Learn to Weld: Beginning MIG Welding and Metal Fabrication Basics Hardcover – October 10, 2014

I'm one of those handymen who late in life decided it was time to weld something ... anything ... just because I haven't before. I bought a welder, tried some welds and made a mess. I realized I needed to learn the basics in a logical order. This was the book for me!The book covers the essential tools and safety procedures, before it even gets to the welding stuff. The beginning chapters are slow reading, but worth it! It filled in some blanks I didn't know I had and it was all good information. Also, it kept me from buying stuff I wouldn't need for now. The book paid for itself right there.When he does get to welding it starts slow and manageable. The initial exercises seemed too simple, but really do lay a foundation you have to master first. Each exercise starts from previous knowledge and adds new techniques or information.The writing style is clear and moves at a good pace. But even more important you can apply what he says when you have molten steel inches from your nose. The pictures and diagrams help build a mental image of what to do and what to expect. He describes a technique, shows a diagram from a top view and another diagram of a cross-section, then he gives you before/after pictures. Sure enough it happens just like he says. You really can learn to weld from a book.I started to weld using youtube videos, but that doesn't work. The information you collect will be spotty. Some of the youtube welding channels are fantastic. However, as a beginner you are going to miss the whole picture by just watching a technique here and there. This book forces you to slow down and get all the information you need to start welding.It's so much fun to setup the work pieces, try an exercise from the book, flip up the mask and exclaim, "Yup! You can teach an old dog to weld."

If you're looking for a book that's going to teach you to become a professional welder, this is probably not it. If you're a hobbyist/tinkerer looking to add another skill to the arsenal, it's perfect.It has a little bit of everything from an overview of the processes and history to safety, buying equipment/materials, and most importantly how to set up and use your machine. It even has a couple of projects at the end to hone your skills.The writing moves quickly enough to keep your attention span... the author provides enough information to do the job without getting too technical. He offers little anecdotes and uses terms and descriptions that make sense to people without a technical background in welding. Again, probably not the best for someone wanting to do this professionally, but that's not the intention.The pictures come across as a big advertisement for Miller at some points. I'm not sure if Miller actually sponsored the book or if the author just happens to prefer their products, but you'll see their name everywhere. Didn't really bother me much. My one HUGE issue was the fact that many of the pictures showed the author using an angle grinder without a guard. Having known people who have been injured by discs coming apart and seen what they can do, it made me cringe a bit to see. I do remember at one point however the author (perhaps an editor added it?) mentioned you should never remove the guard. Might be a little bit of "do what I say, not what I do" sort of thing. I say use it.Al in all it's a great book.

Great book for beginners as I am. I bought many other books before this one... you know, the ones with black & white pictures of giant commercial welders from the 60's or 70's that you'll never use.Pro's: see all the pro's the other reviewers before me wrote, they are right on (I read them all before I bought the book)Con's : there were to many pictures of how to change blades on a chop saw, change blades on a grinder and way too many on a plasma cutter (come on, most of us beginners are never going to use/buy one). Save plasma's for more advanced books.But I still think its a great book for beginners. What I got out of it and what they never say in all those other books, was how important it is to clean your metal before starting and after each weld you produce, including after each spot weld. And to spot weld to alleviate warping and to aline joints. The author really drove those points home, which is what I was never doing all these years (cleaning and spot welding) and wondering why my welds looked like s@$#%t.Again, I am only a beginner!I gave 4 stars because too many pics on changing blades and plasma cutter were not needed for beginners, could have used pages to show more on common causes of poor/bad welds, and maybe show more techniques, upside down welding, etc.

I think it’s a great intro book. It covers all the basics and gets you excited about mig welding. You can supplement with YouTube videos of course. If you read the book at least you will have a good idea on what to search for on YouTube as a beginner. The book is also priced is very reasonably. For those reviewers that complained about the the book going on too much about safety, they should reconsider - it’s not that long. Also, getting metal shards in your eyes, burning yourself with molten steel, having a cutoff disk blow up in your face, poisoning yourself with noxious fumes and gas, blinding yourself and others with UV light and potentially electrocuting yourself, can put a quick end to your interest in welding. I for one want to know the risks and what I need to do protect myself and others.

I have read at least six books on welding and this is by far the best for someone learning to MIG weld. Note that MIG is the easiest type welding to learn. The author teaches welding and clearly listens to his students' questions. He answers most of the questions that I had when I first started MIG welding and plasma cutting. I learned enough useful tips from this book to make it well worth the price. If you are thinking about doing some MIG welding, this is the book.