The welder’s handbook

Parameters, consumables, weld defects, standards and calculations — arranged so you find the answer in half a minute instead of scrolling through forums.

184 articles
63 calculators
10 languages

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Welding calculators

They run in your browser: no sign-up, and nothing is sent to a server.

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The whole handbook

Every article, grouped by section: the whole thing at a glance, and any page one click away.

Welding processes 7

MMA, MIG/MAG, TIG and the rest — how each one works, what it is for, where it stops being the right choice.

Welding parameters 3

Current, voltage, wire feed speed, polarity and welding positions.

Filler metals and gases 2

Electrodes, wires, shielding gases, tungsten electrodes, fluxes.

Materials and weldability 7

Carbon steel, stainless, aluminium, cast iron, copper, titanium — how each behaves and what to weld it with.

Products and structures 19

What a fabrication shop makes: carports, gates, fences, stairs, garages and halls — how they are built and what varies.

Build it yourself 6

Projects to weld yourself: a cutting-list calculator for your own dimensions, a drawing, the material list and the welding settings.

Welding equipment 4

Power sources, torches, helmets and accessories — choosing them and keeping them running.

Weld defects and inspection 8

The ISO 6520 catalogue of imperfections: causes, repair, and the test methods that find them.

Drawings and symbols 4

ISO 2553, AWS A2.4 and GOST 2.312 — how to read a welding symbol without guessing.

Standards and qualification 7

WPS, WPQR, EN ISO 9606, EN 1090 — what a welder certificate actually covers.

Welding safety 7

Personal protection, fume extraction, hot work, electrical safety, first aid.

How to weld 11

Practice, step by step: positions, materials, specific jobs.

Troubleshooting 4

Why the weld is porous, why the electrode sticks, why the wire keeps birdnesting.

Reference tables 25

Ready-made tables of parameters, markings and equivalents — made to print and pin up in the shop.

Training and work 6

Courses, certificates, pay, and welding work across the European Union.

Glossary 1

Welding terms in ten languages, side by side.

Welding glossary

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The handbook in other languages

The versions run in parallel rather than word for word: terminology and the notation people expect differ from one language to the next. The switcher in the header keeps you on the same page whenever it exists in the language you pick.

What this site is

This is an independent welding handbook: the technical information you actually need at the bench — parameters, consumables, weld defects, standards and calculations. Nothing is sold here and no orders are taken. The products section and the article “How ordering works” explain what the price of a carport or a gate is made of and how an order runs through a workshop, but that is background for talking to a fabricator, not an offer or a price list.

The English version exists because the standards do. EN ISO 9606-1, EN 1011-2, ISO 5817 and ISO 2553 are written in English, procedure specifications on international sites are written in English, and a welder who can read the certificate code can also read what it does and does not cover. Where the American system differs — AWS A2.4 symbols, AWS D1.1 acceptance criteria — the difference is spelled out rather than glossed over.

Every calculator runs in the browser: the values you type are never sent anywhere. A calculation you save in “My calculations” stays in your own browser’s storage and nowhere else.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is a welding handbook on a Polish domain?

Because it started as a guide for welders working in Poland. The standards, though, are the European ones: EN ISO 9606-1, EN 1090 and ISO 5817 apply the same way everywhere in the Union, and the metallurgy does not stop at a border at all.

Can I trust the calculators?

As a starting point yes, as a normative value no. Every calculator shows its formula and names the source of its coefficients — EN 1011-2, ISO/TR 18491, ISO 5817 — precisely so that the result can be checked by hand. The final parameters are set by the welding procedure specification.

Does the site sell equipment or courses?

No. There is no shop and no affiliate link, and the site takes no orders for products either — the products section explains what a price is made of and how an order runs through a workshop, but it is not an offer. The ads on the pages are chosen by Google and are not recommendations from this handbook. Brand and manufacturer names appear only where the topic cannot be explained without them.

Are the units metric or imperial?

Metric throughout, because the handbook follows EN ISO practice. Where you need to work with an AWS or ASME document, the unit converter handles the conversions that catch people out — cfh, ipm and kJ per inch.