The Shipfitter's Handbook: From Apprentice to Foreman

The complete shipfitter's handbook, from your first day in the yard to running the crew.

Written by a shipfitter with 23 years of Navy shipbuilding and repair experience on carriers, submarines and destroyers. He worked his way up from apprentice to journeyman, advanced shipfitter, lead mechanic and foreman over 15 fitters and 15 welders. This 90-page handbook teaches the trade the way it's actually done on the deck plate, one career level at a time.

What's inside

• The career ladder: duties, skills and credentials for every step, from helper to foreman
• Safety: confined spaces, hot work, rigging, PPE and permits, organized around OSHA 29 CFR 1915
• Tools and equipment: layout, cutting, fit-up, alignment and rigging gear
• Shop math with worked examples: 3-4-5 squaring, diagonals, bevel setback, rolled cylinders, arcs, hole spacing and plate weights
• Ship structure and blueprint reading: reference lines, mold lines, weld symbols, match marking and work packages
• Core fitting skills: layout, oxy-fuel and track torch cutting, arc gouging, fit-up, tacking, distortion control and forming
• Advanced work: unit erection and scribing, critical alignment foundations, molds and templates
• Ship repair: ship checks, TAOs and SMOs, crop and renew, inserts, doors and hatches
• Quality and inspection: hold points and VT, MT, PT, UT and RT prep
• Leadership: work packages, estimating, Gantt schedules, Condition Found Reports, growth work and crew management

Study tools

• 21 chapters with skill-level tags (Apprentice, Journeyman, Advanced, Leadership)
• 95 review questions with a full answer key
• Field checklists and a fraction, decimal and millimeter table
• 81-term glossary and a standards reference guide

Who it's for

New hires and apprentices, journeymen working toward lead, fitters moving into supervision, and welders, QA and planners who want to understand fitting work.

Digital PDF, 90 pages. Instant download after purchase; read it on your phone, tablet or computer.

This is a general educational reference. It does not replace your shipyard's drawings, approved procedures, training or supervision.