i've been using my readers but after watching this video I decided to try a cheater lens I ordered a GLASS cheater lens and its alot better than my readers under the helmet I think my welds have improved 150%. Thanks for the info, keep up the good work....
Well Done I'm 61 & I know all about trying to see the tig weld puddle I have had to go to a 3.0 cheater lenses Thanks & with all things now I don't let anybody else use my helmet . I lock it up
This is a real eye opener for me! I just tried my wife's readers and wow what a difference. You nailed it on the head when you talked about the difference in reach out for MIG and stick. I just learned to TIG weld at 42 years old and having a hard time seeing. I never knew about cheater lenses. That is a game changer for me. Thanks
I have been a boilermaker for over 30 years welding for a living definitely hurts your eyes. Back in the day we only had one kind Lens and they would heat up and explode. Welding helmets have come a long way. 🇦🇺👨🏭
I use a 2.0. Im not old, just like to magnify the crap out of the puddle. I find it makes it easier to get the weld profile that I am looking for, especially if Im welding something where Im trying to get good aesthetics.
I'm trying to find some cheater lenses for my Jackson helmet. I bought the helmet way back when I first bought my Everlast welder but now my eyes feel like they need some help. The cheaters for my helmet are a bit hard to find in the local stores near me and I really want to try before I buy.
seriously do you need to use that language? Wroger Wroger. Yes, we call them "cheater" lenses here in the US. It has nothing to do with cheating. They are magnifiers that help us see the puddle better. Please keep your foul language to yourself. You are disgracing my trade.
I am a former industrial forklift mechanic and welded almost daily as part of my job and could lay down some nice welds. Gas, stick, MIG, TIG; I could hang with the best of them. At 48 I went into a supervisory role and quit welding for 15 years. I recently was given an old Miller DC stick welder by a friend and thought I'd do a few projects. I was surprised at how bad I had gotten and blamed it all on the time off. Shazam... It was my eyesight. What a game changer. Thanks.
Mr.Tig.... Geese I wish I'd known about you years ago. I lived in Cape Coral. After the mother of my kids passed I had to move to another state and stay over. Looking story short my job of 6 years was closed and sent to China and I'm not as she 47 back in school which happens to be for welding. I'm struggling severely with my flux overheard 1" beveled with having plate. I believe partly from vision and unfortunately a pretty banged up body. Lol I love welding and refuse to give up. Your videos have been amazing and helpful. Just wanted to let you know. I visit my mother from time to time and really hope to be able to stop in and maybe be lucky enough to take a short class maybe? Great job.. Not all welders are young with perfect eyes and so forth. There is a huge demand for videos for older welders tricks and tips. Hope you keep them coming!
I stocked cheaters in various diopters when I ran a welding school toolroom. The students could try them to see what worked (everyone is different). It got them much more useful time welding and reduced filler waste so drastically it more than paid for the cheaters. If you use a flip front helmet you can use the cheater for welding and grinding. We also suggested Walmart reading glasses which helped some students.. I wear glasses and always remind welders that your optometrist can write multiple prescriptions in one visit. I don't bother with bifocals and instead have separate near and distance vision prescriptions. Costs less than bifocals, works better, and is much less expensive when you destroy the NV glasses at work. If you don't have a current eye exam, get one. Poor vision doesn't "hurt" so people assume they can see when they can't, but your welds don't lie! Remember to protect your cheater like any other lens, with a clear plate on the outside of your stack. I buy clears by the box online for the same reason I don't buy toilet paper by the sheet.
Really helpful stuff. Comments too. One fellow suggested splitting the magnification between cheater and readers, so he's not blind with the helmet up. "welcome to my world"! It would be nice if cheaters came tall enough to fill my Digital elite lense completely.
Just a tip. My current welding helmet has spring wires that hold the tinted glass in place, and the arrangement of those wires makes it impossible to install a second full-thickness lens (my previous helmet didn't have this problem). Others may have helmets with that same issue. What I did was to install a tab of duct tape on each side of the cheater lens and put those tabs beneath the hold-down wires. Make the tabs from two layers of tape which are facing each other and fold over any places where the two layers don't perfectly match, so there are no exposed sticky surfaces. The tabs are easy to slide up and down behind the hold-down wires for positioning the cheater lens at the right height for whatever angle of sight you need for a particular application (such as looking through the upper or lower part of the main lens).
One thing you overlooked with cheater lenses is when the helmet is raised the cheaters are no longer useful so I use a 1.5 cheater and 1.5 reading glasses so I can see clearly with the helmet in the up position. Thought this might be helpful. Tom
I’m a welder of 48 years experience and only needed assistance for my eyesight for the last three or so years, My recommendation is to get the bigger lens Glasses as they not only give a great view of the workpiece but when you put your helmet up to grind or chip, they are usually plastic of some sort and will save you reaching for your safety glasses...
Great video Mr Tig, I'm in the same boat. I have prescription bi-focal safety glasses, and I had them put the cut line in the glasses a fraction higher than my everyday glasses and they are great. Because I have my helmet on and off a lot throughout the day and I still need to see what i'm doing I need bi-focals, but I still get full view area through my welding helmet. Scott.
Started welding when I was 9. Haven't done it for a living for about 20 years.... in that time, the short distance in front of the eyes has definitely gone fuzzy. However, one of the most annoying problems for me has never been magnification. What prevents me from seeing through the lens is the back light above and around behind me making a whiteout glare on the inside of the mask.... Doesn't happen when I weld after dark.... But boy does that make a big difference!!! Got to put some kind of hood over the back of the mask... maybe a nice garment weight leather flap...
Get a pipeliner helmet, I call them "moon face" helmets, they have a soft wood block that custom form fits around you face. pipeliners use them because they weld out door's often with the sun at their back. you can also fit a cheater and auto lens in them if needed. I have seen these from 80 to 150 bucks and most are OSHA approved.
thank you. my wife wears the 2.0's also for her jewelry and cross stitching; i used to actually wear a second pair of sunglasses under the helmet (way before the auto darkening variety) on aluminum work - the arc force is very easy to observe in the video, again thank you. * im still praying - someday the 'vision' people providing these specialty lenses will be making custom order automobile windshields albeit hard to imagine, easy to find fault.
Good info. I tried to learn welding in college sculpture, & my professor had no solutions when I said I could not see what I was doing. He told me it was my problem & was very cruel about it, a fighter, when I was not fighting, & then blaming me for the fighting on top of it! Such a bizarre experience. When I said I was doing research to find solutions, & talking to pro welders, he then took that as an insult, when it was not meant that way, & said he had no obligation to deal with students need to see for welding- that it had nothing to do with his role as a teacher. (He was creating dispute of it). I lost my chance to learn to weld my sculpture over this, as his solution- just tell me No, do not weld your sculpture. (We were told to pick anything we wanted to make, & learn to do. I wanted to learn to use the college welder & make a metal sculpture. We make life hard on people when it doesn't have to be that way). I also have the issue that I need very strong cheater lenses, & cant seem to find them in the larger size glass; the options are very limited above 2.50. Since I have bifocals, this video's info is greatly helpful to think about- how horrible they would be for welding. The reading glass option sounds great for me, as I tried on every pair of reading glasses at the store, & even in the stronger lenses, oddly, even with the same magnification (3.25, when most are 3.00 as the strongest), only one 3.25 lens in the whole store rack would work for me, as I tested it with reading at the store. I think I can hold them in place with a sport elastic eye band as a solution. Blessings everyone. Peace. Love wins.
i ended up getting the miller digital and lens... it is like night and day! i did not want to spend the money for the digital, but then i suffered looking at the lens! I wished i did it years earlier. the color clarity is unreal
I had a pair of glasses made for reading the computer that hada focal point further out than readers. Turns out they are perfect for working in the shop and excellent for welding.
Bought a cheater lense for mine, solved all those issues for sure instantly! Can't go wrong for $5......I went back to using stick after years of using mig, and was having B&^$% of a time with my reading glasses until I discovered the cheater lense.
Cheater lenses are great if you are bench welding. Some of us do Mig and Tig on a bench and inside cars. Can't always find that Sweet spot with the cheater lenses. I found a comfortable reading glasses from Walgreens and use a elastic band made for sunglasses. Keeps the glasses where they need to be and when I have to reach out with the Mig gun I can slide them off and weld. Easier than removing and installing a cheater lenses. If I was bench welding all day then the cheater lenses are the way to go.
You are so right, I have progressives and they are hopeless. I also tried glasses that were set for the distance and then when I go hoods up I couldn't see the welding rod! Im off tomorrow to get some of these cheater lens's I've never heard of them. Thank you. Im a home shop guy so dont come across this sort of stuff as Im not in the trade.
When I installed cheater lens I finally could see the puddle and my welds improved radically; with mask on I was able to look through the upper part of my prescription lenses and never seen details
Thank you for telling us which way the beveled cheater lens goes in the helmet. I guess it does not matter if the bevels face in or out, thank you again
I didnt know they mades those. I'm gonna order a few. My vision is crap lol. A older welder told me years ago since my vision wasn't great not to get into welding. Well i didn't listen lol. Sometimes i may be a lil close but it works for me. Ive found throughput my life my vision or the way i have to do things to fit me only bothers other people lol.
I have to wear prescription eyeglasses all the time. I found a pair of clip-on, 3x magnification lenses that really help me at HARBOR FREIGHT, part #66825 from Western Safety. They flip up and down on my daily eyeglasses and I love the magnification strength plus they only cost $6. Next time I get down to Airgas, I'll have to bring my hood and try the "cheater" lens you recommend. Thanks again for your time and effort to make the video... I hope my 2 cents of input helps someone...... It stinks not being able to see the weld puddle.
Yes!!! Brought here by my bifocals, which I finally realized were hard to get aligned with the welding hood on. For other "close in" work, I've usually taken my glasses off for best results. Should have known this would also apply to welding. I've been trying to weld at 12 inches mostly through my distance lens. Sheesh! One question though. Are we really talking about magnification or correction? When I switch from my distance lens to the close in bifocal, then to bare eyes, it does not look like a change in magnification, just clarity.
❤️ I’m struggling with this with mig welding too. I have progressive lenses and have tried reading glasses, but I still can’t see. I’m farsighted and have a lot of trouble close up. I have had a lot of luck with using shop lights on my work to help me with some of the contrast issues, but it’s still blurry no matter what. Since the reading glasses aren’t working, I’m not sure if a cheater lens would help or not? Thanks! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I had to try on every pair at the store, & discovered 3.00, about as strong as most brands go, was not strong enough. Turns out, I needed 3.25, & even then, only one pair out of all the 3.25 I could find in the store would work. You would think 3.25 is 3.25, & any of them would work, but I found that is not the case for off the shelf store readers. So I recommend to really test them out before purchase, holding small text at the store (such as the extremely small print on some eye drops bottles). It is possible to also get such readers as a prescription, if you need the stronger ones, which are much less expensive they bifocals, etc.
This will not work if you are near sited and have bad vision. You will need to have a pair of glasses made for you. I am an optician. I recommend that you get your eyes checked and talk to the optometrist to get the best prescription to use.
I was out of welding for six years. I come back and I sucked. I thought, Damn! I used to be good at this? I got a cheater lens for my Digital Elite and I'm good again.
My buddy uses a gold plated lens on his helmet \at his work, I tried it out and i can see every inch of clarity on what I'm welding , like it's completely daylight, while i weld !!! and of course it's about a 10-11 shade ..may i get your recommendation and also a video on using this type ? and also your opinion.. Thank you
In 2008 I made a HUGE mistake. I was 56 at the time, I had become "mooon blind' or 'night blind'. I used to drive long haul trucks, I could run from North Texas to Los Angeles in 28 to 32 hours on some trips. Most took a little longer but I could cover some GROUND in those days if I had a Truck that would pat that pavement. I have worn glasses since I was 8 years old as I was NEAR SIGHTED. Then in 1996 I went back to college and I had to get Bi-Focals to READ the larger amount I had to read at tthe time. The Bifocals and a 1.25 cheater lens for my helmet to WELD stick. But to drive trucks at NIGHT you must be able to SEE!!! I have been welding stick for a LONG TIME. Off and on since high school. My NIGHT vision is gone forever. Now the welding thing is tough. That Crystal Lens implant srewed up both occupations for me. Man is it a disaster. I went to DR. Harvey Carter in Dallas, he was one of two men in Texas that could implant the Crystal Lens. It was supposed to CURE my Night Blindness, it didn't *it made it much worse* I paid $15,000 CASH for that. It is a DISASTER!!! Not only THAT it made my vision DIFFERENT for EVERYTHING. I have Tried over and over to find the right combination. I bought a MORE POWERFUL MAGNIFIER for my helmet and on some days I can see just fine, but on others I must wear Reading glasses on top of the Magnifier. Also, I must put EYE DROPS in my eyes every HOUR and some days every 15 minutes. Did NOT have to do that before the surgery. Man, AVOID THE CRYSTAL LENS IMPLANTS every way you can. Once you get them, your goose is COOKED. It CANNOT be reversed. What I have figured out is, the IMPLANTS, they OVER REACT. When I meet a Vehicle at night, or when I try to weld, the GLARE from oncoming Traffic makes my lens OVER REACT. They constrict suddenly and STAY that way. Same way with welding. I go from Light to Dark and then back to LIGHT to weld. You know, I am looking at at the Work it is light, then drop hood and then strike an arc, so that is Light to Dark, to GLARE when I weld ANY KIND of welding. The oncoming traffic makes my Pupils constrict suddenly and they STAY that way andI cannot get enough LIGHT TO SEE!!! *Same way with welding, Light to dar, to Glare, my eyes just over react to those swift changes* I bought a TIG MACHINE A Lincoln Square Wave 275, been trying to get better at "Tigging" but the eye thing is pure hell for me. It ruined my stick welding at first. I finally got where I could see good enough to see that. But I am having a hard time with seeing TIG. My vision CHANGES several times an HOUR. So if it is working one minute, it is no guarantee it will work the next. You have a GOOD channel. Good Video too. BB
Walmart sells safety lenses you can get with your eye prescription. Also I weld and cannot drive at night because of glare from all these new trucks led headlights. What works for me is glasses with Anti-glare on them. You can get them at Walmart also or different shops online. My prescribed glasses only cost me $80 with no insurance online and had Anti-glare added on them. Best decision I have made. I can drive at night with no problem now.
Well, I learned that the Weldwatch camera shoots a miserable image, at least in this instance. I wear progressives, found them worse than useless for welding until I upgraded to the best Nikon progressives. They have a wider focus zone and the arc doesn’t appear to jump away when struck. I had my optometrist write a script for a pair of single vision glasses. I just held out my hand the distance I wanted and he did the rest. I can’t see much else with them, sure, but they’re great for welding and working under the car.
yes you can wear progressive scripts and tig, stick ect. use the required dopter(cheaters are import, they allow you fuge where you are looking through the lens so you are not moving your head out of a comfortable position) to magnify the puddle at a comfortable distance and get a "Auto" lens, this allows you to get the proper focal point BEFORE you strike your arc. anybody who wears these lenses should know how your progressives work. a plus is spending the extra bucks a get digital progressive, (ask your eye doctor to explain). wearing pros is a learning curve which many people give up on and go back to line lenses. I struggled in the beginning and almost gave up welding because I couldn't see properly, The auto lens was the key that put it all together.
Post lasix eyes: have crap near vision but see like an eagle at distance. And those new sunglasses? Well now. I am handsome AF on the beach...well...my eyes are. Anyhow, welding after corrective eye surgery is a challenge. This little lesson solved all that. Thanks!
Had to mig weld a 11/2 extension to a 1/78 fence post that someone buried too deep. So, results?....the post was an 11/2" too short. So I got a 11/2" add on. I started the weld ok but I "lost" the line of connection when the welder started to do it's work. Results? Missed some and my weld was a bit crooked. LOL....I managed to do the weld but it looked like crap! Had a lost of grinding to do to make it "presentable" and true enough to accept the top post cap. Ami I in the wrong position? I seem to have trouble with the helmet that is a shade 10.
I use a 2.0 cheater as well. I'm a retired welder but still like to dabble. I'm wondering if you can buy a cheater lens that is larger and will fit the entire lens area? Like 4.5. X. 5.25. Thanks and good video.... Next question is I used to have an auto helmet when I was working... now that I'm retired I just have a cheap O hood... was wanting to get another auto like I used to have but don't want to spend a lot of $$$$$ as I don't use it that much,,, what would you suggest??
I am liking to be seeing the cheater lense for welding because Im not seeing as well as when I was being a younger person, this is so much better with the weld watch camera it seems other people want to blind you and that makes their video useless to me
I was able to print off the eye chart from somewhere on the net and determine I needed a 2.25 cheater lens. Think it was on one of the welding supply websites. Love it but I still wear my progressive glasses at same time, may try w/o sometime using just plain safety glasses. Just tried no glasses w/cheater and it reduced depth of clear vision to 1/2 that with glasses.
The head of the welding department where I took welding at ages 69-70 got me a pair of 3.25 diopter reading glasses. I was looking at the puddle from about six inches.
When I was younger I was a decent welder but it wasn’t my trade, now I have a huge problem seeing, I wander off the fissure and usually don’t realize I’m doing it until it’s too late, glasses help but seeing is still what’s giving me grief.
Couple points - most 'reading glasses' are now set to a distance for computer viewing, bit too far for reading a book. I got some prescription reading glasses for book reading distance and I use them for work, welding etc. For computer I got another pair of prescription glasses for 18-24 inch distance. This is about the same as the cheap reading glasses but they are much sharper. The cheapies are better than nothing but are cheap plastic and aren't able to resolve fine stuff, plus the distance might be too much for TIG. I haven't tried cheater lenses to tell what kind of distance they're good for but if specifically for TIG they should work for shorter distances that we need. The bottom line is there's nothing that comes close to prescription glass if you can afford it.
I had a pair made. Bifocal! Both lenses for close up though. Upper lens for , like you said, around 24 inches, lower lens about 10ish inches. Also had them increase the power beyond what I actually needed on the lower, like a magnifying glass . I can see details with this setup better than I could see as a young man. You have to ask (demand), but they can make whatever you want. Since I don't need glasses for distance, if I get them just right on my nose, I can do anything without swapping! Cost was the same as regular bifocals. You just need to tell them EXACTLY what you want. I just accepted whatever they handed me before. Cheers
kinda on topic...I have been playing with a flux core wire feed welder and find that my auto-darkening helmet, makes it so that about all I see is the arc. The piece I was working on was just about black under the helmet. I tried different level shading from 9 - 12 and found not much difference. What would you recommend for being able to see the piece better whilst welding? Better helmet? large bright spot light?
yes I will,BUT just once, my Dad got one and we had always used each others hellments,one time I was in the shop TRYING to weld something and every time I would strike a ark everything would move, I would raise the hood it was OK,drop hood strike ark everything would move, about this time dad came out and saw me with his hood and said why are u using my hood, it was handy, he said,it will be hard to see with it as I got a cheater lens the other day, boy he was right, and U are right, I never used his hood again
I have tried all of those things too, and agree that the cheater lens installed in the hood is a good way to go, but the problem I had in shop settings was that as soon as you flip the hood up to adjust something, read a print, or anything else, you are 'blind' again at reading distances, since the cheater is in your hood! But you need to be wearing safety glasses on the shop floor according to company safety rules, so you might buy safety glasses with cheaters to get by in your 'non-welding' time at work to comply with safety rules. Then you go to weld and you need to switch back to plain safety glasses, since you have a cheater lens in your hood! This switching between glasses all the time becomes a real hassle, and I still haven't figured out a good solution for it----there might not be one, unfortunately.
On longer useful so I use a 1.5 cheater and 1.5 reading glasses so,I can see clearly with the helmet in the up position. Thought this might be helpful. Tom
I'm near sighted I don't even wear my glasses to read so I'm wondering if I'll even need to wear glasses or use a cheater lens. I work for Amazon and they are going to pay for me to learn to weld. I'm followed g your channel now. I'll let you know how it goes.
I taught adult welding at the community college level. When ever I saw an older student struggling to read the puddle, I would ask him how old he was. If he said 40 or older I would suggest he go to the corner drug store, (There was one a block away) and and try some "cheaters".
I'm young and looking at getting into this stuff. Good to know there are things that compensate for my shit eyesight. I call them the "I'm bloody blind" lens.
dollar tree has usable ones for 1$ various powers. no concern about destroying them or having extras. Cheater lens stuck inside would be cool - can't forget it!
I was hoping this clip would talk about selecting the power of the cheater lens versus the distance from my head to the arc. No such luck. Without my glasses, I focus at about ten inches, which might be ok for TIG or MIG welding but seems close for stick welding.
60 years old. Just started TIG welding. The best way to learn is just start welding.
i've been using my readers but after watching this video I decided to try a cheater lens
I ordered a GLASS cheater lens and its alot better than my readers under the helmet
I think my welds have improved 150%.
Thanks for the info, keep up the good work....
I'm 62 and found these a couple of years ago. I don't know how I welded without them.
Well Done I'm 61 & I know all about trying to see the tig weld puddle I have had to go to a 3.0 cheater lenses Thanks & with all things now I don't let anybody else use my helmet . I lock it up
This is a real eye opener for me! I just tried my wife's readers and wow what a difference. You nailed it on the head when you talked about the difference in reach out for MIG and stick. I just learned to TIG weld at 42 years old and having a hard time seeing. I never knew about cheater lenses. That is a game changer for me. Thanks
I have been a boilermaker for over 30 years welding for a living definitely hurts your eyes. Back in the day we only had one kind Lens and they would heat up and explode. Welding helmets have come a long way. 🇦🇺👨🏭
Just ordered a cheater lens, I'm a beginner and people talk about this puddle thing, I'm hoping to see one soon !
Update you’re still welding ?
@@Mario-hd5se 🤣
Mr. Tig was the best. I miss him.
thanks for the tip, I'm 65, just starting out learning to weld. Those lenses will come in handy.
Jim
+Skip Tracer try to do something else don't be a welder .
+Skip Tracer try to do something else don't be a welder .
Go Skip! I'm 60, weld for fun. Very fun. Hope your experience over the past year was good.
thehegt Tr. welding is one of the best trades to have
thehegt Tr Shut the fuck up. Don’t tell him what he can do with his life. If the man wants to weld let him weld.
2.0! It's always good to hear from you young folks!! (Great info, thanks!)
Our pleasure!
6 years ago and still appreciated.
Thanks,
John
I use a 2.0. Im not old, just like to magnify the crap out of the puddle. I find it makes it easier to get the weld profile that I am looking for, especially if Im welding something where Im trying to get good aesthetics.
Thanks, I am 70 and was thinking that magnification would help me. I am going to give it a try.
I'm trying to find some cheater lenses for my Jackson helmet. I bought the helmet way back when I first bought my Everlast welder but now my eyes feel like they need some help. The cheaters for my helmet are a bit hard to find in the local stores near me and I really want to try before I buy.
..Yeah...I've got several of these (I'm 70)....and no where on the packaging does the word 'cheaters' appear...!
seriously do you need to use that language? Wroger Wroger. Yes, we call them "cheater" lenses here in the US. It has nothing to do with cheating. They are magnifiers that help us see the puddle better. Please keep your foul language to yourself. You are disgracing my trade.
@Wroger Wroger Pal, I'm English and our crowd also refer to them as cheater lenses. It's just a general term for them, no need to start hating.
I am a former industrial forklift mechanic and welded almost daily as part of my job and could lay down some nice welds. Gas, stick, MIG, TIG; I could hang with the best of them. At 48 I went into a supervisory role and quit welding for 15 years. I recently was given an old Miller DC stick welder by a friend and thought I'd do a few projects. I was surprised at how bad I had gotten and blamed it all on the time off. Shazam... It was my eyesight. What a game changer. Thanks.
They also make safety glasses in different magnifications. Great for everything around the shop, welding or otherwise.
This video is a life saver I'm 30/50/ 20/60 with glasses and have been welding for about 2 years I've never seen those before
Mr.Tig.... Geese I wish I'd known about you years ago. I lived in Cape Coral. After the mother of my kids passed I had to move to another state and stay over. Looking story short my job of 6 years was closed and sent to China and I'm not as she 47 back in school which happens to be for welding. I'm struggling severely with my flux overheard 1" beveled with having plate. I believe partly from vision and unfortunately a pretty banged up body. Lol I love welding and refuse to give up. Your videos have been amazing and helpful. Just wanted to let you know. I visit my mother from time to time and really hope to be able to stop in and maybe be lucky enough to take a short class maybe? Great job.. Not all welders are young with perfect eyes and so forth. There is a huge demand for videos for older welders tricks and tips. Hope you keep them coming!
I stocked cheaters in various diopters when I ran a welding school toolroom. The students could try them to see what worked (everyone is different). It got them much more useful time welding and reduced filler waste so drastically it more than paid for the cheaters. If you use a flip front helmet you can use the cheater for welding and grinding. We also suggested Walmart reading glasses which helped some students.. I wear glasses and always remind welders that your optometrist can write multiple prescriptions in one visit. I don't bother with bifocals and instead have separate near and distance vision prescriptions. Costs less than bifocals, works better, and is much less expensive when you destroy the NV glasses at work.
If you don't have a current eye exam, get one. Poor vision doesn't "hurt" so people assume they can see when they can't, but your welds don't lie!
Remember to protect your cheater like any other lens, with a clear plate on the outside of your stack. I buy clears by the box online for the same reason I don't buy toilet paper by the sheet.
Really helpful stuff. Comments too. One fellow suggested splitting the magnification between cheater and readers, so he's not blind with the helmet up. "welcome to my world"! It would be nice if cheaters came tall enough to fill my Digital elite lense completely.
Just a tip. My current welding helmet has spring wires that hold the tinted glass in place, and the arrangement of those wires makes it impossible to install a second full-thickness lens (my previous helmet didn't have this problem). Others may have helmets with that same issue. What I did was to install a tab of duct tape on each side of the cheater lens and put those tabs beneath the hold-down wires. Make the tabs from two layers of tape which are facing each other and fold over any places where the two layers don't perfectly match, so there are no exposed sticky surfaces. The tabs are easy to slide up and down behind the hold-down wires for positioning the cheater lens at the right height for whatever angle of sight you need for a particular application (such as looking through the upper or lower part of the main lens).
One thing you overlooked with cheater lenses is when the helmet is raised the cheaters are no longer useful so I use a 1.5 cheater and 1.5 reading glasses so I can see clearly with the helmet in the up position. Thought this might be helpful. Tom
I use the same set up with my Esab helmet, works every time.
I have the same issue but I'm right at 1.5 so I find I don't like using the cheaters.
Thanks
I keep on learning TIG welding, this helped me enormously, now I see what I do,
Thousand thanks
As an "old guy", thanks for this!
I’m a welder of 48 years experience and only needed assistance for my eyesight for the last three or so years, My recommendation is to get the bigger lens Glasses as they not only give a great view of the workpiece but when you put your helmet up to grind or chip, they are usually plastic of some sort and will save you reaching for your safety glasses...
Great video Mr Tig, I'm in the same boat. I have prescription bi-focal safety glasses, and I had them put the cut line in the glasses a fraction higher than my everyday glasses and they are great. Because I have my helmet on and off a lot throughout the day and I still need to see what i'm doing I need bi-focals, but I still get full view area through my welding helmet. Scott.
I’m 57 just started to learn tig about a week and a half ago ,just ordered a cheater for my helmet
Started welding when I was 9. Haven't done it for a living for about 20 years.... in that time, the short distance in front of the eyes has definitely gone fuzzy. However, one of the most annoying problems for me has never been magnification. What prevents me from seeing through the lens is the back light above and around behind me making a whiteout glare on the inside of the mask.... Doesn't happen when I weld after dark.... But boy does that make a big difference!!! Got to put some kind of hood over the back of the mask... maybe a nice garment weight leather flap...
i found the same problem, used a tab of a cardboard box and some metal tape and she held nicely
Get a pipeliner helmet, I call them "moon face" helmets, they have a soft wood block that custom form fits around you face. pipeliners use them because they weld out door's often with the sun at their back. you can also fit a cheater and auto lens in them if needed. I have seen these from 80 to 150 bucks and most are OSHA approved.
Very good advice, thank you! I always get my son to weld the small stuff but I really need to get a cheater lens now before he 'overtakes' me!
thank you. my wife wears the 2.0's also for her jewelry and cross stitching; i used to actually wear a second pair of sunglasses under the helmet (way before the auto darkening variety) on aluminum work - the arc force is very easy to observe in the video, again thank you.
* im still praying - someday the 'vision' people providing these specialty lenses will be making custom order automobile windshields albeit hard to imagine, easy to find fault.
Good info. I tried to learn welding in college sculpture, & my professor had no solutions when I said I could not see what I was doing. He told me it was my problem & was very cruel about it, a fighter, when I was not fighting, & then blaming me for the fighting on top of it! Such a bizarre experience. When I said I was doing research to find solutions, & talking to pro welders, he then took that as an insult, when it was not meant that way, & said he had no obligation to deal with students need to see for welding- that it had nothing to do with his role as a teacher. (He was creating dispute of it). I lost my chance to learn to weld my sculpture over this, as his solution- just tell me No, do not weld your sculpture. (We were told to pick anything we wanted to make, & learn to do. I wanted to learn to use the college welder & make a metal sculpture. We make life hard on people when it doesn't have to be that way). I also have the issue that I need very strong cheater lenses, & cant seem to find them in the larger size glass; the options are very limited above 2.50. Since I have bifocals, this video's info is greatly helpful to think about- how horrible they would be for welding. The reading glass option sounds great for me, as I tried on every pair of reading glasses at the store, & even in the stronger lenses, oddly, even with the same magnification (3.25, when most are 3.00 as the strongest), only one 3.25 lens in the whole store rack would work for me, as I tested it with reading at the store. I think I can hold them in place with a sport elastic eye band as a solution. Blessings everyone. Peace. Love wins.
Yep Wyatt you and I both use a 2.0 and it sure helps
I recommend to have each of the welders test what works and they are cheap
Been using readers, definitely looking for a pair of cheaters. Thanks man I had no idea they existed. Stay safe
I'm 56 and I have progressive lenses. Yes I do move my head around a lot. Thanks for the tip of cheater lenses. I'll be picking up a pair.
Some great advice! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
I could not agree more. I use a pair of glasses just for welding and two cheater lenses. getting old sucks but at least I can still weld
i ended up getting the miller digital and lens... it is like night and day! i did not want to spend the money for the digital, but then i suffered looking at the lens! I wished i did it years earlier. the color clarity is unreal
I had a pair of glasses made for reading the computer that hada focal point further out than readers. Turns out they are perfect for working in the shop and excellent for welding.
Bought a cheater lense for mine, solved all those issues for sure instantly! Can't go wrong for $5......I went back to using stick after years of using mig, and was having B&^$% of a time with my reading glasses until I discovered the cheater lense.
Crazy I grew up there and I just started welding 6 years ago I was in middle school
Great tip! With implant lenses and partial cornea transplant, I might have a set of safety glasses made at a single focus for welding distance...
Cheater lenses are great if you are bench welding. Some of us do Mig and Tig on a bench and inside cars. Can't always find that Sweet spot with the cheater lenses. I found a comfortable reading glasses from Walgreens and use a elastic band made for sunglasses. Keeps the glasses where they need to be and when I have to reach out with the Mig gun I can slide them off and weld. Easier than removing and installing a cheater lenses. If I was bench welding all day then the cheater lenses are the way to go.
that's what I ended up doing. the lenses never fit just so for every situation.
You are so right, I have progressives and they are hopeless. I also tried glasses that were set for the distance and then when I go hoods up I couldn't see the welding rod! Im off tomorrow to get some of these cheater lens's I've never heard of them. Thank you. Im a home shop guy so dont come across this sort of stuff as Im not in the trade.
When I installed cheater lens I finally could see the puddle and my welds improved radically; with mask on I was able to look through the upper part of my prescription lenses and never seen details
Thank you for telling us which way the beveled cheater lens goes in the helmet. I guess it does not matter if the bevels face in or out, thank you again
I didnt know they mades those. I'm gonna order a few. My vision is crap lol. A older welder told me years ago since my vision wasn't great not to get into welding. Well i didn't listen lol. Sometimes i may be a lil close but it works for me. Ive found throughput my life my vision or the way i have to do things to fit me only bothers other people lol.
I have to wear prescription eyeglasses all the time. I found a pair of clip-on, 3x magnification lenses that really help me at HARBOR FREIGHT, part #66825 from Western Safety. They flip up and down on my daily eyeglasses and I love the magnification strength plus they only cost $6. Next time I get down to Airgas, I'll have to bring my hood and try the "cheater" lens you recommend. Thanks again for your time and effort to make the video... I hope my 2 cents of input helps someone...... It stinks not being able to see the weld puddle.
Being an old guy, bifocals even progressive have you looking through lower part of lens, I use lense inserts
I used my teachers welding helmet he had a cheater lens...
Wounding all up in my face is wonderful
Yes!!! Brought here by my bifocals, which I finally realized were hard to get aligned with the welding hood on. For other "close in" work, I've usually taken my glasses off for best results. Should have known this would also apply to welding. I've been trying to weld at 12 inches mostly through my distance lens. Sheesh!
One question though. Are we really talking about magnification or correction? When I switch from my distance lens to the close in bifocal, then to bare eyes, it does not look like a change in magnification, just clarity.
❤️ I’m struggling with this with mig welding too. I have progressive lenses and have tried reading glasses, but I still can’t see. I’m farsighted and have a lot of trouble close up. I have had a lot of luck with using shop lights on my work to help me with some of the contrast issues, but it’s still blurry no matter what. Since the reading glasses aren’t working, I’m not sure if a cheater lens would help or not?
Thanks! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I had to try on every pair at the store, & discovered 3.00, about as strong as most brands go, was not strong enough. Turns out, I needed 3.25, & even then, only one pair out of all the 3.25 I could find in the store would work. You would think 3.25 is 3.25, & any of them would work, but I found that is not the case for off the shelf store readers. So I recommend to really test them out before purchase, holding small text at the store (such as the extremely small print on some eye drops bottles). It is possible to also get such readers as a prescription, if you need the stronger ones, which are much less expensive they bifocals, etc.
This will not work if you are near sited and have bad vision. You will need to have a pair of glasses made for you. I am an optician. I recommend that you get your eyes checked and talk to the optometrist to get the best prescription to use.
I was out of welding for six years. I come back and I sucked. I thought, Damn! I used to be good at this? I got a cheater lens for my Digital Elite and I'm good again.
My buddy uses a gold plated lens on his helmet \at his work, I tried it out and i can see every inch of clarity on what I'm welding , like it's completely daylight, while i weld !!! and of course it's about a 10-11 shade ..may i get your recommendation and also a video on using this type ? and also your opinion.. Thank you
In 2008 I made a HUGE mistake. I was 56 at the time, I had become "mooon blind' or 'night blind'. I used to drive long haul trucks, I could run from North Texas to Los Angeles in 28 to 32 hours on some trips. Most took a little longer but I could cover some GROUND in those days if I had a Truck that would pat that pavement. I have worn glasses since I was 8 years old as I was NEAR SIGHTED. Then in 1996 I went back to college and I had to get Bi-Focals to READ the larger amount I had to read at tthe time. The Bifocals and a 1.25 cheater lens for my helmet to WELD stick. But to drive trucks at NIGHT you must be able to SEE!!! I have been welding stick for a LONG TIME. Off and on since high school. My NIGHT vision is gone forever. Now the welding thing is tough. That Crystal Lens implant srewed up both occupations for me. Man is it a disaster.
I went to DR. Harvey Carter in Dallas, he was one of two men in Texas that could implant the Crystal Lens. It was supposed to CURE my Night Blindness, it didn't *it made it much worse* I paid $15,000 CASH for that. It is a DISASTER!!! Not only THAT it made my vision DIFFERENT for EVERYTHING. I have Tried over and over to find the right combination. I bought a MORE POWERFUL MAGNIFIER for my helmet and on some days I can see just fine, but on others I must wear Reading glasses on top of the Magnifier. Also, I must put EYE DROPS in my eyes every HOUR and some days every 15 minutes. Did NOT have to do that before the surgery. Man, AVOID THE CRYSTAL LENS IMPLANTS every way you can. Once you get them, your goose is COOKED. It CANNOT be reversed.
What I have figured out is, the IMPLANTS, they OVER REACT. When I meet a Vehicle at night, or when I try to weld, the GLARE from oncoming Traffic makes my lens OVER REACT. They constrict suddenly and STAY that way. Same way with welding. I go from Light to Dark and then back to LIGHT to weld. You know, I am looking at at the Work it is light, then drop hood and then strike an arc, so that is Light to Dark, to GLARE when I weld ANY KIND of welding. The oncoming traffic makes my Pupils constrict suddenly and they STAY that way andI cannot get enough LIGHT TO SEE!!! *Same way with welding, Light to dar, to Glare, my eyes just over react to those swift changes*
I bought a TIG MACHINE A Lincoln Square Wave 275, been trying to get better at "Tigging" but the eye thing is pure hell for me. It ruined my stick welding at first. I finally got where I could see good enough to see that. But I am having a hard time with seeing TIG. My vision CHANGES several times an HOUR. So if it is working one minute, it is no guarantee it will work the next. You have a GOOD channel. Good Video too. BB
Walmart sells safety lenses you can get with your eye prescription. Also I weld and cannot drive at night because of glare from all these new trucks led headlights. What works for me is glasses with Anti-glare on them. You can get them at Walmart also or different shops online. My prescribed glasses only cost me $80 with no insurance online and had Anti-glare added on them.
Best decision I have made. I can drive at night with no problem now.
Well, I learned that the Weldwatch camera shoots a miserable image, at least in this instance.
I wear progressives, found them worse than useless for welding until I upgraded to the best Nikon progressives. They have a wider focus zone and the arc doesn’t appear to jump away when struck.
I had my optometrist write a script for a pair of single vision glasses. I just held out my hand the distance I wanted and he did the rest. I can’t see much else with them, sure, but they’re great for welding and working under the car.
Welding over 40yrs. I did the exact same think
Glasseds work better
yes you can wear progressive scripts and tig, stick ect. use the required dopter(cheaters are import, they allow you fuge where you are looking through the lens so you are not moving your head out of a comfortable position) to magnify the puddle at a comfortable distance and get a "Auto" lens, this allows you to get the proper focal point BEFORE you strike your arc. anybody who wears these lenses should know how your progressives work. a plus is spending the extra bucks a get digital progressive, (ask your eye doctor to explain).
wearing pros is a learning curve which many people give up on and go back to line lenses.
I struggled in the beginning and almost gave up welding because I couldn't see properly, The auto lens was the key that put it all together.
Holy moly you're good I can see with my welding helmet now and your welds are great
Post lasix eyes: have crap near vision but see like an eagle at distance. And those new sunglasses? Well now. I am handsome AF on the beach...well...my eyes are. Anyhow, welding after corrective eye surgery is a challenge. This little lesson solved all that. Thanks!
Had to mig weld a 11/2 extension to a 1/78 fence post that someone buried too deep. So, results?....the post was an 11/2" too short. So I got a 11/2" add on. I started the weld ok but I "lost" the line of connection when the welder started to do it's work. Results? Missed some and my weld was a bit crooked. LOL....I managed to do the weld but it looked like crap! Had a lost of grinding to do to make it "presentable" and true enough to accept the top post cap. Ami I in the wrong position? I seem to have trouble with the helmet that is a shade 10.
I use a 2.0 cheater as well. I'm a retired welder but still like to dabble. I'm wondering if you can buy a cheater lens that is larger and will fit the entire lens area? Like 4.5. X. 5.25. Thanks and good video.... Next question is I used to have an auto helmet when I was working... now that I'm retired I just have a cheap O hood... was wanting to get another auto like I used to have but don't want to spend a lot of $$$$$ as I don't use it that much,,, what would you suggest??
I am liking to be seeing the cheater lense for welding because Im not seeing as well as when I was being a younger person, this is so much better with the weld watch camera it seems other people want to blind you and that makes their video useless to me
The old man had those lenses in every helmet in the shop.
I was able to print off the eye chart from somewhere on the net and determine I needed a 2.25 cheater lens. Think it was on one of the welding supply websites. Love it but I still wear my progressive glasses at same time, may try w/o sometime using just plain safety glasses. Just tried no glasses w/cheater and it reduced depth of clear vision to 1/2 that with glasses.
I use a 3.0 in my sugar scoop, and a 2.0 in my pancake.
seems to work well that way as the pancake is closer to my eyes.
Do cheater lenses fit all welding helmets or are there diffrent sizes. thanks much.
The head of the welding department where I took welding at ages 69-70 got me a pair of 3.25 diopter reading glasses. I was looking at the puddle from about six inches.
When I was younger I was a decent welder but it wasn’t my trade, now I have a huge problem seeing, I wander off the fissure and usually don’t realize I’m doing it until it’s too late, glasses help but seeing is still what’s giving me grief.
What is the best weld method for stainless steel please?
Cheers Gray
Where can I get one of those cheater lenses? I need one
Cheater lenses are common as mud. Your local welding supplier will have them or you can find them on Amazon or eBay.
@@flyingfarm1 THANK YOU!!🖐🤠👍
Couple points - most 'reading glasses' are now set to a distance for computer viewing, bit too far for reading a book. I got some prescription reading glasses for book reading distance and I use them for work, welding etc. For computer I got another pair of prescription glasses for 18-24 inch distance. This is about the same as the cheap reading glasses but they are much sharper. The cheapies are better than nothing but are cheap plastic and aren't able to resolve fine stuff, plus the distance might be too much for TIG. I haven't tried cheater lenses to tell what kind of distance they're good for but if specifically for TIG they should work for shorter distances that we need.
The bottom line is there's nothing that comes close to prescription glass if you can afford it.
I had a pair made. Bifocal! Both lenses for close up though. Upper lens for , like you said, around 24 inches, lower lens about 10ish inches. Also had them increase the power beyond what I actually needed on the lower, like a magnifying glass . I can see details with this setup better than I could see as a young man. You have to ask (demand), but they can make whatever you want. Since I don't need glasses for distance, if I get them just right on my nose, I can do anything without swapping! Cost was the same as regular bifocals. You just need to tell them EXACTLY what you want. I just accepted whatever they handed me before. Cheers
Good point and I intend to go back and get bifocals too. I'm also like you good at distance vision without glasses.
I have seen ads for blue and magenta (red) filters to reduce glare. have you had any experience with these?
Great info just can’t get past the name you give yourself! It tells me all I need to know
kinda on topic...I have been playing with a flux core wire feed welder and find that my auto-darkening helmet, makes it so that about all I see is the arc. The piece I was working on was just about black under the helmet.
I tried different level shading from 9 - 12 and found not much difference.
What would you recommend for being able to see the piece better whilst welding? Better helmet? large bright spot light?
What about mig welding? Is it the same? and also where do you get those at? Thank you for the answer. Ronnie.
Will all lenses fit in every Helmuts
Im in a match with ray charles as to who can weld better ! Im using the hubble telliscope to see what Im doing !!!!
yes I will,BUT just once, my Dad got one and we had always used each others hellments,one time I was in the shop TRYING to weld something and every time I would strike a ark everything would move, I would raise the hood it was OK,drop hood strike ark everything would move, about this time dad came out and saw me with his hood and said why are u using my hood, it was handy, he said,it will be hard to see with it as I got a cheater lens the other day, boy he was right, and U are right, I never used his hood again
What kind of machine are you using?
Just found this! I put a magnifying lens in my helmet,been like that for 4 years, a friend of mine uses reading glasses, lol to each his own,
Do you have any info on your training programs
Nice clean aluminum tig weld. What did you clean material with? My old boss used Brakleen. I said man this isn't right. I think it was chlorine gas.
I have tried all of those things too, and agree that the cheater lens installed in the hood is a good way to go, but the problem I had in shop settings was that as soon as you flip the hood up to adjust something, read a print, or anything else, you are 'blind' again at reading distances, since the cheater is in your hood! But you need to be wearing safety glasses on the shop floor according to company safety rules, so you might buy safety glasses with cheaters to get by in your 'non-welding' time at work to comply with safety rules. Then you go to weld and you need to switch back to plain safety glasses, since you have a cheater lens in your hood! This switching between glasses all the time becomes a real hassle, and I still haven't figured out a good solution for it----there might not be one, unfortunately.
You could try to get prescription safety glasses and wear them all the time..
Very helpful. Thanks a lot.
I would sure like to try those lenses but it seems as though the store no longer carries them, too bad.
Tell me I'm wrong...please!
Lens links are dead :(
how old is tig welding is it from the 40s,50s 60s or is it even newer than that it seems to be the most modern from of welding
Its been around for a long time, possibly back to the 30s, don't quote me, ha, but it was previously known as heliarc.
BTW...I used 2 different glasses. One for distance, one for reading and even take my glasses off when I need close up work.
Good video! I’ve become one of those older guys with cheaters.
Great video
no contacts .. ouch! I use a 2.5 when migging and stick , I 'm 65.
On longer useful so I use a 1.5 cheater and 1.5 reading glasses so,I can see clearly with the helmet in the up position. Thought this might be helpful. Tom
I went the site and can’t find them
I'm near sighted I don't even wear my glasses to read so I'm wondering if I'll even need to wear glasses or use a cheater lens. I work for Amazon and they are going to pay for me to learn to weld. I'm followed g your channel now. I'll let you know how it goes.
I taught adult welding at the community college level. When ever I saw an older student struggling to read the puddle, I would ask him how old he was. If he said 40 or older I would suggest he go to the corner drug store, (There was one a block away) and and try some "cheaters".
Thanks Ken A I like ur idea, gotta get me some
Good video. I agree, progressive lenses are crap for welding. I'm going to need to go to cheater lenses.
I'm young and looking at getting into this stuff. Good to know there are things that compensate for my shit eyesight.
I call them the "I'm bloody blind" lens.
dollar tree has usable ones for 1$ various powers. no concern about destroying them or having extras.
Cheater lens stuck inside would be cool - can't forget it!
I have Jackson Nemesiss safety glasses , one is 1.5 and the other is 2.0. They stay on my head and fit inside the helmet.
I started welding tig 7 years ago at 40 YO, I sure wish I had seen this video then.
I was hoping this clip would talk about selecting the power of the cheater lens versus the distance from my head to the arc. No such luck.
Without my glasses, I focus at about ten inches, which might be ok for TIG or MIG welding but seems close for stick welding.
Tried the Cheater Lens few years back. not bad but not worth it. just get the strongest reading glasses.