Hot Rods Need help from Tig Welding guru's

So i've been Tig welding for a number of years now and i do ok with it technique wise.I grew up gas welding so the transition was not difficult. The problem i have is being able to see the work.Even at the lightest setting on my helmet( #9) i struggle to see the puddle. Now i'm welding sheet metal and using a 1/16th tungsten at about 32 amps and the arc isn't bright enough to see anything. I tried putting a floodlight on the work but that seemed to make the shade get darker. My helmet is a Miller and is about 15 years old.It seems to work properly . Am i doing something wrong ,need a new helmet or just going blind. Thanks,Bob

 

Maybe a magnifying lens will help.

 

I am just learning to tig. The fellow teaching me runs the bead towards him and uses 1 amp per thousansth of an inch. so for 18 gauge that runs at about .042 or 42. seems to help me as I was having the same problem.

 

I actually wear magnifiers to read and for close up work so i am wearing them to weld.The problem is brightness,or lack of it.It is just too dark for me to see anything. I barely see the puddle and constantly wander from the seam because i can't see it.

 

Do you wear glasses during non welding activities ? If not then you are probably going to find very soon that you need them for reading and maybe even other things, quite often as you get older you discover that you can't see quite as good as you think you can.

If you wear glasses now just for reading, then you will definitely need them for Tig welding.
Tig welding is very dependant on vision acuity meaning that you can't weld what you can't see.
You need very sharp close up focus vision that is one of the first things you lose as you age.

If you wear glasses that are bi focal or multi focal, you will quickly find that for welding they won't work, in fact they suck making it more difficult because you are constantly shifting your head around trying to find the sweet spot where you can see clearly.

As mentioned reading glasses can help as can welding magnifier lenses commonly called cheaters.
Better yet is a dedicated pair of glasses from your optometrist for close up work like welding or reading.
The reason ? Because quite often one eye will need a stronger magnification than the other eye, both lenses will not be the same like what you buy in the drug store.

On top of that you can get proper safety lenses which drug store reading glasses are not.

Another way to go, which I have now is something called mono vision.
Your optometrist will fit you with a lens for one eye that will give you medium to distance vision and the other eye will have the close up focus reading and welding prescription.

He can tailor the strength of the lenses so that they work together for both close up and distance vision.

It's really quite amazing and I have safety glasses that work both for welding and in other duties around the shop which is important throughout the day working with the students, without the problems associated with my regular progressive bi focals which are my street glasses.

Hope this info helps you out, I learned all this during my career as a pressure Tig- stick pipe and vessel welder and then instructor starting when I was a sharp eyed youngster at 18 till now at 63.

Larry

 

I tell ya, I had to actually darken up my old Huntsman insert, after I pulled the cover plastic off and replaced it, and cleaned the unit, and changed the inside cover as well..

Eff, the things I can see now

 

Already changed the plastic covers and made sure everything is clean.

 

By the way, including the info supplied above I also use a #9 shade setting on my helmet ( Miller Digital Elite) for welding all processes.

 

Ya, then do as above, I don't have a cheater lens, but I have a pair 1.75 mag reading glasses I use when welding, without them, I couldn't follow a thing...dollar store for a buck!

 

In the old style hood with the roughly 2 X 4 lens I used a "Cheater" magnifier, with the new bigger window auto dark type hood I just wear drugstore glasses.
My problem is I can't get my head back anymore so I'm pretty much stuck with what I can weld on the bench or I can easily see.

 

I use a magnifier in every welding helmet. Combined with my transition lenses, it seems to do the trick.

 

Like you, I graduated to TIG welding from doing oxy/acetylene welding. Also, like yourself, I find that my short vision is going to hell in a handbasket, and the light has to be perfect to do a real good job. I am 74, and find that even though my near sight isn't the best, I still work better without glasses than with cheaters.
My helmet is about the same age as yours and it still works great, but I find that the batteries have to be fresh for the helmet to work at peak efficiency. I did notice that having any ambient light behind the welding helmet makes it more difficult for me to see the work before I strike the arc.
I don't know if it will be helpful, but I have found that watching the TIG welding demonstrations on youtube have been really helpful for me. I have a Miller TIG, and have no excuse for not using it more often. Just for convenience, I often grab the oxy/acetylene torch just because it is so convenient, and I should be using the TIG for some of these jobs.
Bob.

 

@gimpyshotrods

What are transition lens?

 

Lenses that go darker in the sun and lighten to clear indoors.

I have them.
They're great for outside but won't help when driving or welding.
Beyond seeing better of course.

 

Assume they would go on the inside of the helmet, ...i/e in front of the welding lens?

 

They are eyeglass lenses, and yes, they do react to light when welding.

 

Thanks, gonna have to look into them

 

I wear glasses all the time. Except for welding, can't get the right focal length with them on. I have mounted a small light from harbor freight . Took the straps off and velcroed it to my helmet. The light focuses on where I am looking. It seems to help a lot.
Like you I could make a beautiful right beside where I was trying to be.

 

someone on here had a thread about velcroing a led head lamp to his helmet and stated that it was the fix for his predicament of not being able to see the puddle fwiw

 

I use #8 shade, for sheetmetal I'd try #7 if I could find it. I've even tried adding LED lights to my helmet with marginal luck. The biggest help came from magnifying lens and I'll even wear 'cheater' goggles inside to double the effect. I don't need glasses to read or anything but the magnifyers make a difference.
I think part of it with magnifyers you have to get your head closer to the work, I'll be right on top of the puddle.
The other thing is technique, you have to have ultra clean & sharp tip, a little goo on it or erosion rounded tip will loose focus on the arc and that makes a big different in being able to see whats going on.

 

Their reaction to light while welding is very minor, they will not darken fully like they will while you are out in direct outdoor sunlight or outdoors in general.

The same as when you are in a closed vehicle, they don't darken fully then either which results in them not working well as sunglasses for driving.

And yes, they are eye glass lenses and are not available as welding lenses for your helmet.

 

Try a different helmet

 

Get a fixed shade lense and spring for a gold coated one. They let you see more true color instead of just shades of green. It can be especially helpful with Tig because when you contaminate the tungsten the arc changes color.

 

I have a 9100 series Speedglas hood that starts at a #5 which is more of a cutting/gas welding shade, then #8 on up. I have never had an issue seeing the puddle, as others have said it may come down to trying a different hood.

 

i have had a "speedglass " helmet for yrs -they are the cats meow!! my last one went bad -bought a miller "elite " w/ cheaters - its nice BUT the headband is junk -it wont stay adjusted - no matter how its adjusted !! them "speed glasses" with the "3 m" head band WORK GREAT _GREAT - the speed glass was about 60.00 more -i got cheap ! the miller had a good line of sight - but when i get a little more money -i will buy another "speed glass " 11111111111111

 

When tig welding I have my face about 6, maybe 8 inches away from the puddle. I use stronger drug store reading specs than I use for reading. Before I realised my need for reading glasses I found my welding had deteriorated massively! I didn't realise I was just guessing where the action was.

I can't tig weld at arms length to save my life. Kinda difficult sometimes if there's stuff in the way.

Chris

 

Perhaps you have a different brand or generation.

This is what I have: http://www.transitions.com/en-us/products/transitions-xtractive/

They go full-dark, inside the helmet, with the auto-dark shade set to anything #9, or lower, every time.

 

I use a 2x diopter and my prescription readers. When I shadow the arc, I can still wander off my line. I find aluminium extremely difficult to see the puddle. I go from no puddle to slight sheen, to hole, repeat. Frustrating

 

Mine are the regular ones for which what I said is true.
The extra active ones would be nice at times.

 

I agree after 45 years or so of doing my damndest to burn my eyes out of their sockets I have discovered that I cannot see the puddle without my glasses on.

Welding, and computers are extremely hard on your eyes, compound that with the solvents that we used to use to clean things ( many cause cataracts) and you just need a little help.