According to the latest NMRA Magazine, the NMRA is issuing yet another reprinting (the 4th) of this tremendous book by the late Dean Freytag on steel - originally issued by Walthers as part of their (then-new) line of steel mill structure kits. This book is a must-have for anyone with an interest in steel as an on-line industry or, for that matter, an an open load, so that includes just about every modeler. It has been the subject of numerous threads on this Forum. Knowing how some people react to revived old threads I decided to start new with this one.
Note that NMRA members get the book for a considerably lower price than do non members (enough lower to be an incentive to join actually), but the good news is that the book is available to all. What I cannot find however is any indication about it on the NMRA website. (Don't get me started on that subject please.) I guess you'll have to call the NMRA or borrow a copy of the latest issue, June page 61.
Before his health declined, Dean Freytag's clinics (on steel and loads and other such topics) were something to be savored for their blend of wry humor, research, great modeling, and the ability to "fool the eye" into thinking it was seeing super detail when the reality was often nothing but a piece of a cheap toy with two pieces of styrene punched out with a paper punch glued to it. Freytag was a magician who revealed all his tricks, and he delighted in showing how the magic was done. You could always tell which room the Freytag clinic was in because of the loud laughter. He said funny things but the loudest laughs were from just seeing the reality behind the impressive modeling. In a way you were laughing at yourself because of the speed with which Freytag would pull you from "I could never do that" to "of course I could do that - I probably HAVE done that."
Dean Freytag's other book "the Cyclopedia of Industrial Modeling" is less commonly encountered but well worth seeking out: a practical how-to-do-it addendum to the steel industry book and at that same time a sort of annotated version of the Plastruct catalog. It isn't quite like seeing him at his best in a clinic, but it's close.
Dave Nelson