Welding Basics

by Karen Ruth, Karen Ruth

In the past 10-15 years, the major welding machine manufacturers have developed small, efficient welders for home shop use. Many of these even draw from a standard 120v outlet. For the price of a low to mid-range table saw, a home welder can buy a good quality MIG welding machine. According to welding service stores, up to one third of their customers are home hobbyists. This book is aimed at the beginning to intermediate level home welder-anyone who wishes to use welding to repair or create objects around the home. An overview of welding basics, materials, metal forming, and safety will be followed by step-by-step how-to projects with full color photos. Featured projects include simple shop furniture, baker's shelf, arbor, garden gate, and garden bench. A trip to any yard and garden center will show the current popularity of metal trellises, archways, furniture, and decorative art. Many of these pieces are prohibitively expensive, yet most are fabricated using the most basic of welding and metal forming techniques and inexpensive materials. Junior colleges, community education programs, and local art councils regularly offer welding courses for the home hobbyist or artist. Until now, no book has covered welding basics and provided detailed how-to projects with easy-to-follow photographs and steps.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Liz Marchiondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, great photographs. Information is explained and displayed well and ends with multiple projects to create.

[Kirstin Morrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really happy with this book. It explains the basics of oxyacetylene welding and cutting, arc, MIG, and TIG welding, and plasma cutting.

I was tired of going to the hardware store and not knowing what the difference was between these. I also needed to cut and weld some metal (mild steel as I discovered) and I needed to know which process was right for this.

The combination of photographs and diagrams, along with the straightforward and informative style of writing gave me all the information I needed to understand these processes, their uses and how they worked, and the plusses and minuses of each.

There are also several craft projects in the back, from making your own welding table to making decorative shelves and candleholders and such.

It's a great first book to understanding the basics of welding and cutting.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information about the basics of welding and the different type of welding systems used. Nice project ideas, too. Well written and easy to understand for a beginner.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent overview of the science and art of welding. You can't learn to weld by reading this, of course, but it does give the reader an idea of what welding consists of.