What do you want in a welding book?

I haven't read all the responses so I don't know if I'm repeating other's ideas... Things I would liked to have known as I followed the path from newbie-ism to my current not-quite-newbie-ism would include:

How to judge how succesful my welding was; how to do destructive testing, tell-tale signs of bad welds.

Properties of metals as they relate to welding: how stong are they, how weldable are they, effects of welding on strength and temper. This doesn't have to in-depth - just a primer on the basics would be a help.

Troubleshooting: both in term of technique and machine settings.

There are other things that have plagued me, but these stand out as significant conundrums.

Peter

I agree with Carla. Welding is as much an art as it is a science: it requires seeing and hearing (and feeling, although that's a bit difficult to convey in any form of instructional media). A quality instructional DVD is the way to go, backed up by a book. In addition to the reference materials Carla mentioned, the book can also contain an instructional narrative of the welding process along with photos (both taking from the video) as a study aid: the students can review the book material to jog their memory and reinforce what they watched in the video. I would consider doing this project as a DVD-ROM with the book on the disk in PDF format. That would significantly lower your publishing costs.

Btw, why don't we have any cool metalworking gals like Carla in the rec.crafts.metalworking newsgroup? :(

- Michael

I would like a recommendation for a reference book, my current welding reference book is around 30 years old. I do more TIG than anything else, but I also stick weld, weld OA, cut with OA, use a plasma cutter, etc. I work in copper, steel, aluminum, and other materials in the future. I expect to buy a MIG eventually.

So what would be a good reference book for welding? I should say that I have an engineering degree, but did not get especially good grades in the materials classes that I took.

Richard.

Carla F>

Good idea. A DVD in a back pocket of the book would do nicely.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

You're gonna need wheels for this book if you take even half the advice you've got so far..

What about booklets, wire bound (as someone else suggested).. one for each process, including a reference in the back on alloys, filler for what alloy and common sources of different alloys.

DVD's might work out, dunno. There you run into stuff like filesharing, if that bothers you. Books can also be scanned and fileshared but that'd not be the same as having a quality, friendly book. A DVD isn't as useful in the shop as a good book, at least not in my shop. On the other hand, a DVD can be sold pretty cheap- if you were willing to sell it cheap enough you might not have to worry much about people stepping on your copyright. Retailed on ebay at about $6, they would really sell, should also be cheap enough to discourage pirating.

Best of luck with it,

John

"Modern Welding", the latest edition, is a good encyclopedia-style reference book. I check out the 2000 edition from the Kirkland library every so often, haven't wanted it enough to fork over $70 plus for it yet.

Grant

Ernie, Do the book. I know some people learn best by doing and others will do fine with just a book that's written, and if need be, illustrated well. Especially if the book is trying to teach a manual task or skill, good illustrations can really make a difference. Carla, I know videos can be very helpful but I have taught myself several things requiring manual skill from good books. So I think books are a great idea. Especially if the book is used along with either a teacher or a video. A good book is also great to have as a reference when you are not in class and don't have any way to watch a video. Eric R Snow, E T Precision Machine

One thing that'll make it stand out from all the rest will be the line on the cover (and the spine) that says "By Ernie Leimkuhler".

That one line, alone, will guarantee good sales. 8-)

Thanks for the compliment -

I also haunt the rcm group and occasionally post there also :)

Carla

I think it's quite difficult to get the right balance between theory and practice. It also depends on the person reading the book. I would prefer a book with quite a lot theory.

First of all, I wouldn't like to buy a book that spawns from stick to TIG. Separate the books, or you get a mischmasch of everything without all. :-)

Now, that you (err, I) have decided to write a single book for every process, the contents depends on the welding process. for example O/A and TIG are quite easy to learn, because it's more you setting the pace. You can weld slowly, or fast. If you're good, you can weld fast, if not, then not. For O/A, I still cant weld above 4mm. But I also don't care, I fire up the O/A once a year and use it only for thin stuff. What I want to say, is that it is easier to see what's happening, because you have much more time to observe what's going on, and you also see what the puddle is doing.

Now to the processes:

• O/A-book: would not buy one.

• TIG-book: would not buy, because I don't have a TIG. :-) The one I want costs above 3000 $, I can't afford that. Anyhow, what I'd like to see is:

- AC/DC, what for.

- AC, selecting the propper frequency

- sure how to select the propper rod _and_ how to find the propper rod for say, aluminium. Describe some chemical tests that give the content of Si, Mg, etc. and then a table what rod to use.

• Stick-book: A lot about the propper sticks. A _lot_!

- select the right stick for the different positions. Sticks for repair work (eg. CI, SS, etc.).

- starting an arc with stick X and AC or DC. Many do have problems with that.

• MIG/MAG-book

- selecting gas

- setting up. Many people don't have the slightest clue what's right. the bad thing about MIG/MAG is, that the seams often look good, but don't hold what they promise. teach them to check their welds. Now this is a funny aproach, but I think it helps a lot for MIG/MAG: teach them how to make _bad_ welds. for example a push weld, holding the burner flat. Explain what's happening and say they have to cut through the weld and look close at it (maybe some etching). If you know how to make the many possible errors, you also know how to avoid them. Preparation of workpiece.

general: Teach how to observe and _analyze_, how to avoid and improve.

Would I buy a dvd? I think no. A picture shows how to hold the burner, in a picture you can add some hints, lines, whatever. But not in a video. A video makes the project more expensive, without adding _real_ information. Until I get a real good example, I think that videos are for dummies. :-))

Nick

I support the book. I am a professional firefighter and in the evenings, between runs, I usually read something instead of watching TV and then I can go home in the morning and try out some of what I have learned.

I also support a book. First of all a DVD can suffer from a miriad of production probelms. The net result could be a lot of work for a very amature looking product. Then you are stuck having done all the work with no place to go with it. Kind of like a bad weld. A book can be fluid. It can be a work in progress. Add information, subtract, re-write, edit, add pictures, illustrations, expand Q&As etc. Print on demand...you and I have talked about this approach. I still feel this is a viable option. Secondly, any kind of video production takes hours and hours to set up shots, edit them, putting it all together so it doesn't look like a home movie. Net cost, even for you own labor is expensive. Do the book(s) by topic...o/a, mig, tig. Market them seperately or as a series. More topics? Just look at our posts on this ng...it's all here. The first edition may not be a masterpiece, but you can take input, improve, sculpting the final product. As with any complicated project, the best advice I can give is to start.

-Mike

There are two books with similar titles, both around 700 pages, both around $70. One is "Modern Welding" by Turnquist and Bowditch, the other is "Modern Welding Technology" by Carey and Helzer. I wanted to make sure which one you were referring to.

Richard

Grant Erw> Richard Fergus>

| | ETA, please?

Ouch, hearing that hurt! Remember his sig line about deadlines? Assuming he has a full time job and a life elsewhere, vs a career intellectual living on someone else's check and sniping about useless things in life, a tome of a mere half our expectations would take years.

From the beginner's standpoint:

I. When to use WHICH process: O/A, stick, wire, TIG, MIG A. Metal types B. Metal thickness C. Expected results 1. Strength of weld 2. Appearance of weld

II. Equipment types, requirements, and limitations A. "Shop" (ie. non-portable) 1. Power/fuel 2. Consumables B. "Semi portable" [portable if you have a Semi] 1. Power/fuel 2. Consumables C. Portable 1. Power/fuel 2. Consumables

III. Techniques A. Safety B. Fundamentals [DVD/VHS demonstrations vital] 1. Basic concepts a. Difference between Soldering, Brazing, and Welding b. Purpose of fluxes and shielding gasses 2. Basic O/A or TIG puddle formation

etc.

[I'm sure that you have your lesson plans engraved in your head and, with your multi-year experience with students, have encountered most of the more-repeated questions and problems! 8-) ]

One thing for sure: try to get the publisher to use a soft "cloth" cover and plastic-coated paper: the book _will_ be seeing _very_ hard use in a wide range of "hostile" environments.

If you still have an archive of your old posts to these two NGs, you can, probably, save yourself weeks of typing by "culling" from them. 8-)

BTW, please let us know when, where, and for how much this set is published. I, personally, intend to order several - I have friends who could stand to learn a lot more - in addition to the set(s) for ME!

I actually meant "Modern Welding", not "Modern Welding Technology". Actually, I am not familiar with the latter. The former is a good book, but not a compellingly great one, but if you're trying to look up something arcane it will probably be in it. I actually strongly suggest you check it out of your local library and read it first, maybe one pass is all you need. If you later decide you need to see something in it again, check it out again! If you find you are checking it out all the time, only then buy a book that costs this much.

Books can be clutter too. I read many but own few. Also, lots and lots of books are available used cheap now. 10 years ago if I wanted e.g. the 2 volume set by Burghardt if I saw it in a local bookstore it would likely be $45. Today it's likely going on half.com for like $6. Tough on booksellers, but good for buyers.

GWE

can you make is so i can set it under my pillow and through sort of an osmotic process be able to absorb charted data whilst sleeping??

thnx

I, myself, get more out of seeing it done and hearing it instead of reading it.

When I was an 'on the job trainer' of 3-5 axis machining centers at a aerospace manufacturing company, it seemed that after showing and explaining what and how it should be done is when the light went off in their eyes (i get it light).

As a teacher of welding (Ernie), how many of your students got it by reading and how many needed hands on and verbal instruction?