Technical How I hate a welding helmet..

Simplified: Typical “readers” are in the -1 to -2 range. They’re for people who can basically see. “Bad” eyesight is -5 range. That’s where readers are basically useless. I’m around -12. Without glasses, I can’t see past the end of my nose.



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You’ve got some serious concerns and some sound advice in that post.

We need to realize that if there is a welding machine simply turned on that there is the potential to experience UV and IR radiation ( a flash) hazard. Maybe its your welder in your garage and you’re the only one there, or maybe you’re buddy is there with you in your garage or maybe you’re in an industrial setting it doesn’t matter. Don’t fall into the idea that a hood alone will protect you.

For guys that have skin problems or suspicious moles they certainly should have the highest sunblock on their face. As you know even a good hood can let UV in anyway. It bounces and reflects and can get to your face from the back side of the hood as well as around the edges. On those moles the solid white zinc sun block.

For your eyes, UV rated safety glasses at U6.
It’s inevitable that seeing an unintentional arc while the hood is up will happen. There’s all sorts of reasons and scenarios for this to occur any time the welding machine is turned on. It happens and when it does it’s hazard.

There’s a hierarchy for dealing with hazards.
1 Eliminate the hazard - turn the machine off. Next in the hierarchy is about isolation which doesn’t actually help get things welded, then on to reduced exposure.
Sunblock, U6 glasses, zinc if you need it, and a ansi rated welding hood. Doing those few simple things will reduce Your personal exposure and isolate your body from the hazards. FYI there are non rated welding hoods out there.
A hood alone is not EVER enough, and a hood alone is of ZERO use when it’s up. In all cases (except running beads) just sunblock on your face and exposed skin and U6 safety glasses is enough. The BIGGEST thing is those damn glasses. The biggest thing about unintentional FLASH is the welder is usually looking right at it with the hood up. And The guy working with the welder gets it, walking around the corner just as the guy strikes an arc, two or more welders working together, just being in the shop even if you’re way at the end, guys on fire watch (industry hot work permits)

Oh and the little machine you’ll have in your garage sure can fuck you up easy enough and not be minimized but when there’s BIG amps the problem gets really intense.

 

All this talk about the technical side of safety made me remember a story from one of my customers.

had to weld a mast stop block on a lift one day, basically a bump stop 3 minute job.

they have in there fab shop the big old tombstone 600v 3 phase Lincoln welders. I’m looking for a mask to do this seemingly little job.

the Jamaican maintenance guy walks over laughing and goes on to tell me that back home in Jamaica welding helmets are a luxury!!

a hood made out of leather or canvas and a Guinness beer bottle filled with water is what he used for years as welding goggles !!!!!

I laughed and said so a brown beer bottle?
He went in to explain how only a Guinness bottle filled with water stopped him and other welders from getting flash. Must be something in the glass I guess.

went on to say, Jamaica is poor and an island so even if you have money, most times you can’t find what you need and just got to make it work to get the job done.

I don’t agree with him, just adding some more fly shit to the pepper on this thread !!

 

All you need is a welding hat and welding sun glasses, yes after 4 or 5 minutes you'll burn your face and eyes that's part of the fun of no helmet, been there a few times.

 

All I can say it that once welding machines could be found just past the dog food things got a little bit different. Some guys maybe even actually at least held book in their hands, possibly even read the table of contents and assume the knowledge within transfers via osmosis, some very well might but it’s usually the details that don’t. The Well intended but misinformed and self appointed Safety Nazi rhetoric is mostly that fly shit you speak of.

 

I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Why would you not be able to just use a simple pair of "readers" from a local Dollar Store ?

Sorry to hear that and my apologies for not understanding. I don't know if its applicable to your situation but as many of us get older, we develop cataracts. Some simple(?) surgery and when they remove the cataract, they place a lens in the eye. You get a choice of Near or Far vision. You can opt for a lens that does both pretty well but its quite a bit more expensive. Medicare covers the Near or Far option but not the multi version. I wonder if a lens might be inserted that made it possible to at least bring your vision into a range where the glasses you require are less optically demanding. I assume you would rather not get into your personal situation, so just consider this as rhetorical question that might be worth considering. I don't know if its even a possibility, but I know that my vision is much better since the operation. I chose to be able to see "Far", and just wear cheap glasses for reading, and welding. Most everything else is done without any glasses.

 

surprised no one has mentioned it-when you are looking for an auto-darkening helmet,note where the sensor is located!while tacking your hand can block the sensor and not let the helmet darken,also have had chassis parts get in the way and do the same thing-plan your position so this doesn't happen

 

I love my welding helmet, works great and its kustom.

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One of the best things I did was affix an LED Headlamp to the top of my full face, auto darkening hood. The added light makes everything work so, so much better.

 

I'll add, don't look at the arc from the folks welding along side the road, it'll get you too from 100 feet away.

 

Hello,
Wow, it took 60 years for someone else to also hate wearing those “ever so dark” welding helmets. We used goggles for gas welding and got our share of “pops.” But, when we were introduced to the old “ARC” welding technique in the metal shop of our high school in 1960, we had to wear those drop down helmets. Those did not allow anyone to see what you were doing unless they peeked under the mask. Then we were doomed for a few seconds.

As nice as the gas welding beads were, the new “arc” welding beads looked like a drunken ant hill gone berserk. It got better, but my eyes must have gotten worse doing so much peaking under the protective mask. I did a bead project to get a passing grade, but that was it for me in “arc” welding.

Jnaki

In looking at the people who tack weld on exhaust pipes or steel panels, they still used the protective masks. As @anthony myrick pointed out, those kid in his classes have alternatives to allow them to at least see something. A past thread also mentioned a bright light to shine down on the beaded surface areas. Those products would have made a world of difference for a fledgling welder, but back then, it was not to be.

These "locked in place" days we all would like to see the world through rose colored lenses…

Stay safe in more ways than one…

 

This thread truly does amaze me.
Perhaps some reflection from the past.
In 1935, even the artist that drew this logo, had enough sense to illustrate the welder using a welding helmet.
Love it or hate it, the protection of your eyes is paramount! There really isn't any good or acceptable reason to NOT use one! IMHO.

 

I think the thing about tack welding while looking away is usually done when someone needs to attach a part with a couple tacks just to hold it in place. Sometimes the exact location is hard to see and maintain when you try to flip a helmet down. Some of the newer lenses/helmets let you see well enough to grind because they have a lighter shade setting for the grinding. The the new Lincoln (Viking 3350) which my son bought works excellent.

and for the stick welding guys.............

 

Come on let’s take a walk.
Let’s say -
you’re on your back
You really need 3 hands to hold the dohicky but you’ve only got 2 and one will need to pull the trigger eventually.
There’s nothing to clamp to yet because you’re actually holding it out in space.
It’s critical and needs to be on layout, square and level.
You’ve finally got it in position ready to tack
Now pull the hood down!!!!!!!!
ain’t no neck nod on your back.


Yes the daily walk of a fabricator is very different that of a welder and it’s really easy to tell who knows the way. Nobody should ever lay down a weld bead without hood, that’s asinine. But everyday the tacks go on.

Come on let’s walk over here and have a look at this one
There’s a joint approximately 4 feet away from that needs welded. You can see it but There’s not enough room to get your arm in there. Picture reaching thru a rebar cage. We’re going to stick weld that joint but the only way is to tape a pole on the stinger to get a little reach.
Now there’s a hot stinger, loaded with a rod on a pole you’re fishing thru the steel holes. Hood is up so you can see but you know the potential to get a flash looking right at it just went up 1000%. You’re going to get it at least once.
Boils down to this,,, if you can’t do this kind of stuff go home because you’re just going to hurt yourself. If you try this without all of the available protection you’re an idiot. If you think simply having a hood on protects you your a novice or a rookie and really shouldn’t be expressing your ignorance in an adult conversation.

 

This is car building site and there ain't one in a million welds done the way you are describing. There are however thousands of welds done where someone has no one to help or hold a part for them in their own garage and it doesn't hurt anything or anybody to quickly put one or two tack welds in place. Trying to get something in place under a dashboard where light is dim and a helmet is difficult is more in line with the problems a car builder will encounter. Maybe trying to insert a part on a frame and the jackstand is in the way of your helmet, or maybe some suspension part......lots of agravating little things. Sometimes the hand holding the part also has the arm behind it cocked to hold something else out of harms way. Lots of small complications when assembling a car......but certainly no one welding from 4 feet away. Nope, there are thousands of times when a simple 2 second tack weld is successfully performed without injury or incidence. Once the part has a couple of minute tack welds to hold it, it gets a lot easier to deal with the helmet and the stinger.

Actually I think anyone trying to weld something 4 feet from them with a stinger attached to a pole would be the one who is doing something idiotic. Maybe in an emergency situation, but it sounds more like rube goldberg than any proper welding procedure. Hopefully it was something that wasn't structural.

I built my own heavy equipment trailer for a backhoe, a couple of car trailers,several overhead cranes, as well as working on a multitude of other fabricated projects. I've welded standing on ladders and dow in a pit, under, over and around and up and down.
I have a lathe, mill, 2 drill presses, 2 Migs, a Tig, 10 foot leaf brake, 4 foot finger brake, a slitter, a punch press, hyd pipe bender, slip roll,Plasma cutter, ox/acy, hyd press, and once had a 14ft leaf brake. I know how to use ALL of them.
I was a journeyman machinist, a machined parts inspector and a fabricated parts inspector at a government site. One of my past hobbies was working on old airplanes and fabbing some parts for them. I think I know my way around production shops without having some one lead me around.

Many people use their gloved hand to shield tack welds and others simply put the mig stinger in place .....and then look away and close their eyes. Its simple to do with a mig. If you are arc welding then you need to be able to look at what you are doing and therefore need a helmet.
If you have a situation where you cannot reach the surface that needs to be welded, then you need to take the proper steps to access the surface to perform a good weld.

As for your "name calling", and engaging in adult conversations remark, adults are people who can express opposing points of view without resorting to name calling and personal attacks. I think when you resort to that, it says more about you than it does me..............some people would refer to that as being
"tacky"

 

I think this is what your looking for


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All this talk about auto-darkening helmets, so I thought this might be of interest. Huntsman in the late 60's built what they called an auto-view hood. I bought this one in 1969 for $16.50, when I was a production welder at Freightliner Corp. doing mig and tig on aluminum parts. With the lever pad under your chin, you simply opened and closed your mouth to slide the dark lens up and down. If you didn't keep it clean and lightly lubricated, it would stick open from time to time. That prompted law suits, so they stopped manufacture in the 70's. It has been a handy tool over the last 50 years, for me.

 

I have one of those, only use it in extreme circumstances, where you head is crammed into a tight space, I think they called it a welding sock.

 

A closer look at the mechanism with the lens lifted.

 

Those leather head welding helmets also make great halloween getups. Not that I use mine that way, well maybe once or twice. Seriously, I use an auto-darkening helmet for 90-95% of the welding I do. Don't remember the brand, but not cheap, as I only have one set of eyes. An old flip front gets used on rare occasions with the mig or stick, and a large screen that only gets used when teaching someone new to welding and then only by meto observe their technique.

 

Accu-Strike makes a helmet similar to this. That's what I've been using for almost 10 years.

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Been welding for 40+ years and never seen one of these, if someone had described it to me I would of called bullshit.

 

I found another spattered up old welding helmet in the garage over the weekend... into the trash!

 

this one?

 

Clamp the ground on the piece you want to tack into place.

 

My .02, buy the best autodarkening shield you can find. I've tried the cheapies (Harbor Freight, et al) and found that the more expensive helmets react more quickly meaning your eyes feel better after a day of welding. They also give a better view of the arc and weld area with better clarity allowing a better look at what you're doing, leading to the improvement in weld some mention. Part of the better view is they seem to have a finer adjustment on the shading. My father has a Miller that adjusts from 2 or 3 (for gas welding) to too dark to see the arc at all, I believe that has a large part to do with the improved vision.

 

Some of you guys need to help me understand the light on the helmet thing.
I do a lot of welding. I can’t for the life of me figure out why this would be needed.
I can’t imagine any light that would be brighter than the arc.
No intention of being a smart ass here, just can’t think of a scenario where a light would do any good.

 

I know it's different for different people but it helped me with my old helmet. If the tint was dark enough that the arc wouldn't bother my eyes I couldn't see around the arc so the bead would wander off the joint and I couldn't see the puddle. The extra light would fill in the background.

Phil

 

As far as glasses go, after my cataract surgery I had my doctor prescribe a prescription for my welding glasses with the focal point about 18 inches out. This is my typical arms length when I weld. readers have a shorter focal length and would not work for me. Not all conditions can be fixed with corrective lenses when your have cataracts removed.
I hade a choice between prescription glasses or readers, I went with the readers.