You're no dummy if you enjoy reading books in the 'For Dummies' series

For the past six months or so, I’ve been learning to weld. In doing so, I’ve focused on two areas, the practical, hands-on side of welding and the knowledge, book-learning side. Being a welding novice, I turned to a familiar friend to give me a quick run-down of the welding basics, that is, I went out and bought the “For Dummies” book that deals with the subject.

Before I get into the meat of this thing, just a few words about the “For Dummies” books. As readers of this series will tell you, you’re no dummy if you read them. In fact, I’ve heard of college kids using them to pass subjects like cellular biology and calculus. If you’re looking to learn about a subject quickly, I highly recommend that you check out these books. They are well worth the expense and the time that it takes to read them. To date, over 2,300 “For Dummies” titles have been published, so you can probably find one for whatever you want to read about.

Armed with a few backyard welding lessons from my brother-in-law, a professional, experienced welder, I ordered “Welding for Dummies” a couple of months ago and finished reading it the other day. Written by certified welding inspector and instructor Steven Robert Farnsworth, this 362-page book was published in 2010. Farnsworth learned to welding while serving in the U.S. Navy, and he has taught welding for more than 20 years.

The book contains 23 chapters and covers a wide variety of topics including welding safety, common metals, stick welding basics, TIG welding, MIG welding, plasma and oxyfuel cutting, pipe welding, common tools and how to set up a welding shop.

Simply put, welding is a dangerous activity. You’re using large amounts of electricity to produce heat intense enough to cut through steel like butter and fuse metals together. With this in mind, “Welding for Dummies” was big on safety, in fact, safety is emphasized throughout the book and is probably discussed more than any other topic between its covers.

I also liked the fact that the book encourages you to apply welding principles in your shop at home. It also provides you with plans and instructions on how to make a homemade grill, torch cart and welding table on your own. The book also discusses common mistakes and how to correct them.

I’m currently taking a basic welding night class through my local community college, and it’s my feeling that having read “Welding for Dummies” has helped me. Instead of walking in cold with no basic knowledge at all, I came into the class with at least some background information. I’m no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but it was nice to be somewhat ahead of the game.

In the end, how many of you have read “Welding for Dummies”? Have you read any of the other books in the “For Dummies” series? Which is your favorite? Which would you recommend and why? Let us know in the comments section below.

For more information about the “For Dummies” series of books, visit the publisher’s official Web site at www.dummies.com.