Composite Materials: Fabrication Handbook #1 (Composite Garage Series) Paperback – May 15, 2009

As it states in its introduction, this book is intended as a PRACTICAL, hands-on guide to learning the basics of working with composites. It spends almost no time on designing composite structures and instead focuses on the actual techniques you need to learn in order to build those structures yourself. It begins by describing the most common materials and how and why they are used, then moves on to safety (very important) and helpful tools, and then into how to actually make some basic composite structures via various wet layup techniques.To me, one of the strong points of this book is that it isn't too discipline-specific, i.e. it doesn't seem to have a bias toward any one type of structure. Almost every other book from which I've tried to learn some of these basic techniques has been aimed toward building either an airplane or a boat of some sort, and used examples (and terminology) specific to them. This book might have just a *slight* bias toward automobiles, but that's it. By showing how to lay up a flat panel, a tube and a couple of other structures, it shows several basic techniques that can be applied to a wide variety of projects. It also shows how to make different types of molds, the pros and cons of different types of resin (and how to choose the best one depending on what you're trying to build) and different types of reinforcement. And it shows a variety of finishing techniques as well, which I've rarely seen in any of the books I've encountered in the five-plus years I've been working with composites--including a couple I *wish* I had learned much sooner.Another strong point is the clear COLOR photographs, which are consistently well composed and well lit, so you can actually see what's really going on. Every photo and diagram also has a descriptive caption, which are consistently excellent. My only quibble, and it's a very small one, is that the photos sometimes run ahead of the text by a couple of pages. But even if you just follow the photos (there are hundreds of them), you will still get a very good idea of the process being shown. One other observation: Many of the photos are arranged six to a page (two across and three down) and read in order down the left-hand column, then back to the top of the right-hand column. It was a bit confusing at first, as I would've expected to read across the page first and then down to the next row. But again, that's easy enough to get used to--and the photos are numbered.The author's language is conversational and informal throughout, a perfect match for a practical guide. Also, the paper is thick and glossy, the layout is clean, uncluttered and easy to read, and the perfect-bound construction seems well done. So the book should last for quite a while.If you're looking for a book that covers many of the basics, but geared toward aviation and with a somewhat more theoretical approach, check out Composite Basics by Andrew C. Marshall. But if you're looking for a consistently superior guide to the basics of working with composites, Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook is the one you want.NOTE: This book (Fabrication Handbook #1) covers basic wet layups only. It does NOT cover prepregs, compression molding, vacuum bagging or resin infusion. However, those topics and others are covered in Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook #2 by the same author, which is just as good as Handbook #1 and also worth every penny. Do what I did and just buy both at the same time. You won't regret it.

This book (paperback) is an intro to the world of composites related to carbon fiber, fiberglass, and kevlar and covers all you would need to get started on simple production. It goes through the tools needed, terminology, molding, materials to use and in what combination/order, and all sorts of techniques to produce basic parts. It is a guide through the composite world and shares a lot of tips and tricks to get going. I would highly recommend this book and have order the other 3 in the series to continue with my knowledge of composites. Lots of high quality pictures to show exactly what is going on. Pair this with youtube tutorials and you will be started in no time.

There is a lot of good information in this book as the other reviewers have said and I do recommend getting it if you are interested in learning about composites, basic mold making, and general wet lay techniques.There are however 2 things I really don't like about this book.This first is that the example pictures referred to in the text is often a few pages away. You can't flip through the book looking for pictures and then read about that picture on that same page, it's often back a few pages.Secondly, it appears as if the book is missing information. There are pictures of the demolding process for a multi piece mold yet the instructions are very incomplete. It does talk about bolting the mold together and unmodling it, but it doesn't talk about the actual construction of the multi-piece mold.

This is an excellent book on the subject. It gives brief but clear explanations and goes into just enough detail to understand the concepts, while still being very clear and concise. I feel like after having read this book I am ready to start working with composites. My only complaint is that vacuum-bagging is not covered in this book, and is described as a more advanced method. I see it is covered in the second book, which I suspect I will buy at some point.

Not a lot of good info on fiberglass layup technique (bubble busting, inside corners, stiffening, etc.), which is mainly what I'm interested in. Good info on comparable composite systems pros and cons, but if you already know the system you will be using you'd be better off getting a book dedicated to that system.

I need to get up to speed on this manufacturing technique really soon for a major school project I'm working on. After watching some youtube videos I realized I needed some more detail. This book is really excellent. The first half is detailed information about the types of products available and why you'd use one over the other. The second half is step-by-step procedures showing how to use them. Just what I needed.

This book is a very good introduction to the practical side of working with composites. It covers the strengths and weaknesses of the most commonly used fibers (carbon, kevlar, glass) and matrixes (epoxy, polyvinyl, polyester) and tells you how to perform the most common lay-up methods. Design of composite parts is not covered. As an introduction to composites, this book will be very helpful for anyone who wants to build composite parts but wonders how to go about it.

Great content - they do a good job at explaining the basics for someone who hasn't done any composite work before.However, whoever did the layout of this book should be fired - pictures are almost always many pages away from their respective text, and reading it is an exercise in flipping back and forth. It's almost as if they were trying to cram it in as few pages as possible rather than providing a good reading experience.