How To Weld (Motorbooks Workshop) Paperback – Illustrated, August 25, 2008

I you want to KNOW the principles of metals and welding, this book written by Mr. Todd Bridigum will enlighten ANYONE beginner or professional welder.A short story; got injured two jobs ago. Sought something more exciting to do. Didn't have the funds to go to an accredited school so what did I do? Went to Goodwill to see about training. The very first thing I chose to be trained in was WELDING! I have welders on both sides of my family including my grandfather born and raised in Montgomery, Ala. Needless to say, I was just a number to them. After going through all of that paperwork, NOTHING! They just waisted my time.Fast forwarding to NOW, Mr. Bridigum MASTERFULLY wrote this book to open your mind to the very idea of metal fabrication and how YOU can do it with ease. I've been in and out of this book discovering so many details and knowledge about welding. My neighborhood library is sick of me taking THAT MUCH TIME in the same seat reading this book! How do you not become excited with this publication?Do you want to be a welder and an accomplished one? GET THIS BOOK!! You won't be disappointed and send Mr. Bridigum an email of thanks once you complete this valuable training to get you going.Go get your "puddle" on!

I am new to welding. It's something I've wanted to do for quite some time but I just finally got around to tackling it. The first book I bought was The Welders Handbook. I read it cover to cover. It was OK, but left me wanting. After reading the reviews here I ordered How To Weld. I wish I had read this book first! Todd Bridigum does an excellent job of organizing the information. The book builds knowledge in layers. Todd discusses not only the obligatory safety items (which he still manages to keep interesting), but also different types of metal that you may find at the yard, how they are sold (sheet, linear foot, pound, etc), tools useful in metal fabrication, joint designs and positions, and brazing and soldering to top it off. This isn't just a book on welding, it's really an introduction to metal!When I first decided to learn to weld I just wanted to be able to put two pieces of metal together and have them not come apart. After reading Todd's book I have so much more appreciation for certified welders and the jobs they do. This book will teach you the finer points of developing a good weld without trying to make you a certified welder. It strikes an excellent balance between a cursory overview of welding and a full technical manual. This is exactly what every home/hobbyist welder wants.After giving a full lecture on all the different types of welding and the geometry of the weld (with tons of great color photos and drawings) , Todd sets up detailed welding exercises specific to each type of welding technology - accompanied by yet more pictures. This is some excellent instruction! There are also plenty of sidebars with excellent, more technical, information that will keep this book useful as a reference for years to come as well.If you are new to welding you will not be disappointed with this book.My one critique item would be that on page 42 he talks about "CJP" without defining it. I had to turn to Google to figure out that it means "Complete Joint Penetration". He eventually defines it eight pages later on page 54, but it would certainly provide more continuity to have it defined when it is first used.

I am a retired engineer and have worked in the heavy energy industry all of my professional life which encompasses 37 years. I ran industrial maintenance departments, which included a lot of ASME/API/AWS code compliant welding, for most of that time and although I am not a welder by trade, I have welded using most of the commonly used processes. I thought I new a lot about welding. However, after reading this book I gained new insights. The author provided a highly detailed and superior, but not overpowering, level of all necessary back round theory relating to the various welding processes such as Stick, Mig, Tig, Brazing, etc., including equipment theory of operation, selection, and shop set up needed to be understood to support an apprentice welder in his/her quest to achieve full journeyman welder status. The author also details exercises that the apprentice should perform to both teach and reinforce proper equipment set up and use, proper welding technique, and includes photos and discussion on how and why both poor and desired results where achieved.In my personal library I own many books pertaining to welding. Some are better than others. However, if I had to recommend just one book for a person wanting to embark on a career in welding, I would have to recommend this text as my first go to choice. I feel that it provides an outstanding degree of all the real life information an aspiring welder must master in order to be successful in this trade without being repetitive nor boring. A great source of welding information. Highly recommended.

Lots of good information including peripheral information. Covers several different types of welding. One page towards the beginning lists like all types of welding (like a hundred or so). Illustrations are good but most are not referenced in the text, and contain no captions other than credit to another source where they came from. In the section on stick welding I stare at the illustration of different weld problems pretty much every night to make it sink into my brain. Before this book I didn't realize how important arc length is. It really hammers arc length pretty well.

Bought this book when I bought a new welder. Love it. Very detailed and is easy to follow. Buy it you won't regret it. It puts welding into lamens terms.

This manual is very comprehensive. Easy to read with great practice exercises.a good extensive information.