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  #31  
Old 08-28-2012, 08:29 PM
weldtoride weldtoride is offline
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Default Cobalt blue lenses

A lot of people mentioned cobalt blue lenses for aluminum in this thread.

The old shop teacher in me needs to interject something here:

Cobalt lenses were taken off the market many years ago here in the US as they had no UV protection and led to cataracts, a consequence of long-term UV exposure. They did really well on aluminum as far as cutting out the flux flare, and when you looked around at your surroundings with them on, life was a gas, to borrow a 60's term. They really do shed a "new light" on your surroundings.

That cataract bit is old info, and it may have been debunked, like coffee being bad for you, but it was the byline of the day.

Cobalt also became a pricey and rare commoditty in the late 70's, as familiar Bromo-Seltzer blue glass bottles went off the market and became blue plastic as international politics played with many mineral markets, including cobalt (not available on every continent). Remember, students: we were at Cold War heights with the Soviets back then and that meant war in the marketplace as well. Elements and industry ingredients not found on this continent or our sister continent to the south became "defense" essentials and were priced or available accordingly.

I have a couple of pairs, but I use one of Tinman's lenses for welding instead. I am particularly fond of my eyesight these days.

Some things have changed for the better from the "good ole days". Actually, many things if you take the time to look around.
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Last edited by weldtoride; 08-28-2012 at 08:37 PM.
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  #32  
Old 08-28-2012, 09:23 PM
fred26t fred26t is offline
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Default UV Problem...

...is why Kent White devoloped the new lens Tinman lens. You only get one pair of eyes. Fred26t
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  #33  
Old 08-29-2012, 01:32 AM
jack39 jack39 is offline
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Pete, I agree that the lenses do look to be green instead of the name Cobalt blue. Maybe they are a blend of different materials. I will report back when i recieve them.

David, I will probably also buy the alloweld glass lense as well , so i can do a comparison between the two.
My old welding goggles have the 50 mm round lenses, and when i emailed the ebay seller about the 50 mm alloweld , the price is each, not for a pair, so i decided to get a rectangular goggles to suit the cheapest alloweld lense (2 x 4 1/4")
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Last edited by jack39; 08-29-2012 at 01:41 AM.
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  #34  
Old 06-05-2014, 06:00 PM
Robert the builder Robert the builder is offline
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Default Update...

The link David has provided is now:

http://www.phillips-safety.com/weldi...ld-lenses.html

The link didn't work for me but I believe this is the same product.

Robert

BTW, has anyone any reports on the lenses they have tried? I am looking for anti orange sodium flare for gas welding aluminium. I need to wear glasses behind the filter, else the filter will be a waste of money because I won't be able to define the weld pool due to my poor eyesight!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Gardiner View Post
I read all about the aluminium welding glasses that Kent White invented and decided to do a bit of searching to see what I could find, I came up with this http://www.phillips-safety.com/Weldi...eld-Lenses.htm These seem to be exactly the same in all respects except price and they were developed by a company with the resources and expertise nessesary for this type of development. I hope this will be of interest to some of you and perhaps save you some money
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  #35  
Old 06-05-2014, 06:48 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert the builder View Post
The link David has provided is now:

http://www.phillips-safety.com/weldi...ld-lenses.html

The link didn't work for me but I believe this is the same product.

Robert

BTW, has anyone any reports on the lenses they have tried? I am looking for anti orange sodium flare for gas welding aluminium. I need to wear glasses behind the filter, else the filter will be a waste of money because I won't be able to define the weld pool due to my poor eyesight!!!
Hello Robert,

Ryan Phillips (owner, Phillips Safety) has sent me several pairs of his glass plates over the years, claiming that they are the "same."

I bought a pair of his $100 glass plates last year from him, and I can say they are NOT the same. They are a glued sandwich of didymium glass, shade 2.5, and a plain old green shade 3 welding glass. The edges are very rough and you can see the glue joint and they work as well as didymium, so just remember all the medical information about "glassblower's glaucoma" from those using the didyminum glass from the 1970's onward.
Would you like to borrow this lens to see for yourself?

Oh, and with any glass safety lens you have to be careful when handling it over concrete, steel tables, scrap bins, asphalt driveways, and etc because the glass does not always bounce when dropped. But if you think that safety glass is "fragile" remember that the Drop Ball Impact test is dropping a one inch diameter steel ball from 50 inches onto the glass plate. I've broken a few, and like tempered auto glass that can take a good shot to its face, the edges are the weak points.

I have plastic safety eyewear that I use in the shop for some applications. It is cheaper and it scratches - and it does not hold its optical value in bright light over time. Depends on what your eyes are worth, I guess.

I tested my prototypes for 10 years before making and selling it. I've used them almost daily since 1981, and I now use +1.5d reading glasses. We hear grumbles about the cost, and that our manufacturing information is not made public, but the quality has proven good over the past twenty-five years. It is also available in shades 12 and 14, by request.

"just one guy" and his opinion,
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  #36  
Old 06-06-2014, 12:44 AM
kjc kjc is offline
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I have bought a fair bit of stuff from Kent over the years, and I can say that while his gear is not always the cheapest, it IS always of high quality.

Plus the service is A1.
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  #37  
Old 06-06-2014, 05:10 AM
Jim Tomczyk Jim Tomczyk is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert the builder View Post

BTW, has anyone any reports on the lenses they have tried? I am looking for anti orange sodium flare for gas welding aluminium. I need to wear glasses behind the filter, else the filter will be a waste of money because I won't be able to define the weld pool due to my poor eyesight!!!
Hi Robert

Have a look at the below link for this previous thread and you should be able to get these that will do the job well and SAFELY , yet at a very reasonable cost in the UK - their especially good if you wear specs as it's a visor. thread was unfortunately closed by the administrators as it got a little - shall we say "heated"

http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=9151

Let us know how you find them in use

Jimt
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  #38  
Old 06-06-2014, 01:20 PM
David Gardiner David Gardiner is offline
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These visors are exellent! I have had mine for several months now and I do tend to mistreat my stuff, it has become a little scratched but I can still see clearly! This is the best thing I have ever used for welding with or without flux everything is clear and as Jim said its great if you wear specs. I cannot recoment the visors highly enough. Best of al they are reasonably priced. James keeps taking it thats the only down side!.

David
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