How to Weld 29 Metals

The extensive mechanical engineering section has limited options, because most of the books are either longer than "War and Peace" or are so technical it would be the equivalent of me picking a book from the Japanese section and attempting to understand the characters.

Luckily, this handy little volume caught my eye. "How to Weld 29 Metals" is, well, just that. I learned that low-carbon steel is pretty much a welder's dream, whereas high carbon steel makes arc welders cry. Well, not really, but it does require a little more cajoling (heat treatment, etc.)

Here's me experimenting with techniques I learned in the manual. (Just kidding, it's some other guy.)

So I know the burning question in all of your minds is: what are the twenty-nine metals? (And for Sanderson fans, what are their Allomantic properties?)

1. Low Carbon Steels

2. Medium Carbon Steels

3. High Carbon Steels

4. 3 1/2% Nickel Steels

5. 4 to 6% Chromium Steels

6. Cromansil Steels

7. Man-ten Steel

8. Cor-ten Steel

9. Yoloy Steel

10. Yoloy Steel

11. R.D.S. Steel

12. Chrome-Vanadium Steels

13. Chrome-Molybdenum Steels

14. Manganese-Vanadium Steels

15. 12-14% Chromium Stainless Steels, 16-18% Chromium Stainless Steels

16. 18% Chrome–8% Nickel Stainless Steel, 25% Chrome–12% Nickel Stainless Steel

17. Stainless Clad Steel

Okay, right now the word "steel" looks like gibberish to me.

18. Austenitic Manganese Steels

19. Cast Steel

20. Cast Irons

21. Malleable Iron

22. Aluminum

23. Copper

24. Everdur

25. Herculoy

26. Monel Metal

27. Nickel

28. Bronze

29. Brass

No, Everdur and Herculoy were not just stuck in there to see if you were paying attention; they are actual industry name for metals, copper-silicon-manganese and copper-silicon-tin alloys, respectively. 

To weld, you deposit molten metal (usually of the same variety) on the melted surface of the joint. 

This is from learn-how-to-weld.com; the book didn't actually contain any visuals of this.

Some metals are actually pretty wacky to deal with. Aluminum, for example, does not show any visible change as it melts (you know, like iron turns red, then white hot). Instead, it suddenly collapses when it reaches its melting point. 

You should definitely consult this book if you want to arc weld metal. Also if you want to see diagrams entitled "Double Vee Butt Joints– Hands Down Position Coated or Shielded–Arc Electrodes".