I got a MiG welder today from a friend along with a face shield.
I’m spot welding a steel fence together.
The face shield is automatic but I’m not sure if it is working.
I don’t want to mess up my eyes.
Can’t I just get some glasses? I lift the shield to get the tip near where I want to weld and then go at it blind when the shield coames down. I can’t see a thing when it arcs.
It would be nice to be able to see what I’m doing.
Will Rogers
Replies
do you know what # the tint is???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
It has a 10 on it. I asked a couple of people today if it was working. And if it isn't, does it not get dark or not get light.
It seems like it would be safer to make the default setting to be the dark mode.
I really don't need a whole shield. Everything is below me at arms length. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
One more pointer - you really want to cover all of your exposed flesh. The arc flash produces a ton of UV readiation and you can get a very nasty sun-burn from it. This is why professionel welders wear all of the leather even in the hot weather - although some might like it for the look :)
Do you happen to know of any information regarding the amount of X-ray radiation is being given off by open arc welding?
I hadn't heard about X-ray but I will ask some of the welders I know. My impression was that all of the radiation was UV which is bad enough.
see If you have it turned on...
make sure the batteries are good...
get the darkness settings...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
I have one of the automatic lenses and it is great - the only trick here is that it needs to be turned on to work. In order to turn mine on, I need to press on the upper portion of the lens about the middle (cross ways). When that happens, the lens goes dark for a second or two and then gets lighter then when I first put it on. I imagine others might have a different activation method.
Another thing to keep in mind is the timeout feature. If my helmet doesn't sense an arc flash within about 20 minutes or so, it turns itself off to save the battery. If that happens, you will know about it the next time you start an arc. I imagine different manufacturers use different times, but they should all behave in a similar fashion.
Good luck with your project.
Steve
I'm going to the weld shop in the morning. I don't need an automatic one.
I can't tell if the thing is working or not and I really don't need it.
I can weld one handed and flip the glasses up with the other. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
When I'm stick welding I use a regular helmet. When I MIG I use an auto darkening helmet with reading glasses (my bifocals are fine for stick) and set the tint on the lowest setting which is 9. Mig generally isn't as bright as stick (at least at the power level I'm using), and the lower tint makes it much easier to see.
Some auto helmets are solar recharge, so leave it out in the sun for a few hours. Hope this helps.
MikeInsert initially amusing but ultimately annoying catch phrase here.
I just got done welding up the first panel and am very pleased. I did have to grind off a bunch of beads that were wrong but I'm a carpenter. What do i know.
I put fresh batteries in it and read the instruction pasted inside the helmet.
The problem with the helmet is that the housing that hold the auto darkening panel covers up the button that turns it on. So now I just push the plate on top of the button and it lightens up.
I still lift the helmet to get the tip where i want it first.
One pic shows the metal laid out on a piece of particle board. I laid it out full scale first and then just fixed the metal on top of it. There are spacers to get everything where it is supposed to be.
All the panels will be this size. Yes they are small.
The other pic shows the panel built. I still have to add some metal leaves at the bottom of the center picket.
there are two curves at the top. the one is the rail that has a gentle bend and then a flair on both ends to give it some old style look.
Then the pickets do there own thing with the middle one taking the cake.
Each panel will have 2x2" posts at the ends with a bigger final on it. so where you see the pickets stop at the ends there will be a bigger top.
I'll take more as I go. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
My eyes aren't as good as they used to be, so I need a little help when I weld. I have taken to setting up a couple of 500 watt work lights shining on the work area, which helps broaden the area you can see when the arc comes on. I also find I need some good, strong reading glasses to cope with the dim light that comes through the lens. I can't stand bifocals so I just use drug store cheap 2 diopter or stronger.
My face shield has an adjustable automatic darkening, so I can dial up or down the darkness to find what works best.
I realized tonight that I had my bi-focal glasses on. When you look through the face shield you have to look straight forward. So they weren't working.
I have some cheap 2.0 glasses that are magnified through the whole lens.
I'll use those tomorrow.
I'll try the lights also.
"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Edited 7/10/2009 12:48 am by popawheelie
HF has inexpensive $40 about darkening shields that are powered by solar cells.
Bought a 2nd one for the other shop also. Both work great. Did add a 1/8" polycarbonate shield to both sides of the lens though as the thin outer (and NO inner) shield seemed to ask for damage.
Thanks! I'll go my local HF. About five-six blocks away! Woo hoo!"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
my hd shield is solar powered so you got to set it in the sun to charge it. also if you block the sensor it wont flash
The welding arc charges it**, all ya gotta do is make sure yu wipe the soot off it every once in awhile <G>
**edit - ya know, not sure how facetious you were being about setting it in the sun, works the same with that bright light that happens when you weld.....
Edited 7/10/2009 1:02 pm ET by junkhound
The reason for setting the helmet in the sun to charge the unit is if you are an infrequent user, the battery/capacitor goes dead. Then you start to weld, and before the solar cell charges the battery/capacitor from the arc, the helmet does not darken, and your eyes have no protection.Ask me how I know!Frank DuVal
Bi-focal glasses just don't work for welding, since you must look straight ahead through the upper portion of the bi-focal to see through the dark welding glass.The solution is a "cheater lens" that fits in the welding helmet behind the dark welding glass. Most welding suppliers carry these, in various diopters. I have a 2x4 lens at 1.5 diopter. Perfect!
A few tips..... Make sure the battery is charged. Mine requires charging in the sun.
A small Mig welder needs a lower setting than #10 in my opinion. I usually use # 8 or so.
You may have a reset switch on the helmet. Push that every time you first start up the helmet for the day.
Make sure you don't have a lot of light coming in from behind you or you won't be able to see the arc clearly.
Light the area where you are welding.
Hold your head closer to the work.
If none of that works, you are going blind or too old to be a weldor. ;)
Thanks for the tips! We weren't resetting it for one thing. What button? I don't see a button?
I found the button and the sensor. I will get new batteries and try again.
The welds I did yesterday I can grind on. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
A higher shade number will allow you to watch the puddle easier.
Try it.
A higher shade number will allow you to watch the puddle easier
You must be a relatively young fellow...because I guarantee you that you will not be saying that by the time you are 60 or so.
From Lincoln's Ask the Experts section on their website:
Q: Should I choose a fixed or variable shade?
A: If you are always using the same arc welding process on the same material, a fixed shade is sufficient. But if you, like most welders, are using a variety of materials and welding a number of different applications, your best bet is a variable shade, which will adjust to the correct darkness for your particular process. For instance, when you are GTAW welding at lower amperages, you may need to lighten up the lens to see what you are doing - a variable shade will permit this while a fixed shade will not
Edited 7/11/2009 11:42 am ET by BoJangles
I am 40... so compared to 60, I suppose the answer is yes.
I used to prefer doing MIG welding with a #9 shade... then I experimented with an 11. While it isn't as "bright", I can see what is happening in the weld puddle much easier with the darker shade.
I will also point out that the gold tinted fixed shades work much better for me than the plain green ones in glass or plastic.
There is also a difference in automatic hoods, too. My Miller Digital Elite is much clearer than the other one I had (which was by no means cheap, but about 12 years old). The Digital Elite will darken from welding current instead of sensors... so flickering flourescent lights or mercury vapor arc lights won't trip the shade.
Automatic hoods with two sensors are easily fooled by shadows, and turn off when you don't want them to. My hood has 4 sensors, but I usually run in X Mode (current sensing).
Quality of those clear polycarbonate lens protectors is also an issue. I have tried the ones from the big box simply for convenience... and they suck.
Unfortunately, your quote does not define "lower amperages" for TIG welding. Some automatic hoods will not trigger properly at 20 amps and lower.
I have a cheap Hobart autoshade that is solar charged. When the battery is dead it is dark. I like it a lot.
But...I once used a very expensive Speedglass helmet. It is also supposed to be solar charged. Although, when it's battery was dead it was light. Got a nice eye burn from that one.
DC
that is just plain bad design in my mind. The default setting should be dark. Duh!"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Here is a better pic. You can see the curves better.
Will Rogers
http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm
more info here: http://www.msha.gov/Illness_Prevention/ideas/hazchem.pdf
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Thanks for that info. I don't do enough of it to get a significant exsposure.
The steel I'm welding is bare and I'm outside under an awning.
I've started working there more because it is so nice. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
So you just send your poison gas to someone else huh?
My nieghbors all get a little bit. I'm a sharing kind of guy."There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers