Industries, such as power plants, oil refineries, chemical plants, food processing plants, and those that operate cross-country pipe­lines, have created a great demand for welders who are capable of producing high-quality pipe welds consistently.

This book is intended to help meet this need by assisting in the training of pipe welders in trade schools and to help those welders now working at the trade to enlarge their knowledge and improve their skills.

The chapters that treat the various welding procedures describe in detail the correct welding techniques that should be used as the weld progresses around the pipe joint. Possible mistakes are pointed out, and the reasons for using the recommended proce­dures are given. For these reasons, the welder who uses this book on the job, or while training, will find it to be a very useful refer­ence aid.

In addition to the manipulative procedures, a welder should acquire as much technical and theoretical information related to welding as possible. This knowledge is most helpful in learning the craft of pipe welding and in progressing upward on the job. Therefore, there are informative chapters on welding metallurgy, on recognizing and correcting welding defects, on distortion in pipe joints, on fitting-up pipe joints, and on welding complicated pipe joints.

The author has gained much valuable experience as a pipe welder in various industries, not only in the United States but in the Caribbean; and he has been associated with the Hobart Broth­ers Company as an instructor in pipe welding at the Hobart School of Welding Technology. He would like to thank Mr. Howard B. Cary, Vice President, Hobart Brothers Company, for providing the inspiration to write this book and for his encouragement in its preparation.

The author would also like to take this opportunity to acknowl­edge, among many others, the help given in the preparation of this book by James Hannahs, Wade Troyer, Rudy Mohler, Denny Deweese, Nan Kidder, Helen Wilt, Marilyn Tarcea, Judy Parrish, and Lana Shelkon. He would also like to express appreciation to the American Welding Society and the following firms for their assistance in providing illustrations: The Hobart Brothers Com­pany, the Tube Turns Division of the Chemetron Corporation, and the H & M Pipe Beveling Company.

Finally, the author would like to gratefully acknowledge the help and advice given by Karl Hans Moltrecht, Technical and Vocational Editor, Industrial Press Inc., especially for his con­tribution in the preparation of Chapters 11 and 12.