Hello Fellow Forumites,
It has been a while since I have sought the vast knowledge represented by the great people of this forum, but I recently had a question about a potential read, and thought i would give it a go. My special lady friend is attending a technical school to obtain a welding engineer degree,and will be taking a course on metallurgy. We are both very excited about this. I was looking for advice on a good, fundamental text on the subject. There is no required text for the class, but I would like to add something to our collective library, and surprise her. Yes, it is great to have a girlfriend that would be super pumped to receive a text book on metallurgy (i am now done gloating :) ) I have already done the classic Amazon.com search. Are their any older texts that should be sought after. I want something that covers both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and has a broad range of information for a beginner, but not to elementary (university level). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Not cheap, but not bad: Verhoeven, J.D. - Steel Metallurgy For The Non Metallurgist

Cheers,

You could search for " THE MACHINIST'S HANDBOOK ":

http://www.google.ca/search?client=safari&...4APd0IGIDw

Multiple links above to explore.

Here is a discussion thread about it:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/...ok-240193/

This book is full of technical information about metals, tools, machining methods, heat treating, engineering formulas etc .....

One of the reference textbooks books I used in machine shop courses in the late 1960's before one had any computers or the internet to search for information.

All, sort of charts of metal alloys with details about chemical composition, uses etc .....

A lot about welding, brazing with brass or bronze welding rods .....

If I remember correctly this book dealt with just about everything a machinist might need as reference information, the book probably has many editions, but some of the older editions you might find more of the techniques that where classic before CNC machinery replaced a good eye, careful measurements and experience needed to machine complex mechanical parts using lathes and milling machines.