INTRODUCTION 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 What You''re Not to Read 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 How This Book Is Organized 3 Part 1: Understanding Welding Basics 3 Part 2: Welding on a Budget: Stick and Tig Welding 4 Part 3: Discovering Mig Welding 4 Part 4: Getting Fancy: Plasma Cutting, Oxyfuel Cutting, and Other Processes 4 Part 5: Putting Welding into Action with Projects and Repairs 4 Part 6: The Part of Tens 5 Icons Used in This Book 5 Where to Go from Here 5 PART 1: UNDERSTANDING WELDING BASICS 7 Chapter 1: Diving Into the World of Welding 9 If You Can''t Beat ''Em, Join ''Em: Understanding Why Welding Matters 10 Fabricating metal products 10 Repairing metal pieces or products 11 Getting Familiar with Metals 12 Steel 13 Stainless steel 13 Aluminum 14 Taking the Time to Understand Welding Safety 14 Exploring Welding Methods 15 Stick welding 15 Mig welding 16 Tig welding 17 Other welding methods 18 Looking at the Future of Welding 18 Chapter 2: Considering Commonly Welded Metals 19 Steeling Yourself for Using Steel 20 Getting a handle on forms of steel 20 Knowing when steel is appropriate 21 Preparing steel for welding 23 Exploring steel welding methods 26 Going with Stainless Steel 27 Understanding the differences between steel and stainless steel 27 Deciding when to use stainless steel 27 Looking at stainless steel welding methods 28 Working with Aluminum 29 Perusing the properties of aluminum 29 Eyeing aluminum welding techniques 30 Considering Other Metals 30 Chapter 3: Setting Your Sights on Welding Safety 33 Gearing Up to Protect Yourself 34 Choosing eye protection 34 Keeping the right fire extinguisher on hand 36 Wearing protective clothing 38 Watching health hazards: Using a respirator and Material Safety Data Sheets 39 Observing Basic Safety Rules 40 Keeping your work space clean 41 Checking for leaks 42 Getting the ventilation right 42 Storing flammable liquids and gases 43 Knowing your surroundings 44 Protecting yourself from electric shock 45 Shielding yourself from burns 46 Maintaining your equipment 47 Being Prepared for Injuries and Accidents 48 Equipping your first-aid kit 48 Knowing how to handle injuries 49 Chapter 4: Setting Up Your Welding Shop 53 Choosing a Location 54 Deciding how much space you need 54 Contemplating indoor versus outdoor 55 Equipping Your Welding Shop 56 Making sure you have the basic hand tools 58 Choosing a welding table 60 Selecting your welding machine 61 Considering a few accessories for your welding shop 67 PART 2: WELDING ON A BUDGET: STICK AND TIG WELDING 71 Chapter 5: Getting on the Stick: Understanding Stick Welding 73 Looking at the Pros and Cons of Stick Welding 74 Understanding the Factors That Influence Stick Welding 75 Getting Familiar with Stick Welding Equipment 76 Discovering the differences among stick welding machines 76 Setting up your stick welding machine 80 Nailing down the basics of stick welding''s electrodes 80 Choosing tools and supplies every stick welder needs 81 Chapter 6: Getting to Work with Stick Welding 85 Preparing to Stick Weld 86 Setting up your work area 86 Understanding stick welding electrodes 87 Setting the Machine 90 Choosing polarity 91 Setting the amperage 91 Preparing to weld 92 Striking and Maintaining an Arc 93 Assume the Position: Stick Welding in All Positions 95 Welding on a flat surface 96 Going vertical 97 Exploring horizontal welding 101 Reaching overhead 102 Chapter 7: To Tig or Not To Tig: Understanding Tig Welding 105 Taking a Closer Look at Tig Welding Components 106 Considering the Advantages and Disadvantages of Tig Welding 107 Brushing Up on Tig Welding Basics 108 Showing your metal: Looking at a few metals for tig welding 108 Taking steps to ensure quality welds 109 Stocking the Shop: Examining Tig Welding Equipment 110 Considering fully equipped tig machines 112 Thinking about tig torches 113 Selecting and managing shielding gas 113 Controlling current and amperage 116 Selecting filler metal 117 Exploring tungsten electrodes 118 Chapter 8: Trying Out Tig Welding 119 Getting Your Welding Setup Tig-ether 119 Taking care of tungsten electrode details 120 Making sure your shielding gas is set up correctly 122 Figuring out your tig filler rods 122 Matching Materials and Settings 123 Getting a Handle on Using Your Tig Torch 125 Choosing an electrical current and striking the arc 125 Get a grip: Holding your tig torch correctly 127 Giving Tig Welding a Try 127 Tackling the first weld 128 Trying a butt joint 129 Welding a lap joint 130 Making a T joint 131 PART 3: DISCOVERING MIG WELDING 133 Chapter 9: Understanding the ABCs of Mig Welding 135 Understanding How Mig Welding Works 136 Considering Mig Welding''s Advantages and Limitations 138 Bringing Out the Big Guns (And Other Mig Welding Equipment) 140 Mig welding machines 140 Mig welding guns 141 Electrode wire feeders 141 Sifting Through Shielding Gases for Mig Welding 142 Taking a Look at Electrode Wire 144 Adjusting Mig Equipment to Suit Your Mig Welding Project 147 Chapter 10: Practicing Mig Welding 149 Preparing to Mig Weld 149 Getting the equipment ready 150 Setting the wire feed speed and voltage 152 Settings for flux-cored arc welding 153 Settings for aluminum MIG welding 154 Trying Out Mig Welding 155 Making vertical mig welds 158 Joining pieces of sheet metal 159 Watching Out for Common Mig Welding Defects 160 PART 4: GETTING FANCY: PLASMA CUTTING, OXYFUEL CUTTING, AND OTHER PROCESSES 161 Chapter 11: Examining Plasma and Oxyfuel Cutting 163 Understanding Plasma Arc Cutting 163 Identifying some good materials for plasma cutting 164 Taking a look at plasma cutting''s advantages and disadvantages 165 Perusing and Preparing Plasma Arc Cutting Equipment 166 Getting a handle on plasma cutting equipment 166 Setting the equipment up properly 168 Exploring Oxyfuel Cutting Basics 169 Considering what you can (and can''t) cut with oxyfuel 169 Looking at the pros and cons of oxyfuel cutting 170 Checking Out and Setting Up Oxyfuel Cutting Equipment 170 Examining oxyfuel cutting equipment 171 Deciding among different gas cylinder sizes 174 Setting up oxyfuel cutting equipment 174 Chapter 12: Ready, Set, Cut! Trying Out Plasma Arc Cutting and Oxyfuel Cutting 177 Exploring Plasma Arc Cutting 178 Slicing a straight line 179 Cutting a circle 180 Creating a bevel 181 Practicing Oxyfuel Cutting 182 Lighting the torch 183 Making a straight cut 185 Cutting out a circle 186 Taking on a beveled edge 187 Chapter 13: Exploring Special Weld Processes 189 Working Through the Basics of Welding with Gas 189 Taking a gander at gas cylinders 190 Looking at more gas welding equipment 191 Getting to work with gas welding 193 Discovering Brazing (Braze Welding) 197 Keeping a few brazing rules in mind 197 Giving brazing a try 198 Finding Out about Fusion Welding 200 Soldering On: Exploring Soldering 201 Following the rules of soldering 202 Understanding the two types of soldering 204 Trying the soldering process 204 Chapter 14: Exploring Pipe Welding 207 Delving into the Different Kinds of Pipe 208 Getting Down to Welding Steel Pipes 208 Getting set up and preparing the pipe 209 Making the tacks 211 Welding the pipes 213 Trying some other angles 214 Peeking at a Few More Types of Pipe Welding Joints 216 Keeping an Eye Out for Common Pipe Welding Defects 217 Chapter 15: Working with Cast Iron 219 Casting Light on the Three Most Common Types of Cast Iron 219 Gray cast iron 220 Malleable cast iron 220 Nodular cast iron 221 Getting the (Cast) Iron in the Fire: Welding Gray Cast Iron 223 Stick welding cast iron 223 Oxyfuel welding cast iron 226 Mig welding cast iron 228 PART 5: PUTTING WELDING INTO ACTION WITH PROJECTS AND REPAIRS 231 Chapter 16: Two Welding Projects to Boost Your Welding Shop 233 Creating a Torch Cart 233 Gathering the materials 235 Acquiring the right steel pieces 235 Measuring and cutting pieces 237 Making the welds 238 Adding the wheels 242 Checking your welds 243 Picking out your paint 244 Fabricating Your Own Portable Welding Table 244 Rounding up your tools 245 Picking out the parts 246 Assembling the pieces 246 Ensuring smooth edges 249 Choosing your paint 250 Putting on th.