Performance Welding Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) [Paperback]

Richard Finch (Author)

Book Description

Series: Motorbooks Workshop | Publication Date: March 4, 2005

Richard Finch. Metal fabricators of every ilk, whether they're working on race cars, experimental aircraft, or custom motorcycles, will benefit from this updated guide to top-quality welding. Performance Welding demonstrates the newest fabricating techniques and covers the latest in welding equipment. This complete guide written by NASA welding consultant Richard Finch helps a fabricator select the proper equipment, prepare jigs, and effectively weld 4130 steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and magnesium. It also covers plasma cutting, the technique used extensively on Monster Garage that has revolutionized metal working. 2nd ed.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; Second edition (March 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760321728
• ISBN-13: 978-0760321720
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #467,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Aviation > Repair & Maintenance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars All about the author, not much about welding, November 29, 2000

By 

Chris Hackett (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Performance Welding (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

If you wanted to know all about what a wonderful guy the author is and want to see photos of everything he has ever worked on by all means buy this book. If you want good information and clearly written procedures and saftey practices buy another. Here's one example: In a side note unter TIG welding, the author says "Be very careful when welding magneseum, as it can catch fire and not be extinguished by nornal means. Consult Chapter 12 on saftey for more information"

OK- turn to chapter 12...

and there is no information on what to do with a metal fire.

Before anyone tries welding mag engine blocks or wheels or anything they should know that if the part catches fire spraying a normal ABC fire extinguisher will not put it out, that it burns hot enoutgh to cause steel to catch fire, and that spraying water on it can cause an explosion as the fire can be hot enough to split water into hydrogen and Oxygen. This is not mentioned in the book. There are many more cases of the information you need shunted aside for personal anecdotes of the authors or the pages and pages of poor-quality filler photos that show off everything the author has ever worked on.

Don't buy it.

47 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good over all, March 22, 1998

By 

Kent White ([e-mail]) author of Aircr... (Calif. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Performance Welding (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

Aside from little details, a very practical book. His coverage of aluminum brazing omitted the fact that it has been in use since before WW2, and on many military aircraft. His aluminum welding and brazing references tend to mix, and might create confusion in choosing fluxes and fillers. The dangerous cobalt blue lenses he mentions are 40 yrs old, and have been superceded by TM Technologies' TM2000 lenses 10 yrs ago.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Thin on details, October 29, 2007

By 

GoClick - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Performance Welding (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

It's decent advice but it's very much an overview not a step by step how-to, it's worth reading as what it is but it will not teach you to weld, no book can do that.

Let me sum this book up for you: Make sure your pieces fit together tightly, make sure they are super clean, shop local if you can, buy brand names, go to tent sales, buy high end equipment if you can or used if you can't afford new, TIG welding is the best option, get a TIG welder that supports square wave and lots of adjustability made by a major brand name, practice on scrap, and ask lots of questions at your local welding supply dealer.

There are lots of pictures of good aircraft welds but not a whole lot of detail on doing them, very few diagrams or charts but lots of pictures of tubes welded together by different methods.

The book assumes you already know how to weld at times and assumes you don't at others. I think the author knows full well what the book is and what he wrote and would agree it can't teach you to weld, you actually have to get a welder and some scrap metal and just try it.

Let me make the author's main point again, if you're not doing high volume production welding you should probably use a TIG welder.