Chris:
I recently went through this when I bought my Thermal Arc 185 earlier
this year. In my opinion there is really is very little good
information all in one book or resource. The Miller material is quite
good, but it lacks the some of the practical answers to new user
questions. Using gas lenses, for example...how far can you extend the
tungsten from the cup and still have it work effectively? What worked
for me was to get all the free stuff from Miller, rent a video from
Technical Video Rental, go to the book store and look..don't buy unless
you really think the book has something great to offer. I have been
disapointed by some of the books I've purchased as they still leave out
critical hands on info. Search this website for Ernie Leimkuhler's
posts for newbie users. I've learned more from his posts than anything
combined.
I've copied most of his posts to a seperate text file I keep in my
workshop. The most important thing is practice. Go to the junk yard
and find clean mild steel and start welding it...I even get stainless
to practice on. Copper too. Good luck
-Mike