of blowing out the talc new hoses contain. This is just the OFW side of the book and there isn't enough space here to cover the MIG/TIG side.
Wanting to learn to weld? Save your money and when you buy that Victor kit you've been wanting you'll find that it comes with a small welding and cutting manual that has far more information and is far more clear, concise than this book.

Rating:
Summary: Leading the beginner astray
Review: While some of the information contained in the book is useful, the reviews given here by beginning welders to beginning welders is potentially misleading. For example the author fails to provide proper information on the basic gas welding set-up. He starts with opening the valves and skips to lighting the torch, completely by-passing the installation of the regulators and properly leak checking the complete OFW system (bottle valves, regulators, lines and torches), not to mention the importance of blowing out the talc new hoses contain. This is just the OFW side of the book and there isn't enough space here to cover the MIG/TIG side.
Wanting to learn to weld? Save your money and when you buy that Victor kit you've been wanting you'll find that it comes with a small welding and cutting manual that has far more information and is far more clear, concise than this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Beginner's Book
Review: Yes, I agree that this is an excellent beginner's book. I bought this book, went out and bought an acetelyne welding outfit, and was cutting, brazing and welding immediately. It has just the right amount of technical info for a beginner and covers all the basics.