Monster Garage: How to Weld Damn Near Anything (Motorbooks Workshop) [Paperback]

Richard Finch (Author)

Book Description

Series: Motorbooks Workshop | Publication Date: July 31, 2004

Want to learn how to weld just like they do on Monster Garage? This invaluable guide to welding covers techniques used for Indy and NASCAR race cars, experimental aircraft, and other applications requiring high-quality welds, including welding 4130 steel, stainless and aluminum, as well as plasma cutting. Learn how to select equipment, set up your welding shop, pre-weld jigging and fitting, and how to choose the right process and fill metal for each project. Includes chapters on the latest technology in filler metals and welding rod. - The techniques used by the gearhead geniuses on the amazingly popular Discovery Channel series, Monster Garage, are brought to life in this illustrated how-to book- Includes brand-new photography from the set of Monster Garage, showing the experts using the techniques in the book- Learn the ins and outs of the hottest welding techniques in the business from established pros- Includes a section on plasma cutting, a technique used extensively on the show that has revolutionized metal working

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; 1st edition (July 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760318085
• ISBN-13: 978-0760318089
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Power Tools

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars useful, but not the whole picture, July 30, 2004

By 

F. L. Busch (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Monster Garage: How to Weld Damn Near Anything (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

What do you expect to learn about welding from a book? If you're like me, you know you can't learn to weld by using a book, but you expect to pick up some useful information to help you along. I guess you could say that this book had that.

The intro states that this book will "tell you, step-by-step how to make perfect welds every time". I didn't find that to be the least bit true. In the entire book, which has chapters on selecting equipment, prep work, gas welding, TIG welding, MIG welding, and jigging, there were NO step by steps. I don't think there is anyway you could go buy a welder and even begin to learn to use it with this book. I don't think the book should make that claim.

I liked the fact that he does not dismiss oxyfuel welding as old fashioned, but the subject is totally glossed over- there's no info on tip selection, starting a torch, startup or shutdown safety, welding or cutting techniques, etc. He offers some tips on rod selection for certain metals and fuel pressures but that's about it. If you want a good book on oxyfuel welding get Kevin Bodwitch's book.

The TIG and MIG sections are the same- there were some tips here and there that may help you in selecting equipment and torch size, wire speed, etc, but by no means is it the whole picture.

The main gripe I have with this book is the stick welding section- it's three pages! The first page completely dismisses it as a viable welding method for anything but "barbecues and angle iron". Give me a break! There's a great number of certified SMAW welders that would probably disagree with Finch about the viability of stick welding on ANY project. Just like with TIG, MIG & oxy, SMAW has limitations, but to dismiss it like was done in this book is scandalous. If it's not a good option, why is it practically every welding class out there starts with SMAW? Why don't these classes teach MIG instead? Besides the fact that a monkey could learn to MIG weld, it's because MIG has more limitations than SMAW (when you know how to PROPERLY SMAW of course), the only reason it's propogated here is the ease of use and cost effectiveness compared to TIG. I do like the fact that he points out all the drawbacks in MIG, unlike other books that claim it's the only way to go. He also says that there are only two rods you should be concerned with: 6011 and 7018 . That's not true, they make rods for every kind of welding you could imagine, those two are only the multipurpose rods. Besides, for serious DC SMAW welding, 6010 or 6012 is a much better multipurpose choice, 6011 is for AC machines! I think Finch should drop the chip off his shoulder and realize there's a whole new world of welding out there, his information seems quite outdated on this subject. Throughout the book he talks about debunking old wives tales, but in this chapter he starts a whole new one- that SMAW is a process you should dismiss. Wrong!

The book looks to me like an almost complete repackage of Finch's "Performance Welding", which I saw at the local bookstore. Only that one is in B&W. So, if you get either book this would be the one. He touts all the updated info that makes this book the best, but I really saw none of that. Square Wave machines have been out for years now, and he says about MIG "this emerging process is quickly gaining in popularity because it is easy to operate and relatively fast". Emerging process?!?! That's not up to date!

One of my favorite lines from the book is a caption next to a cluster of tubes that have been MIG welded, "try this cluster several times before you attempt to weld a serious project on an airplane fuselage". I hope nobody that reads this book alone will attempt to weld an airplane fuselage!

Is it worth buying? Yes, it has some good tips, but do not expect to learn welding from it. For the price it is worth it.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Seen this before!!, November 15, 2004

By 

Todd Brown - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monster Garage: How to Weld Damn Near Anything (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

I was checking this out at the bookstore today when after a few pages I realized that I have read and seen these same images somewhere before. Then I saw the Author was Finch and realized that its the same book as his "Welder's Handbook: A Complete Guide to Mig, Tig, Arc & Oxyacetylene Welding". Whew glad I didn't buy two. Still some usefull info though.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not really aimed at the hobbyist, October 18, 2005

By 

Ted Timmons (Koreatown Los Angeles USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Monster Garage: How to Weld Damn Near Anything (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

This book was written to explore advanced aspects of welding, mostly as they pertain to high-strength welding, especially for race car chassis and such. If you are a hobbyist or just loved the Monster Garage TV show, this isn't the book you are expecting it to be.