Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

--
"I love deadlines, especially the wooshing sound they make as
they fly by" - Douglas Adams

"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
| Hi Guys.
|
| I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
| book.
|
| I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
| I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
| descriptions.

I like the tips and tricks that help you get the hang of the proper hand
motions, like the pencil and washer exercise and so forth. A lot of books
have five or so photographs of weld beads, but not a lot of detail about
each, and what each little detail of the weld is doing or not doing.
Perhaps a dozen or more photographs, with various combinations of problems
and conditions that the user is bound to occur, if a neophyte or old hand.
Some welds look good but suck, and some welds look horrible but are stout as
hell. Explain how we can tell this just by looking at it. Show common
errors and what to do about it. Point out what the inspectors look for,
what they usually miss. How you can fix that slag inclusion deep in a
corner, and the best way to approach a tight corner or leave one. What are
the various options for various welding positions and what setups, motions,
and options are there for various conditions. What combinations work best,
what will get you by, and what just plain won't work, and why. What body
positions are bad ergonomically, what works but looks funny, and what are
the best ways to deal with certain conditions. My welding teacher used to
bend his rod backwards and weld with a mirror on rare occasion. I don't
think he was so much looking in the mirror as feeling his way, just using
the mirror to start the arc in the right place. I've had to torch weld once
with a mirror, and I managed to do okay, but watching that fellow told me
that he either had a lot of time to learn it, or someone really sharp taught
him to "feel the force." That's what I would like to learn, since I what I
need to learn only comes with burning a lot of rod, not attending class with
kids who don't know which end to stick in the clamp, and more likely
something I'll be wanting to learn long after the course is over.

Thanks, Ernie!

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.


I literally spent years trying to learn welding from a book - a fool's
errand in my case. A couple of hours in a community college class and I
was welding!

Ernie, concentrate on producing the video, configure the book as a
backup. To learn to weld, you need to see and hear the welding process,
and you just don't get that from a book with still pictures.

Use each medium for its strongest characteristic - printed stuff is
great for reference material: 'exploded views' of a mig gun or tig torch
- tables of amperage versus rod diameter and composition - that sort of
thing.

Video for actual 'process' documentation...

just my $.02 -

Carla

Carl

I havent seen any "Ernie" posts lately. I sure hope he hasnt forgotten
RCM. He is a 100 percent good source of good info and help.

Jerry



"carl mciver" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
| Hi Guys.
|
| I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
| book.
|
| I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
| I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
| descriptions.

I like the tips and tricks that help you get the hang of the proper
hand
motions, like the pencil and washer exercise and so forth. A lot of books
have five or so photographs of weld beads, but not a lot of detail about
each, and what each little detail of the weld is doing or not doing.
Perhaps a dozen or more photographs, with various combinations of problems
and conditions that the user is bound to occur, if a neophyte or old hand.
Some welds look good but suck, and some welds look horrible but are stout
as
hell. Explain how we can tell this just by looking at it. Show common
errors and what to do about it. Point out what the inspectors look for,
what they usually miss. How you can fix that slag inclusion deep in a
corner, and the best way to approach a tight corner or leave one. What
are
the various options for various welding positions and what setups,
motions,
and options are there for various conditions. What combinations work
best,
what will get you by, and what just plain won't work, and why. What body
positions are bad ergonomically, what works but looks funny, and what are
the best ways to deal with certain conditions. My welding teacher used to
bend his rod backwards and weld with a mirror on rare occasion. I don't
think he was so much looking in the mirror as feeling his way, just using
the mirror to start the arc in the right place. I've had to torch weld
once
with a mirror, and I managed to do okay, but watching that fellow told me
that he either had a lot of time to learn it, or someone really sharp
taught
him to "feel the force." That's what I would like to learn, since I what
I
need to learn only comes with burning a lot of rod, not attending class
with
kids who don't know which end to stick in the clamp, and more likely
something I'll be wanting to learn long after the course is over.

Thanks, Ernie!

"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.


Here's two pennies flung from the balcony .........

Lots of pictures or drawings about proper movement. And that given on EACH
kind of rod. Some movements, like whipping, don't work good on some rods.
Slow and steady doesn't work on some rods. I've seen lots of pictures on
how welds SHOULD (I hate that word!) look, but few clues on how to achieve
them with that particular rod.

Gear sections to each type of student. Give the newbie tips on movement,
rod angle, all the basics.

The intermediate on building a shelf for an uphill weave.

The advanced on keyholing.

And after each topic in each section, "COMMON MISTAKES" as a help section.

A technical section for technical stuff.

Keep the sections separate, not mixing the technical in the newbie section
where it will only confuse.

Etc.

You've probably made all the mistakes and hit all the rocks in the learning
curve. Just expound on those. Welding takes a lot of time to learn, and
there are umpteen different kinds of welding and rods. So, I would just aim
it at the garage hobbyist/newbie rather than the old farts.

Give the old farts their own books.

WITH BIG LETTERS! ;-)

Steve

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 04:17:34 GMT, Ernie Leimkuhler
wrote:

Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.

Reference material. The mysterious and arcane ways to get it set up
pretty much right the first time, so we do not have to make each and
every one of the stupid beginner misteaks ;-) ourselves. (Reference
"Gunner's Flying Spare Tire Incident" from a year or so ago... ;-)

And easily refine what you are doing wrong without a bunch of angst.
"This is a picture of what you're doing wrong, and this is how to stop
it." For MIG, a chart that shows what kinds of wire and gas to use
for various situations - where you need to use a mixed gas and where
plain (and cheap) straight CO2 works just fine, etc.

Frankly, I'm almost afraid to do structural work with my Miller
Challenger like reworking a trailer frame, because I'm not sure
whether I'm making a strong weld or just a pretty one. And having the
frame unzip driving down the freeway is not the time to find out.

You always chime in on TIG stuff (which I've never done) where
people are using the wrong tungsten or gas, and that's another good
cross chart. What needs back-purging, etc.

For gas welding and cutting, I can get a neutral flame but I'm not
quite sure how and when to adjust to oxidizing or carburizing (sp?).
I can make it work, just don't ask me how I did it...

And make the tip selection charts clear where the cutoffs are if
you're running on a small B or MC cylinder, to avoid sucking the
Acetone out of the bottle. I don't think any of my welding tips are
in the danger zone, but cutting tips...

A separate companion book would be a "Buyers Reference Guide to Used
Welding Gear." I'd love to get a plasma cutter, but it would be great
to have a chart of the units to avoid because the consumables are made
of those rare earth metals Unobtanium or Highpricium. Or if I run
across a TIG power supply or an engine-driven unit, whether it's a gem
or a dog. Or the ones that break when you look at them sideways.

Sure, I can ask here - but that takes a couple days, and by then the
unit is probably long gone.

I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

Just don't pull that odious tactic of "Every student needs to buy a
new copy of my way overpriced book - and to prove it you have to tear
out and turn in the flyleaf page for course credit, or you fail."
The students who find your book valuable won't want to sell it back to
the bookstore for used resale, they'll keep it as handy reference for
many years.

(This response would be shorter and more concise, but I don't want
to stay up all night polishing it.)

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

As for the video, I would say a DVD is much better, easy to go back and
forth, you can see it at the computer and it will work all over the world.
US and europe doesnt have the same videotape standard, so unless its a dvd
I cant buy it
Henning

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:

Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.




I have a couple of welding texts with vast amounts of information in
each but I would like to see a book similar to James Harvey's "Machine
Shop Trade Secrets". It's written in a first person style, with some
humor and some Q&A type sections, lots of photos and real world advice
like is available in this newsgroup.

Fred

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.


I would like to see a book that talks about the "advanced" features on
newer machines. A discussion of what they were intended to do, when they
work best, and how to set them up would be great. I have not seen a
description worth a beer in any book or owners manual. My interest is
almost completely in TIG.

Regards,

Bob

Early on, I purchased a college textbook, complete with color
pictures, on welding. Aimed at students, it also includes occasional
career possibilities as well as every type of welding and cutting
imaginable. So, here are my recommendations:

1. Decide what to leave out. Water-jet cutting, SAW and oxygen lances
are unlikely to be employed by your audience.
2. Spend just as much attention to cutting, fitting and safety as is
done for the actual welding. I could make a great weld in the middle
of a flat practice plate, but if the joint fit and preparation are
poor, the weld may still fail.
3. Start collecting proofreaders. The guy who wrote the college
textbook I have has loads of experience and knows his craft, but there
are obvious errors and inconsistencies in the book. Realize that some
errors will creep in and beginners won't know the difference.
4. Hopefully, by now, you have an editor to assist in organizing the
material and making it flow from one topic to the next. The measure of
a book is not whether you know the material, but can the reader
effectively learn from the material. Exercises are just as important
as the information presented.
5. Doing a video in any format is a real challenge. It's all in real
time. Having someone videotape you in a classroom and welding lab
setting could be helpful for the finished product. Again, get a
beginning student to see if they can learn as well from the video as
from the actual class and lab.
6. Consider breaking the book writing into several smaller works:
Book I - OA, SMAW and MIG - flat, vertical and horizontal, mild steel
Book II - Plasma cutting, TIG, pipe - add aluminum and overhead
or match it to the current curriculum - one book per course.
7. Teach with the book in class before publishing it. Students will
assist in polishing it to a fine instructional document.

As others have recommended, a guide to buying used equipment would
be very helpful.

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 04:17:34 GMT, Ernie Leimkuhler
wrote:

Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

I think that you text should be specific to one or two processes. For
example: one on TIG, another on wire feed, another on stick and arc
gouging, and so on.
Coil bound so that it sits flat would be good. If it is going to be
used as a learning tool it would be wise to construct the book so that it
would take revisions or addendums easily. Pictures are nice but expensive.
I am wondering if there is a computer graphic process that converts
photographs to simple line drawings.
As people mentioned pictures of mistakes would be good. A series of
exercises with matching diagnostic pictures would be helpful.
If you target the book for everyone it will end up suitable for no one.
Randy


Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

--
"I love deadlines, especially the wooshing sound they make as
they fly by" - Douglas Adams

"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

--
HTP sells a MIG welding video, part informational regarding their machines,
part general MIG techniques. The shots of the actual welding were pretty
well done. Something along those lines with more explanation would be good.

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 04:17:34 GMT, the opaque Ernie Leimkuhler
spake:

Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Hi! Newbie welder (again) here. I'd like to see:

1. How to determine what metal you're working with
2. What rod works where and why
3. Troubleshooting welds (by rod #?)

Your balanced approach sounds good.


Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.

ETA, please? I'd also be happy to beta-test it for you.


I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.

The other way around. Include EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT TIG, please.



I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

Excellent! Good luck and good skill to you, sir.


---
Annoy a politician: Be trustworthy, faithful, and honest!
---
http://www.diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 04:17:34 GMT, Ernie Leimkuhler
wrote:

Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

There's a lot of books on the market, so I guess you need something to
make it stand out.

I have a Maxstar 140 (Bought on your recommendation back in 2000, it's
a great machine) and I mainly stick weld with it. What I'd like to see
in the book is:

Good practical advice on how all the different rods behave, and how to
get the best out of them (Another poster also requested this)

A list of the top ten things to do to improve your welding.

Photographs of the common problems, and then a list of practice
exercises designed to overcome each of these.

A DVD would be good, assuming it does not put the price up too high.

Barry Lennox

1. BIG FONT
2. Don't need huge sections on the theory of welding, or how regulators work, or
how they make carbon arc gouges. Say things like "Buy flash arrestors and put
them on the torch end of the hose", don't write a diatribe on the speed of a gas
burn in free air
3. Lots of complete tabular data.
4. Make assumptions about your readers. For example, assume your readers are
working from gas bottles, not from some giant tank farm distribution system. Say
what your assumptions are. Nobody gets mad if you are clear about this.
5. Yes, get proofreaders at every stage. Even local ones might be bribable (hint)
6. How to weld is only a small part of how to make parts. How to fit parts
together to minimize distortion is also important.

Ernie, writing a book is a BIG job. It can take years. I suggest that you obtain
one or more of the classic "thin books" on technical writing e.g. "The PC Is Not
A Typewriter" or "The Elements of Style" (the latter by William Strunk, the
former by Robin Williams). Those two books should be owned by every modern
author. I do NOT like many elements of modern publishing where they make books
much bigger by using huge margins with lots of callouts in the margins saying
things like "Oh my, this is very important" or something equally idiotic. Strive
for brevity and pray for an editor with real wisdom.

Even more, do you know the fundamentals of generating a document? Audience
analysis? (From my perspective I'd like to see a book written for a home shop
type, but you'd go broke in a hurry, so you should obviously pitch it more
towards beginning industrial recruits, artists, the largest audiences. And then
there is the issue of electronic format ownership, do you self-publish or do you
find a publisher, how much do you let your publisher push you around, like that.
Go talk to Michael Porter (plan to spend some time, conversations with him are
rarely short ones). He may not know everything but he *has* written a book in
the modern environment.

I could go on a long time.

Grant

"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

--
"I love deadlines, especially the wooshing sound they make as
they fly by" - Douglas Adams

What sort of audience and what sort of welding?

If it's for an absolute beginner and covers OA welding I'd almost certainly
be a customer. Things I'd be interested in are details on the equipment
needed, the way they should be set up, what a welding "station" should like
like, safety issues, good starter techniques and projects. The "why" is
almost as important to me as the "what" to help focus understanding.

Mike

I think it would be more helpful to have a more advanced book based
mainly on TIG. There are plenty of books on general welding. The only
good TIG book I have seen is Millers.

I would include pics and descriptions on back purging SS and Ti. Proper
preheats and slow cool times for cast iron and aluminum, and why you
would use 99ni and 4047 over say 55ni or 4043. Why you would use a
304L, 304LSi or 304H rod for specific SS applications. I would also
focus on the pros and cons of using an inverter or transformer machine.
I would have a section on Chromoly also. Also incude info on different
gas blends and the results. Using tips and tricks that you have learned
along the way. Basic torch and consumable selection. (I use mainly a
75% Helium mix on my Dynasty 300.) Later on you could do a book on MIG
with loads of other info.

I also think a DVD is the way to go. I would also rent a Dynasty and
do a side by side with your Syncrowave to show the differences of the
advanced squarewave arc.. I frequent all the welding boards and alot of
times the most asked beginner TIG questions are Dynasty vs. Syncro,
Inverter vs. transformer, Chromoly roll cage welding, and learning to
do nice aluminum beads.

You should also post this question at:

http://www.millermotorsports.com/mboard/
http://www.shopfloortalk.com/forums/index.php
http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/

Seconded.

90% effort on the video 10% on the book (if any).

I would like to see it focusing on pure TIG; but, that is a bit
selfish.

I would not hesitate to invest $80-90 for a really quality DVD course
on TIG.

But, whether you produce book or video, put me on the list for the
first release, Ernie.

Spencer

I'd like to see a good effort put into explaining why certian settings
and maneuvers are used when welding instead of just saything "this is
the way you do it". Most of the people I introduce to welding (TIG
mostly) just want the bare essentials (one guy made little labels for
his Syncrowave 250 to go on the switch positions that say "steel" and
"aluminum") but don't realize that they're really digging themselves
into a rut. Without knowing the finer points they'll never be able to
tweak and improvise when something comes up. Or I might be wrong and
just overwheming beginners, who knows?

I'd like to see a pretty complete section on filler rod alloys, again
with some explanations. Information on the different filler choices for
things like 4130 steel or 304 SS are invaluable in a reference book.

Detailed descriptions and pictures of the actual torch movements and
filler deposition. All the books I've read have nice pictures of
finished products but what I want to see welds with little arrows
showing torch movement.

The last thing is some good tips on joint design. The design is what
often makes the difference between a bad weld holding and a perfect
weld breaking.

"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

Obviously you have to include the parlor tricks like beer can to beer can.

"Ernie Leimkuhler" skrev i en meddelelse
...
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

Sounds very interesting..

My approach would be some basic theory, some practical exercise ( IOW
burning rods ), a walkthrough analysis of the results and explain what went
wrong and how to fix it..

Do this for OA, Stick, MIG and TIG..

Move on with some detailed application info on each of the techniques ( For
sanitary pipe welding the TIG process is the most widely used
because............ heres how to do sanitary welds on stainless pipe.. )

Maybe some generic instructions for misc. welding machines ( what does this
button do ?) in the back along with safety instructions..

/peter

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


"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

--
"I love deadlines, especially the wooshing sound they make as
they fly by" - Douglas Adams

"Carla Fong" wrote in message
news:6Ppxe.6837$Fn4.2093@trnddc06...
Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

Ernie, concentrate on producing the video, configure the book as a backup.
To learn to weld, you need to see and hear the welding process, and you
just don't get that from a book with still pictures.

Use each medium for its strongest characteristic - printed stuff is great
for reference material: 'exploded views' of a mig gun or tig torch -
tables of amperage versus rod diameter and composition - that sort of
thing.

Video for actual 'process' documentation...

just my $.02 -

Carla


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

Humor. Keep things interesting and we will learn more.
Michelle

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:

Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

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 Fong wrote:

Use each medium for its strongest characteristic - printed stuff is
great for reference material: 'exploded views' of a mig gun or tig torch
- tables of amperage versus rod diameter and composition - that sort of
thing.

Video for actual 'process' documentation...

just my $.02 -

Carla

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 05:42:26 GMT, the renowned Carla Fong
wrote:

Video for actual 'process' documentation...

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


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.


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

Richard Ferguson wrote:

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.

"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

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 05:42:26 GMT, Carla Fong
wrote:

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.


I literally spent years trying to learn welding from a book - a fool's
errand in my case. A couple of hours in a community college class and I
was welding!

Ernie, concentrate on producing the video, configure the book as a
backup. To learn to weld, you need to see and hear the welding process,
and you just don't get that from a book with still pictures.

Use each medium for its strongest characteristic - printed stuff is
great for reference material: 'exploded views' of a mig gun or tig torch
- tables of amperage versus rod diameter and composition - that sort of
thing.

Video for actual 'process' documentation...

just my $.02 -

Carla
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

"Barry Lennox" wrote in message
...


There's a lot of books on the market, so I guess you need something to
make it stand out.


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-)

DeepDiver wrote:

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

- Michael

Thanks for the compliment -

I also haunt the rcm group and occasionally post there also

Carla

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

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
--
Motormodelle / Engine Models:
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
Ellwe 2FB * VTM 87 * DLM-S3a * cubic
more to come ...

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.


--

Strube
Professional Firefighter
Amateur everything else I try to do...



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
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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 Erwin wrote:

Richard Ferguson wrote:

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.


"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

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...

|
| 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.

"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote in message
...
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.

--
"I love deadlines, especially the wooshing sound they make as
they fly by" - Douglas Adams

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 su 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!

Richard Ferguson wrote:

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.


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

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
Hi Guys.

I have decided to spend some of this summer finally compiling a welding
book.

I am curious what you guys would want in a book.
I am looking for a balance of technical info to step by step
descriptions.

Lots of pictures and likely I will do at least 1 dvd or tape to work
with the book.
I will likely start with a general welding book and move on to a TIG
specific book, or maybe the other way around.
I need both for teaching and if it is an actual published book the
school can buy them.


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?