Nice video! One comment... polarized lenses don't protect our eyes from anything harmful. They simply filter out vertical light, like that coming off of the surface of a lake from the sun. We don't see vertical light well, which is why our eyes see an annoying glare. Polarized lenses lessen this reflected light, and help to reduce glare. There may indeed be some assistance provided when watching the arc/puddle, but even without polarization, your eyes don't suffer any more or less, all other things being equal. Something you DO want is polycarbonate lenses. They provide protection from UVA and UVB rays, which is what harms our eyes from the arc flash. This can help tremendously! Polarized or not, the sunglasses tip is great! Polycarb lenses can even help if you accidentally flash yourself because you forgot to drop your hood. YIKES! lol.
this was one of the best videos I've watched in a while. Today I was welding and struggled to adjust the settings to get my mask to work properly, thank you.
Thank you for the charging tip, I only Weld once or twice a year and I've noticed lately getting that Flash at the beginning of each time I start welding after leaving my helmet in a sun for couple hours that issue seemed to go away thank you.
I’m a novice, but I finally realized my eye glasses were preventing me from getting a clear view of the puddle - so welding was guesswork at best. Essentially my glasses were causing a haze or blurred view over the weld arc location. Now I weld without glasses and added a cheater lens. Clean helmet lenses inside and out is also critical.
Indeed. I was expecting that to be one of his tips. The sunglasses idea doesn't seem to me anywhere near as good, because it makes everything darker when you're not welding, and that's already a problem with autodarkening helmets, in some settings and particularly for older welders.
Happened to stumble on this video and I'm really glad to did. Every time I watch a welding tutorial I can see the weld puddle so clearly yet when I actually weld I see nothing but a bright white light. I thought it was only me that had this issue but apparently it's more common than I thought. I purchased a self darkening helmet (admittedly not a very expensive one) because with the fixed lens models I couldn't see anything prior to striking the arc so that half the time I'd be somewhere where I didn't want to be. The self darkening model took care of that problem but then I couldn't see after the arc initiated because I'd be blinded. I'm going to try the sunglass suggestion and make certain my helmet lens is clean and if that doesn't work then I'm going to buy a good helmet and hope that resolves the issue. It's damn tough to weld what you can't see, especially when you are a rookie.
@@MrRockIsAwesome I am having the same problem as Rich MAC. I have a NEW unscratched auto-darkening helmet. I have it set at 9. Yes, I tried 10,11 and 12 which makes the problem worse. The helmet is working just fine. It auto-darkens quickly. And while I weld I'm aiming the beam of a freshly recharged 220 lumen LED flashlight directly at the target zone. After the lens darkens all I can see is the weld spark. I cannot see the work piece. In two weeks since I started welding, I have never seen a weld puddle. I am welding 16 gauge and thinner steel tubing. I'm welding with .030 flux-core wire. My welder (Vevor 270) is set at 14.5 volts and 3.7 amps. In order to make the weld go where I want it, I have to just make a series of connected tack welds. Before each tack the lens is still clear. At that time I get the tip of the wire positioned where it needs to be while I can still see with the flash light aimed at the target. During the weld I see the weld spark and a hint of puddle. I have gotten by this way for my first project, but I'm looking to find a way to keep the auto-darkening feature from completely blacking out everything except the weld spark.
@@MrRockIsAwesome 9 is as low as it goes. In fact it seems to be the industry standard. What I don't know is if all auto darkening lenses are the same at 9. I'd like to try another to find out. Maybe someone here knows.
This must be #4... what I’ve done for 20 years and haven’t gone blind yet! Before auto darkening we just had the old helmet with number 10 lens... nod your head, drop the shield and start zapping crap! Lol
@SILLY BUBBY69 I learned SMAW in high school metal shop in the early 1980's with an A/C buzz-box and hand-held shield. After you can do that then come back here and comment again.
I’m just a home diyer that has a cheap 90amp flux core welder at home for odd jobs. I did spend a few extra bucks and get a Lincoln Viking auto darkening. After installing new good batteries, I can’t seem to see the bead or weld puddle. And on thin metal (thicker than sheet metal) of course it burns through even on the low min setting because I’m looking for the puddle to form. (Yes I am in weld mode not grind mode - haha). Luckily I’ve not gotten flash burn because I made the sensitivity and delay settings as soon as I got it. I started with darkening setting of 10 and gone both ways but still not able to see the puddle. Any help would be appreciated!
Hey Andy nice channel, just subscribed. I've gotta question somewhat in the same ball park as this video....I've got trouble seeing a butt joint. Or what you would call the seam along the butt joint. I've tried adjusting the shade, but still have difficulties following a straight line butt type joint. Could you provide me any tips? I'm using a miller pro hobby auto darkening helmut if that helps. Nice channel by the way, some nice tutorials. Thanks Pidge.
You didn't mention the most basic trick - shining a 1k watt halogen work light on the piece you're welding. Works great when using a regular non auto-darkening helmet
It's funny you say this because I started using my halogen work light some years ago to illuminate the work piece so that I could see where I was actually welding. Those fixed lenses are so dark that half the time I'd miss the joint completely and run a bead along side it instead of on it. This really helped me
I have a cheap 9W led bulb mounted 6 inches from the work piece with a clamp. Repositioning is a pain so I might fasten a higher powered flashlight to the helmet.
@@marksierra3522 It worked well for me. I glued a strip of steel to the hinged filter and the light is attached to the steel with magnets. The only disadvantage is cleaning weld splatter from the light.
@@TAVOAu hey Carl, 9 is pretty low depending on how much amperage you’re running. For me running 210 and up, on flux core I can’t go below 10. 11 is perfect for me, but I need a lot of fill light from work lamps to see. I recommend that to everyone, try using some bright lights and point them at your work area, and turn the helmet up to 11 so you don’t have to kill your eyes with low settings.
I have found if you position yourself so you can see the end of the tip nozzle but not the welding puddle the nozzle will block the arc but allow you to see the about 2" in front of the weld
My tip would be. Get a welding helmet with at lest 4 sensors. it is more expensive but your eyes are not replaceable. Get a welding helmet with replaceable batteries most of cheap or even expensive welding helmets have built-in batteries which means they cannot be replaced easily. Take a good car wax and apply it to your helmet, to the front and around your helmet, the wax will protect your helmet against the flux fumes and it will be much easier to clean your helmet with a damp cloth.
Here's a tip: Clean the lense. Welding helmets tend to live in dirty environments, and they get dirty gradually. So clean it. It WILL make a difference.
Yep. I change all 3 lens on my Spedglas every day. When I do a lot of gouging and stick work I change the outside lens twice a day. I hit the grinding shield lens with an alcohol lens wipe about twice a day too. They dirty up quick! Towards the end of the day, I can’t see shit but the arc. Doing long v-grooves will have you guessing if your are running straight with a dirty lens. Instead of risking a defect, just change your lens. It takes nothing but a second
IV got a 100$ lens in my hood and sometimes I can see clear as day around my puddle and sometimes the only thing I can see is the puddle. It makes putting the cap on really difficult. Got any idea what's going on?
I found no tips here but what do is hold a bright light in one hand..helps alot. What I'm researchig now is for some kind of bright marker to highlight the line i want to follow.
Biggest problem I have always had is back light leaking in from above and behind me and doing a whiteout on the inside of the lens... When I work outside and the sun gradually goes down I can actually see much better that way... I find the light from the spark is enough to see what I'm doing along the weld itself as long as I don't have that nasty back glare... Although greg E's comment below about the halogen light on the work is also a great way to go!
Just Wondering? can you use bright lights around the area you are welding with a dark mask on will you still be protected with the kights on i find this the easiest way to weld for me ao basically mask on light on weld
The biggest problem that predominates everything is the inability to actually see your welding piece, I have this problem. I don't use those auto-darkening helmets but an old type flip top with a number 8 glass even with this I find it difficult to see where I'm welding, I would be delighted for any tips to help this problem.
Need deeper answers, I've been experimenting with using halogen lights close to the weld, covering my hood around the sides to stop incoming light bouncing off the inside glass, I use the harbor freight auto which is far better than my old helmet but I've noticed the outside lenses is plastic and can't be cleaned , it needs to be glass, anyone?
With passives you just gotta carry different shades I usually use a ten for smaw and I don’t really weld mug but I imagine you could use an 8-10 and yea even under shop light you can still see the electrode and the piece your welding you just have to be patient and when the rod gets stuck don’t get frustrated just get er unstuck get back to where you wanna be and try again and yea with mig you wouldn’t have that problem
I'm an old fart, so I learned to stick weld in high school MANY decades ago with a fixed shade lens. I bought a HF auto-darkening hood a few years ago. I was doing some welding for a fence panel last night in my garage and decided to try the old fixed shade Lincoln helmet again after all these years since I was starting to get irritated at the initial spark that the auto-darkening helmet was letting through. It was quite a bit darker, but I could get a better view of my weld one I got the arc struck (assuming that I didn't miss the joint completely and run a weld **beside** the joint)... :) I don't do enough welding to justify one of the expensive auto-darkening helmets. I've thought about making my own hand held type welding shield that I could mount on some sort of arm to position it between my work piece and my eyes, combined with so lights around it that would make me be able to see at least *something* through the fixed lens before the arc is struck, but since I don't weld that often, I just put up with what I've already got and periodically bitch about it... :)
I have the problem that I cant see the surrounding area of where I am welding. If I am trying to weld on an edge of metal, then I cant see where the edge is. If I need to overlap a bead, then I cant see where I am on the other bead. I have my mask down to 9 with mig welding. I can see the puddle and I can weld straight if it is just one single bead. But if I have to line it up with something in the surrounding area, then I can not see to do it. I cant find ANY advice for this.
Use a strong lamp to light up your work piece. I have one of those 100W equivalent LED bulbs and i move it very closely to the weld 30-50 cm. Then i can see fine.
Just blink at the contact time... position, look, blink and let wire contact, and you will get your with your slow mask. I’ve used this on pulse TIG welding too, no mask, just blinking at the right time.... 😜
if its a auto dark helmet, the batteries will need to be replaced like every 6 -10 months , batteries can be found at local drugstores.. duracell or energizer
My cheapo HF helmet has no batteries or photo switch, when the solar panel gets light from the welder it is applied directly to the screen(type of LCD). Leaving in the sun only makes it warmer.
Don’t use halogen because they use a lot of current, and get hot where you’re working. Use LED instead. There are plenty of LED work lights out there. Because they’re smaller, and don’t get hot, you can set them closer, so they dont have to be as bright.
I don't do a lot of welding, probably much less than the average handyman. So recently, I upgraded from the old school helmet, with flip down permanent dark lens, to a cheaper (not the cheapest) auto darkening mask. Problem with it is, even set on 9, all I can see is the arc, like it doesn't light up the work around it. So, no idea what direction I'm traveling. It's like the thing is too good, and too dark at any setting.
Don't understand sunglasses technic, if your making it darker by putting sunglasses on doesn't that defeat the object or is this cutting the brightness down to see more of the work piece your working on, and why different shade settings why not just the higher one for all, thanks
Hand held? Why not get a regular fixed shade lens hood? Old timers have been using them for decades. So you need to get a little better at predicting where your torch is going to end up when you kick down your hood.
Back when i was training i had this mask that didn't even tint i didn't know the difference because it was the first mask i used my eyes were messed up for ages now i have a mask with the flip up lense I'll never go back😂
One way that seems to help me is to pull your welding rod back from your weld just a little, which is long arcing. BUT NOT ENOUGH TO CAUSE POROSITY !! just enough to make a difference of course, it isnt much help on MIG welding, hope this helps someone
Hmm -- even short of the porosity threshold, lengthening the arc does reduce the quality of the weld, as regards penetration and undercut, as well as splatter. Keeping the tightest practicable arc gap is a mantra for good welds. I personally think it's better to rock the rod slightly or weave a tad (depending what you're doing), to alternately allow light from the arc to fill in one side of the shadow created by the rod, then the other. To avoid going off the joint line, you don't need to be able to see both sides at once, or all the time, as long as you see them frequently. I'm no great shakes as a welder but I've run a lot of rods, and I'm quite good at teaching tyros because it never came naturallly to me, so I know what various symptoms of welding badly look -- and more importantly feel -- like.
If you have $20 eyes, get a $20 helmet. If you have $500 eyes, get a $500 helmet. You only get one pair of eyes for your entire life. I saved and bought a speedglas 9100X, still good after 7 years. (Same with motorcycle crash-helmet: If your brain is rubbish, go cheap!)
Dude,say it ain't so. I used a # 12 fixed blue-green lens first 20 yrs of welding. Didn't need glasses till I turned 50. Be Careful not just a chance of needing glasses but burnt corneas with not enough protection. Be safe
I search bad welding and this guys shows up. He can more bad welding videos to really show it's not done as opposed to the how make money not using Amazon !!!! 🤣😂😂😂
I'm not sure if you know this, but many words have different meanings to different people, especially if they are from another country, or a different part of the same country.
@@JohnDavis-yz9nq seems pretty arrogant to assume that your way is correct. Once again, people often assign different meanings to certain words depending on where they are in the world or country. Do you get all upset when people say trunk instead of boot (or vice versa)?
Sean Alexander well if you want to speak a foreign language then move your ass out of this country call things what you want to. I ain’t gonna change my vocabulary for no foreign bastard. And that goes for you too. This country would probably be a better place without you anyway. I can tell by your name that you don’t give anything to this country. You only take from it.
A handheld welding mask??? Not only have i never seen a single one of those in any home depot, lowes or any other store, that's got to be the worst possible advice ever man... Really
I usually put a chalk line along both sides of where I’m welding , helps a bunch 😉 !
Great tip, thanks. 👍🏻
Nice
That’s how I passed my vertical stick 7018 certification 😂
@Hoyt Christian , Have never had a weld fail that I used this ethnic on .
Great idea! I just started, and was really having issues with seeing where I am laying the bead.
I can't believe you suggested a hand held welding mask
I tried it and it worked!
Nice video! One comment... polarized lenses don't protect our eyes from anything harmful. They simply filter out vertical light, like that coming off of the surface of a lake from the sun. We don't see vertical light well, which is why our eyes see an annoying glare. Polarized lenses lessen this reflected light, and help to reduce glare. There may indeed be some assistance provided when watching the arc/puddle, but even without polarization, your eyes don't suffer any more or less, all other things being equal.
Something you DO want is polycarbonate lenses. They provide protection from UVA and UVB rays, which is what harms our eyes from the arc flash. This can help tremendously! Polarized or not, the sunglasses tip is great! Polycarb lenses can even help if you accidentally flash yourself because you forgot to drop your hood. YIKES! lol.
this was one of the best videos I've watched in a while. Today I was welding and struggled to adjust the settings to get my mask to work properly, thank you.
Great delivery, nice, soft, right to the point
Another great video Andy much appreciated!
Excellent video. Clear, concise and well produced. The best part was the absence of the nasty music soundtrack like other welding videos. Thank you!
Thank you for the charging tip, I only Weld once or twice a year and I've noticed lately getting that Flash at the beginning of each time I start welding after leaving my helmet in a sun for couple hours that issue seemed to go away thank you.
From Monterrey, Mexico . Thanks for your wise advice. Blessings!
I have installed a rechargeable headlight, sans strap, on my helmet. Works wonders pre arc strike in dark areas.
Thanks Andy didn't know that much appreciated.
Excellent advice, awesome thank you 🤘🏼❤️
I’m a novice, but I finally realized my eye glasses were preventing me from getting a clear view of the puddle - so welding was guesswork at best. Essentially my glasses were causing a haze or blurred view over the weld arc location. Now I weld without glasses and added a cheater lens. Clean helmet lenses inside and out is also critical.
Thanks for the tips
Nice ! Thanks for the info !
Good job, I learned something.
Great , Thanks for the info .
Thank you from a tru newbie...lol appreciate the tips, thx for sharing!
For the slow darkening case, just close your eyes before starting the arc, and open them right away soon after
Indeed. I was expecting that to be one of his tips. The sunglasses idea doesn't seem to me anywhere near as good, because it makes everything darker when you're not welding, and that's already a problem with autodarkening helmets, in some settings and particularly for older welders.
Happened to stumble on this video and I'm really glad to did. Every time I watch a welding tutorial I can see the weld puddle so clearly yet when I actually weld I see nothing but a bright white light. I thought it was only me that had this issue but apparently it's more common than I thought. I purchased a self darkening helmet (admittedly not a very expensive one) because with the fixed lens models I couldn't see anything prior to striking the arc so that half the time I'd be somewhere where I didn't want to be. The self darkening model took care of that problem but then I couldn't see after the arc initiated because I'd be blinded. I'm going to try the sunglass suggestion and make certain my helmet lens is clean and if that doesn't work then I'm going to buy a good helmet and hope that resolves the issue. It's damn tough to weld what you can't see, especially when you are a rookie.
How did it work out for you?
Either your auto darkening hood isn't turned on, it's in cut or grind mode instead of weld mode, or you need to set it to a darker shade.
@@MrRockIsAwesome I am having the same problem as Rich MAC. I have a NEW unscratched auto-darkening helmet. I have it set at 9. Yes, I tried 10,11 and 12 which makes the problem worse. The helmet is working just fine. It auto-darkens quickly. And while I weld I'm aiming the beam of a freshly recharged 220 lumen LED flashlight directly at the target zone. After the lens darkens all I can see is the weld spark. I cannot see the work piece. In two weeks since I started welding, I have never seen a weld puddle. I am welding 16 gauge and thinner steel tubing. I'm welding with .030 flux-core wire. My welder (Vevor 270) is set at 14.5 volts and 3.7 amps. In order to make the weld go where I want it, I have to just make a series of connected tack welds. Before each tack the lens is still clear. At that time I get the tip of the wire positioned where it needs to be while I can still see with the flash light aimed at the target. During the weld I see the weld spark and a hint of puddle. I have gotten by this way for my first project, but I'm looking to find a way to keep the auto-darkening feature from completely blacking out everything except the weld spark.
@@maxquigley9524 it sounds like shade 9 is still too dark. Are you able to turn your hood down to shade 7 or 8?
@@MrRockIsAwesome 9 is as low as it goes. In fact it seems to be the industry standard. What I don't know is if all auto darkening lenses are the same at 9. I'd like to try another to find out. Maybe someone here knows.
You can always just close your eyes for a moment as you start the weld and open them after the auto darkening feature activates...
HardwayRanch I just read yours that's what I said .fuckem make them earn it the way we did
This must be #4... what I’ve done for 20 years and haven’t gone blind yet! Before auto darkening we just had the old helmet with number 10 lens... nod your head, drop the shield and start zapping crap! Lol
SILLY BUBBY69 Yeah, I made that mistake once and I looked like a real idiot.
This...
@SILLY BUBBY69 I learned SMAW in high school metal shop in the early 1980's with an A/C buzz-box and hand-held shield. After you can do that then come back here and comment again.
I’m just a home diyer that has a cheap 90amp flux core welder at home for odd jobs. I did spend a few extra bucks and get a Lincoln Viking auto darkening. After installing new good batteries, I can’t seem to see the bead or weld puddle. And on thin metal (thicker than sheet metal) of course it burns through even on the low min setting because I’m looking for the puddle to form. (Yes I am in weld mode not grind mode - haha).
Luckily I’ve not gotten flash burn because I made the sensitivity and delay settings as soon as I got it. I started with darkening setting of 10 and gone both ways but still not able to see the puddle. Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks Andy
Fihs
Hey Andy nice channel, just subscribed. I've gotta question somewhat in the same ball park as this video....I've got trouble seeing a butt joint. Or what you would call the seam along the butt joint. I've tried adjusting the shade, but still have difficulties following a straight line butt type joint. Could you provide me any tips? I'm using a miller pro hobby auto darkening helmut if that helps. Nice channel by the way, some nice tutorials. Thanks Pidge.
PiDGE IAM , try drawing a line with engineering chalk on the join, i do this all the time.👍
You didn't mention the most basic trick - shining a 1k watt halogen work light on the piece you're welding. Works great when using a regular non auto-darkening helmet
It's funny you say this because I started using my halogen work light some years ago to illuminate the work piece so that I could see where I was actually welding. Those fixed lenses are so dark that half the time I'd miss the joint completely and run a bead along side it instead of on it. This really helped me
I have a cheap 9W led bulb mounted 6 inches from the work piece with a clamp. Repositioning is a pain so I might fasten a higher powered flashlight to the helmet.
THANK YOU! This is exactly what I had in mind, but I was looking for someone else to confirm that it's a good idea/ not gonna cause issues
@@marksierra3522 It worked well for me. I glued a strip of steel to the hinged filter and the light is attached to the steel with magnets. The only disadvantage is cleaning weld splatter from the light.
Thanks that's real helpful, never thought of that, I'm a beginner who plans to fix my own house. Real helpful, thanks.
I have often strayed off the track that I am supposed to be welding because all I see is a bright light
Exactly the same issue I have, and that's with a brand new mask set on 9.
@@TAVOAu hey Carl, 9 is pretty low depending on how much amperage you’re running. For me running 210 and up, on flux core I can’t go below 10. 11 is perfect for me, but I need a lot of fill light from work lamps to see. I recommend that to everyone, try using some bright lights and point them at your work area, and turn the helmet up to 11 so you don’t have to kill your eyes with low settings.
@@2ndAveScents is 9 darker than 10?
@@larrybud no, higher is darker
I have found if you position yourself so you can see the end of the tip nozzle but not the welding puddle the nozzle will block the arc but allow you to see the about 2" in front of the weld
My tip would be. Get a welding helmet with at lest 4 sensors. it is more expensive but your eyes are not replaceable. Get a welding helmet with replaceable batteries most of cheap or even expensive welding helmets have built-in batteries which means they cannot be replaced easily. Take a good car wax and apply it to your helmet, to the front and around your helmet, the wax will protect your helmet against the flux fumes and it will be much easier to clean your helmet with a damp cloth.
Biggest problem I have and I get the sun glasses but what about doubling the weld shield?
Here's a tip:
Clean the lense. Welding helmets tend to live in dirty environments, and they get dirty gradually. So clean it. It WILL make a difference.
That is the best advice given. It helps 100%.
One step further: replace your outer lens when it gets scratched up
Yep. I change all 3 lens on my Spedglas every day. When I do a lot of gouging and stick work I change the outside lens twice a day. I hit the grinding shield lens with an alcohol lens wipe about twice a day too.
They dirty up quick! Towards the end of the day, I can’t see shit but the arc. Doing long v-grooves will have you guessing if your are running straight with a dirty lens. Instead of risking a defect, just change your lens. It takes nothing but a second
I had trouble right out of the box. It wasn't untill I was welding outside in the sunlight... I can see!!!
I think everyone should try a cheater lense regardless of how good you think your vision is. It makes a world of difference. Even if it's just a 1x.
Have Esab Warrior, still have problems with PF
IV got a 100$ lens in my hood and sometimes I can see clear as day around my puddle and sometimes the only thing I can see is the puddle. It makes putting the cap on really difficult. Got any idea what's going on?
I found no tips here but what do is hold a bright light in one hand..helps alot. What I'm researchig now is for some kind of bright marker to highlight the line i want to follow.
Biggest problem I have always had is back light leaking in from above and behind me and doing a whiteout on the inside of the lens... When I work outside and the sun gradually goes down I can actually see much better that way... I find the light from the spark is enough to see what I'm doing along the weld itself as long as I don't have that nasty back glare... Although greg E's comment below about the halogen light on the work is also a great way to go!
There are hoods that fully cover your head, but I thought maybe just attaching a piece of leather on the back of my hood to block that light.
Just Wondering?
can you use bright lights around the area you are welding with a dark mask on will you still be protected with the kights on i find this the easiest way to weld for me ao basically mask on light on weld
The biggest problem that predominates everything is the inability to actually see your welding piece, I have this problem. I don't use those auto-darkening helmets but an old type flip top with a number 8 glass even with this I find it difficult to see where I'm welding, I would be delighted for any tips to help this problem.
My problem is I’m doing pads full of beads for school and I cannot see my top beads that’s im supposed to be going halfway on
Need deeper answers, I've been experimenting with using halogen lights close to the weld, covering my hood around the sides to stop incoming light bouncing off the inside glass, I use the harbor freight auto which is far better than my old helmet but I've noticed the outside lenses is plastic and can't be cleaned , it needs to be glass, anyone?
Research local glass shop near you or order online cut to fit . Good luck .
I've used sun glasses under the hood.
A. When you need to grid just raise the hood
B. Use a slightly lower setting
Don’t forget to take that protective film off of your new welding helmet lens
Just close your eyes and look away for that split second flash or position yourself and get a passive shade
With passives you just gotta carry different shades I usually use a ten for smaw and I don’t really weld mug but I imagine you could use an 8-10 and yea even under shop light you can still see the electrode and the piece your welding you just have to be patient and when the rod gets stuck don’t get frustrated just get er unstuck get back to where you wanna be and try again and yea with mig you wouldn’t have that problem
Thanks, I did not know that my self darkening did not have a battery. It has not deen sunlight in a few years.
It recharges from the light from your arc as well, so no need for sunlight unless you haven’t welded in a while.
I'm an old fart, so I learned to stick weld in high school MANY decades ago with a fixed shade lens. I bought a HF auto-darkening hood a few years ago. I was doing some welding for a fence panel last night in my garage and decided to try the old fixed shade Lincoln helmet again after all these years since I was starting to get irritated at the initial spark that the auto-darkening helmet was letting through. It was quite a bit darker, but I could get a better view of my weld one I got the arc struck (assuming that I didn't miss the joint completely and run a weld **beside** the joint)... :)
I don't do enough welding to justify one of the expensive auto-darkening helmets. I've thought about making my own hand held type welding shield that I could mount on some sort of arm to position it between my work piece and my eyes, combined with so lights around it that would make me be able to see at least *something* through the fixed lens before the arc is struck, but since I don't weld that often, I just put up with what I've already got and periodically bitch about it... :)
just bought a harbor freight blue flame helmet, can't see anything, I will try flashing a work light to the surface
I have the problem that I cant see the surrounding area of where I am welding. If I am trying to weld on an edge of metal, then I cant see where the edge is. If I need to overlap a bead, then I cant see where I am on the other bead. I have my mask down to 9 with mig welding. I can see the puddle and I can weld straight if it is just one single bead. But if I have to line it up with something in the surrounding area, then I can not see to do it. I cant find ANY advice for this.
Use a strong lamp to light up your work piece. I have one of those 100W equivalent LED bulbs and i move it very closely to the weld 30-50 cm. Then i can see fine.
SOMETIMES a heavy soapstone line where you want the bead to go helps. It's not a miracle, but the price is right.
Sorry to take up your time but how can I protect the front lens of my welding helmet lens front at front of helmet
I also have regular flip helmet works just fine no need for two hands.
Just blink at the contact time... position, look, blink and let wire contact, and you will get your with your slow mask. I’ve used this on pulse TIG welding too, no mask, just blinking at the right time.... 😜
Anybody else look away or close your eyes when you see that flashing light even when you're watching welding videos on youtube?
Glockenspiel 223 every damned time lol
if its a auto dark helmet, the batteries will need to be replaced like every 6 -10 months , batteries can be found at local drugstores.. duracell or energizer
set it out side in the sunwould never known that thanks
My cheapo HF helmet has no batteries or photo switch, when the solar panel gets light from the welder it is applied directly to the screen(type of LCD). Leaving in the sun only makes it warmer.
Don’t use halogen because they use a lot of current, and get hot where you’re working.
Use LED instead. There are plenty of LED work lights out there. Because they’re smaller, and don’t get hot, you can set them closer, so they dont have to be as bright.
Thank you.
Where are the 'tips'? Sunglasses? what?, so you get to see even less?
I was hopeful when I saw the title, but it was an empty box.
I agree will this is a waist of oxygen
still waiting for the tips?????
1 clean your lense
2 concentrate
3 focus
You didn’t say anything about turning up the sensitivity on the helmet which will make it go dark quicker
I don't do a lot of welding, probably much less than the average handyman. So recently, I upgraded from the old school helmet, with flip down permanent dark lens, to a cheaper (not the cheapest) auto darkening mask. Problem with it is, even set on 9, all I can see is the arc, like it doesn't light up the work around it. So, no idea what direction I'm traveling. It's like the thing is too good, and too dark at any setting.
Don't understand sunglasses technic, if your making it darker by putting sunglasses on doesn't that defeat the object or is this cutting the brightness down to see more of the work piece your working on, and why different shade settings why not just the higher one for all, thanks
Hand held? Why not get a regular fixed shade lens hood? Old timers have been using them for decades. So you need to get a little better at predicting where your torch is going to end up when you kick down your hood.
Weld pool? I want to see the material I’m welding.
After laser eye surgery i struggle to see the weld pool properly .Just cant focus .
I've heard they ask if you want to be near or far sighted! Apparently you can't have both..
Back when i was training i had this mask that didn't even tint i didn't know the difference because it was the first mask i used my eyes were messed up for ages now i have a mask with the flip up lense I'll never go back😂
One way that seems to help me is to pull your welding rod back from your weld just a little, which is long arcing. BUT NOT ENOUGH TO CAUSE POROSITY !! just enough to make a difference of course, it isnt much help on MIG welding, hope this helps someone
Hmm -- even short of the porosity threshold, lengthening the arc does reduce the quality of the weld, as regards penetration and undercut, as well as splatter. Keeping the tightest practicable arc gap is a mantra for good welds.
I personally think it's better to rock the rod slightly or weave a tad (depending what you're doing), to alternately allow light from the arc to fill in one side of the shadow created by the rod, then the other. To avoid going off the joint line, you don't need to be able to see both sides at once, or all the time, as long as you see them frequently.
I'm no great shakes as a welder but I've run a lot of rods, and I'm quite good at teaching tyros because it never came naturallly to me, so I know what various symptoms of welding badly look -- and more importantly feel -- like.
Put light on workpiece so it's already so you can see it
If you have $20 eyes, get a $20 helmet. If you have $500 eyes, get a $500 helmet. You only get one pair of eyes for your entire life. I saved and bought a speedglas 9100X, still good after 7 years. (Same with motorcycle crash-helmet: If your brain is rubbish, go cheap!)
Man I hate getting flashed at the end of the day feels like sand in my eyes
I just changed the battery in my mask and it works like brand new again, a 2$ Duracell
Hm...
I had a welding masck i used For a quelle that i forgot that Is sun charged...🤔
Many Tanks!!)):
No doubt my welds would be much better if I could see the puddle better. When you can't see what you're doing you don't know what you need to do.
Close your eyes to strike
I bought a cheap HF welding helmet, and it's too dark to see my weld puddle. They won't take it back, so I had to get a better helmet.
polarized doesn't work this way - it just blocking more horizontally polarized light, which is produced by horizontal reflective surfaces
I say the best way to see what you're doing is............. Open your eyes......lol
I would prefer using shade 5 glasses
Dude,say it ain't so. I used a # 12 fixed blue-green lens first 20 yrs of welding. Didn't need glasses till I turned 50. Be Careful not just a chance of needing glasses but burnt corneas with not enough protection. Be safe
this is my first youtube comment!!
kind of weird to hear people calling it a mask when around here everybody calls it a hood
I hate welding flash
I search bad welding and this guys shows up. He can more bad welding videos to really show it's not done as opposed to the how make money not using Amazon !!!! 🤣😂😂😂
i just wanna say.... not all masks have rechargeable batteries.... those lens are not 2 recharge. Check the manual .
Use reading glasses.
Did you actually recommend a hand held mask.... tsk tsk
mostly safety tips not on how to see what your welding.
They are called helmets not mask. Calling a helmet a mask gives me the creeps.
I'm not sure if you know this, but many words have different meanings to different people, especially if they are from another country, or a different part of the same country.
Sean Alexander very true. Need to try to educate them don’t we?
@@JohnDavis-yz9nq seems pretty arrogant to assume that your way is correct. Once again, people often assign different meanings to certain words depending on where they are in the world or country.
Do you get all upset when people say trunk instead of boot (or vice versa)?
Sean Alexander well if you want to speak a foreign language then move your ass out of this country call things what you want to. I ain’t gonna change my vocabulary for no foreign bastard. And that goes for you too. This country would probably be a better place without you anyway. I can tell by your name that you don’t give anything to this country. You only take from it.
It would be a better presentation without that unnecessary music - sorry.
misleading title.
A handheld welding mask??? Not only have i never seen a single one of those in any home depot, lowes or any other store, that's got to be the worst possible advice ever man... Really
Dude said nothing useful in this video.
Completely useless. Sorry.
You can always just close your eyes for a moment as you start the weld and open them after the auto darkening feature activates...