I can't see good when I weld anymore.

[sugarmommachoppers]

I sure can tell I'm getting old. I can't see good when I weld anymore. Man, when I weld, I always screw up the start of my weld because I get off of the seam of the two pieces of metal where I'm welding because I can't see very good when the starting transition from dark to weld flash comes up. I only screw up when I start to weld and get off seam.
This is going to sound real dumb, But the best thing I did to help my welding is to use a flashlight.Use a small 2 battery AA, 1 LED flashlight. I use a HF helmet and when I use a MIG, I hold a flashlight in one hand and the stinger in the other. When I use a TIG, I hold the flashlight and the rod together. I put the helmet down use the flashlight to SEE where I'm going to start the weld, line up the stinger and bang! Start welding. Once started I throw down the flashlight and keep welding.{Not with TIG cause I can't let go of the rod too.} Also, I use + 2.00 reading glasses all the time and can see at about 2 to 2 1/2 feet from my eyes, But when I'm welding I use a + 2.75 or 3.00 set of glasses and get about 1 1/2 feet from what I'm welding with the flashlight start and my welding improves a bunch. But it's a lot hotter on my face. If it's real dark where I'm welding I keep using the flashlight to see the seam in the two pieces of metal. You would think you couldn't see the flashlight in the now dark helmet but you can. [ Or I don't have the helmet set dark enough!] I know it's dumb but it works for this old flatlander! Mark D

[Kerry Pinkerton]

I know how you feel Mark. Have you seen this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHmrC8_27js

I've been meaning to do that. There are some welding helmets with automatic LEDs that turn on when the arc starts and off when it stops. High dollar helmets though.

[Metlmodr]

I had the same problem....exactly as you say. 2 mag glasses to see and 2.5 or 3.0 glasses to weld with! Stupid welding helmet had 9 shade lens in it.

Changed to a shade 8 lens and wallah...............I CAN SEE! Might only be one shade, but a WORLD of difference. Your optics are about as stuffed as mine.....must be something about getting o ol ol err, not being so young anymore.

[Marty Comstock]

Its not all about getting old or anything, I still have great vision *knocks wood* and one reason I bought my spendy Miller Elite series hood was that in its natural state it was very light. Its like wearing light sunglasses when the shade is off. I can see the world, and still manage in dark corners when called upon.

There is also a product that clamps to your MIG torch too that is supposed to be able to be seen through a non auto darkening lens as well, been meanin to get one, but never have gotten around to getting it. I imagine it would work equally well for TIG. I bet it would be good for gas welding, for folk that like darker lenses .

Marty

[Gudmundur]

well it is not just age i have been blinde as a bat from when i was 7 years old or so ,couldnt see the darn sheep i was supose to chase out of the fields back home maby mom should have been a cattlefarmer instead of a sheep farmer , so now i got one of thos oldfolks welding helmet with magnifying glass on it .

[custommetal]

Try looking into one of those cheap high intensity lites (110v) and mount it on a magnetic base with a flexible gooseneck. That way it can be placed on any metal surface and adjusted as close as you need for good light. I also bought one of those cheap (HF) magnifiying lens that you wear over your head ($5), pulled the lens out, and it fit inside my helmut under the hold down for the glass. Just need to find what is convient for your work.
George

[John Buchtenkirch]

Originally Posted by Kerry Pinkerton

I know how you feel Mark. Have you seen this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHmrC8_27js

I've been meaning to do that. There are some welding helmets with automatic LEDs that turn on when the arc starts and off when it stops. High dollar helmets though.

Didn’t even know such an animal existed (maybe because I don’t wear ball caps) but a cap +headlight search on eBay turned up 143 of them. Cheap enough, has the possibility of being very helpful, particularly for older eyes. ~ John Buchtenkirch

P.S. Wait a minute, maybe I’d be losing my best excuse for less than 100% perfect welds .

[Joe Hartson]

Welcome to the half blind club, you are not alone with that problem. It is not fun getting old but it beats all the other options available.

[weldtoride]

I was getting challenged as well when welding indoors. Outdoors was fine. Since my problem also seemed it was too dark, my solution was to go lighter on the shades and switch to gold lenses. Gold lenses improve visibility greatly, but are fixed shade.

Page 5 of this AWS bulletin has the AWS recommended minimum as well as the recommended comfort shades. If you notice, there is a range between the two.

http://www.aws.org/technical/facts/FACT-31.pdf

At the bottom of the chart, AWS suggests:

*As a rule of thumb, start with a shade that is too dark to see the weld zone. Then go to a lighter shade which gives sufficient view of the weld zone without going below the minimum.

As for cheap auto-darkening helmets, having used one and a good pro helmet side by side: the difference is night and day, pun intended. That's without even going into the time-to-darken response time comparisons, important to have if you have a lot of hood time.

My personal hood is actually three different fixed 4x5 window helmets with gold lenses. Shades 9, 10, and 11 suit my arc welding needs.

Something else to consider: fixed shade 4x5 lenses give you an actual 4x5 viewing window, something the cheap auto darkening lenses do not.

One non-vision related advantage: if the hood gets knocked off the bench and hits the floor, no tears are shed.

[Chaz]

Hey guys,
Thought you might be interested in this lighting arrangement I came up with to get down into dark areas to weld. My wife gave me this great little flashlight for my birthday. I took one of my old clamp on lights that had an incandescent bulb in it and removed the clamp part and attached my flashlight to it. It works great and didn't cost anything since I already had the parts laying around the shop.
Peace,
Chaz

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