i am 60 and was having the same problem i was wearing my proscription glasses and i tried to use a lighitr setting like 9 found out that was causing a problem with glare went to 11 can see now
That's my point MIG sits on top of the metal there is no puddle. Remember back in the ice age when we'd ARC weld stuff, it had a puddle so does gas and TIG. Oh, I'm almost 61 if anyone is keeping track of the ages.
Ha ha ha ha ha...^^^^^ Really laughing here, 'Digging yourself a hole on this thread.' There went a mouthful of Scotch and Soda! Hilarious!
<O</O <O</O I hear you, I am a retired shop teacher. I have been around the block more than once, and seen some things I wish I hadn't, but those are other stories for another time. <O</O <O</O I, too, have trouble with MIG, but not gas, stick or TIG, for some reason. I think the glare from the arc really is different. <O</OWith age comes wisdom and a lot of other really good things, I am happy to have made it so far. However, there's also some other stuff that's not always so good. Vision changes include decreased ability to see in low light conditions, while at the same time, increased sensitivity to glare, a double conundrum. Toss in inability to focus at close range and you have a triple conundrum. <O</OWhat works for me is gold lenses, I highly recommend them. My variable shade system consists of three conventional big window helmets with #9, 10 and 11 gold lenses in them. Switch helmets to switch shades, old school, but works within my budget. My eye doc had me try out one contact prescribed for close-up and the other dialed in for distance, doesn't work for everyone, but it did for me, and I thank her every day. <O</OLike you, I really enjoy welding and want to keep it a part of my life. <O</OKeep trying out different suggestions, hope you find solutions. <O</OMark<O</O
UH, nevermind. Anyway, back on topic, for the heck of it try welding without your glasses. I'm nearsighted and it was like night and day when I would weld without my glasses. Much better indeed. I could actually see the puddle
When I mig, or tig weld I use a auto-darkening helmet, even though they are supposed to be fast to darken I like to close my eyes for a couple of seconds to avoid the flash when I pull the trigger on the mig, or hit the peddle on the tig. Give it a try next time you weld, it's been working good for me so far.
Good luck with the cataract surgery.I had both of mine done 20 years ago when I was 38. Kinda young,they told me,but a mig gun that would misfire often while my hood was up eventually took its toll.My prescription changed several times in the first few years,and I've had the lenses lasered twice since then to clean them up.Been welding a lot lately,and my eyes are screwing up again.Time for another light show on my eyes. Lots and lots of light when I weld now,LEDs,reflector lights,as many as I can get close to the work,about ready to hang lights on my helmet,too.
Sounds like some technique issues happening here... Each method of welding has its uses, there are some guys turning out some beautiful stuff with MIG. Edit: For example, http://fergusoncoachbuilding.blogspot.com/
I think this needs a little emphasis here. So many TV shows show "pros" tacking casually w/o eye protection. Back in my youth, I was concerned with the constant flashing I would get from my students who were taught to say "cover" before striking an arc, but as teenagers they didn't always do that, and as things went it was typically just as I ducked into their welding station. I was getting headaches from being "flashed". Eye doc said "cataracts ahead later on if flashing continues". I changed the way I went into a welding booth, and it paid off, knock on wood. Another caveat: Do the research on auto darkening helmets, most of the cheap ones only publish the response times for time to go light times. Look at a site like Miller or 3M for the response time to darken specs, the more expensive helmets go darker faster, important if you have a lot of arc time, or if you want to preserve your vision. Seen a lot of good things these three score years, want to see a lot more.
I wear tri focals and the problem I have is I have to lean my head back to use the lower part of the tri focal to see what I am doing. A large lens Miller auto darkening helps, but what I really want to try are some lenses my eye doctor told me about. Double D's I think they are called. Electricians use them a lot. They have magnification on both the top and bottom of the lens with a space in the middle for farther out. That way you can see close up with out tilting your head so far back. B
poor lighting is usually the issue! take a couple pieces of steel outside and try welding them, then take them inside and after a few minutes when your eyes adjust try welding. huge difference! those work lights will help and that light on the mig gun is something to try also, great idea!
I am glad I opened this thread.. I had both eyes cataract surgery 3mo left eye and 2 mo 2 weeks ago right eye . I have been afraid to weld after having my vision restored. Mine was real bad.. So I guess its off to the weld supply house and a 225 lens.. Thanks to all that have posted as I have been bummed out.. Bobby..
I'm 47 and starting to have problems too. I need new glasses so I'll see how that works out but a better helmet is in my near future I think.
If you care about your vision do not use a auto darkining hood. Cheap or expensive they still are bad for you.
Thank You for the info. I was given a auto helmet for Christmas and have not used it .. After your advice I will give to some one I don't like..
That was a nice gift, I think I would check out its specs before I gave it away. Some of the professional ones are very good, don't jump to conclusions. Some of the cheap ones are indeed, potentially harmful.
For me the cheater lens helped for a few years but now I use a gold lens... way brighter and I can now see what I'm welding. Best welding investment I have made in a long time!
I have the same problem, and made myself a cheap light, here's a tech thread I did on it- http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305958 Now that it's warm outside, I open the doors for more light, or whenever I can, I do my welding outside.
I have a similar problem but only in one eye. I went to my opthamologist and he explained it to me. At night or in darkness, our eyeball not only focus's by dialation but also changes shape. As we get older, our eyes lose the ability to change shape or change at a dercreased amount and seeing in the dark becomes increasingly more difficult. *night blindness* is why some people can't see to drive in the dark. In my case, only one eye is affected. This produces a unique problem for me because I am light sensitive and need to wear very dark sunglasses outside. So when I wear sunglasses, one eye is blurry. My eye Dr. said he can prescribe special glasses to compensate for night vision, I just can't win.
I recently bought an accu strike helmet to replace my auto dark http://www.accustrike.com. Takes some getting used to but I like it. Also ordered a gold lens with it. No pun intended but night and day difference with the gold lens. Much better visibility.
When the lense cover on your hood has smudges,spatter ,and dirt on it your site will also be affected. It's like looking out a dirty windshield at night. When we audit welders in our company the one item checked is the lense cover. Change it out and you will see a difference. Of course if you are far sited you will need to correct your close vision.
I'm 61 and have been having the same problem, too dark. I bought a little LED light from Summit that clamps on the end of the Mig. It has crured the darkness for me, It cost about $30.00
I read a plethera of reasons why some of you guys can't see while welding. Seeing as I have been selling welding supplies for the past 15 yrs since i got out of the Marine Corps. I think I can offer a few good reasons. 1 age and eyesight obviously but, Magnifying lenses work. and they sell many multipliers. 2 Those helmets you buy at tractor supply and northern etc.. they are chinese popoffs and have NO Q/A departments they don't need to meet the same specs as say a Jackson, Hornell/3M, or Miller, or Hobart or lincoln. 3 IF you have a helmet that is more than say 4/5 yrs old the technology in the lens is prehistoric and it may be changing slower than when you bought it new...its not a battery issue its the liquid between the lenses has dissapated so much that its not working correctly any more. 4 Check your outside and inside coverplates if they are filthy and dirty and scratched up and have been cleaned a million times you can actually get a light glare from the light passing through the lens and bouncing back to the lens because the inside of the cover plate is now more shiny than the outside from being cleaned so much. replace your cover plates for less than 10 bucks see if it helps if it doesn't I'd say its probably time for a new helmet..... Jackson/Huntsman makes great helmets. 3M Hornell makes great helmets. LIncoln has their helmets made by a company called Arc One they are pretty good too.. their company has come a long way in the past 5 yrs. Miller has good helmets too same thing they entered the electric helmet business maybe 8 yrs ago... in the past 5 they really stepped their game up and offer a very nice product for the price. There are a few others around that seem good but like I said that off the 59.00 pile at tractor supply you are only putting a value on your eyes of 59 bucks.. think about it.. Don't use junk to protect your only set of eyes. GOLD LENSES were offered by a company called OKI Bering. Not sure how you can get it other than to ask your local welding supply company if they do business with them. IF they do you can order one. DON"T ORDER THE GLASS. ORDER THE Poly Carbonate lens IT WORKS AND IS WAY SAFER. Good luck folks. And remember SHADE 10 or more Less and your running the risk of burning your retina...like it or not Darker is better point blank.
I use a high $$ auto darken, regardless of how fast they darken you still get a quick arc flash. I close my eyes, get the arc going, then open my eyes. People who do tack welds without a helmet will pay the price eventually, a buddy of did that for years, now he has cataracts (I all ways use a helmet when tack welding).
I have a Morse large opening auto-darkening helmet old enough to have been made in the US I paid $400 for new... I hate to be the one to admit this but I left my helmet at home and I borrowed a kid's helmet I worked with. I gave him shit for wasting $70,000 at Wyotech but he still can't weld or afford a "good" helmet. Where I ate crow was he paid $20 at Harbor Freight for a helmet that puts mine to shame at any setting. Now I'm not recommending these at all just saying what I ran across. You'll probably have to buy three to get one that works, and this is one could be a fluke. I have no details on long term effects or of if the shade is simply "off". I'm also not certain I'd chance using one regularly. What I can say is that my eyes are very sensitive to light and I had no issues with flash burn and actually none of the strain I normally have using mine or many of the newer helmets I've tried looking for something better. FYI, grain of salt, make your own call.
Jogyver and Birdman hit my problem right on the head, took me forever to figure it out, why can't I see anything but a bright ball. I just needed to get new cover plates and a new lens and wow what a difference the bright ball was gone. Scratches and pits are a big deal, at least they were for me. I do not have an auto helmet so I don't know about them.
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