Like to weld without a hood?

It seems like some of you are proud of being fuckin morons.
You get two eyes and one chance...try acting your age.

 

Well said English Bob!!!!!! I can't believe some of these threads on welding!!

Old welder since 1951--USN Korea

 

I had this happen to me when I had a trigger short on a MIG unit back in the late 80's. It hurt like hell. My eye doctor can still see the scars.

 

Are you guys fuckin retarded? I'm young, dumb and full 'o c.....
well you know. Either way I always grab my helmet before I even tack anything.

 

Don't you know it's rockabilly to weld without a hood? Just look in Ol skool rodzzz! Welding without a hood has got to be the stupidest, laziest thing you can do...especially if you are a "professional"

 

Look here Ray Charles... you close your eyes when you tack weld... and you use spf50 before you weld!! make sure you get it on your eye lids... Dang! It's like I'm playing with my brother's kids or something....

 

Four times for me, Yep Im a moron.

 

Gee, that would be a safety issue, kind of like driving a car with no fenders...............

 

I am not sure what is worse - fried eyeballs, flash burned skin or both. I have been welding for the past 30 + years and yes, potatoes and tea bags help relieve the pain. I have cut potatoes in half in a curved fashion according to the curvature of your face, or sliced them thin but the juices don't last long.

Please wear protective clothing and eye wear. It bothers me when I watch these "car build" shows and no one wears PPE [personal protective equipment]. Five minutes of TIG welding can cause a lot of pain. At work I am involved with container crane repair which requires structural welding, we can have time off work if caught not wearing our protective gear. As others have said, you have only one set of eyes, please take care of them - you and your family will appreciate it!

 

I dont know if Im an idiot just by myself or not, I do find it amusing that so many Hambers have just said that "Ive been burnt once and never again". Every now and then you seem to cop it again either with other welders around or when youre the guy holding the part to be welded. We all say never again!!
Why does it always seem to hurt like hell when you try to go to sleep??

 

I have to admit I'm kind of surprised to hear that not only do people apparently actually try to weld without a hood, but also that, according to this thread, it's amazingly common.

Weld without a hood? That's like an astronaut going EVA without his helmet because he's "only going to be outside for a second".

I mean, you need three things to weld- the welder, the thing to be welded, and the stuff you wear when you're welding. Skipping one of the three is like skipping the fuel, spark or compression and hoping the engine will still start.

I will admit that, in the dim years before the electronic hoods, I'd use a pair of safety glasses, and do the "close your eyes and tack" trick with a MIG. But that was just for tacking, not for actually trying to run a bead, and even for the tack, I'd close my eyes.

I got a good sunburn once after doing that for most of a day placing parts under a custom dashboard (along with the BBs in my ears) but since I never watched the arc, my eyes were fine.

Hoods, jack stands, fire extinguishers. There's a reason we invented 'em.

Doc.

 

Yeah I agree totally, You couldnt seriously weld without a helmet could you? My last comment was more on "Welders flash" occuring. Auto helmets can cut in and out depending on lighting and dodgy batteries. I would guess that most guys tack without helmets but run full welds with helmets on. But you would always have youre eyes closed when youre tacking??? Deano

 

Yea.
I dont like doin this...
I tried tacking once without a hood, Not only could i not see anything, But i just said "Naaa dude not a good idea". did two tacks and put mu hood on.
Did get hit once or twice welding under something, and an object would cover the optical sensor on my helmet **Ziiiip** Fu*king Aghhh.

 

Deffinately NOT run a bead.
Its hard to be a badass when your blind.

 

I can't even weld good with a hood on and seeing what I am doing. I can't imagine trying it without one, with my eyes closed no less. Maybe I'm lucky after all that I need a helmet to even just get the spark going.

 

I weld for Holland 1916 in KC, I'll usually tack stuff together without a hood, but I'll be damned if you ever catch me running a bead without a hood. the new auto darkening hoods are just too good for anyone to complain about... like a shade 6 pre arc(plenty light enough to see well), and most are adjustable from shade 8-12. even at a shade 8 you can still get flash burn. I like to keep mine anywhere from 9 to 10 1/2. with the miller's you just have to remember to turn the damn things back on if you haven't been using it for awhile, I think it's like 20 minutes and it turns off.

 

No ones mentioned this so i thought i would....
You know the sand feeling you get with flash burn is actually little popped blisters on your eye ball.
Thats why it feels so shit when you blink.

 

Re: Like to weld without a hood?

No, I don't.

Three days ago I was tack welding (chassis repairs on my '36' Pickup) which was on the hoist. I always close my eyes and turn my head away from the arc, this time I should have closed my mouth, yeeow!!! Spark in the mouth, the bastard thing stuck to the roof of my mouth, near the back. Fuck it hurt.

My mechanic was dumbstruck when I went into 'mad gesture mode' and went for the water very, very quick.

I suppose that's why he asks me to come over and do the shitty work.

Note to self: Close eyes and mouth when tack welding. Hold breath while waiting for hot stuff to fall into crotch and down workboots onto feet and toes.

 

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i try to take care of my eyes and back the most.....im young gotta make them last 40 more years or so

 

Only last week I bought a nice new automatic hood. Spent quite a bit on it but it was worth every penny. Now I can see a whole bunch easier. Older automatic hoods can be quiet dark and slow. Try a good new one!

Ed

 

I keep the lens clean and get up close and personal when I'm on the bead... Lighting usually helps me when I have a hard time finding my penetration line. But, everything is preference and opinion in this line of work.

 

The potato trick really does work like said before.
I was grinding a crappy weld and my saftey glasses were out of my reach and i decided to just squint my eyes real tight to tiny slits thinking that will work. I got a nice peice of steel in my right eye and was off work for a few days. Took me 2 days to figure out that it was not welding burn as i originally thought. The steel in my eye had rusted and the eye doctor had to grind the rust out of my eyeball with a dremel like tool.......fun.

 

WTF!! Are you guys thinkin not wearing a helmet. Thats about the stupidest thing I have read on here

 

Welder-wear eye protection. Garbage disposal- do not stick hand in . Which one you want to lose? your site or hands.To the idiots that weld without eye protection ,damn!

 

I did it once when I was about 8-9 years old. I see some of the tv show guys doing it, and also welding in short sleeves.
It's just frikken retarded, no matter who you are.

 

not only are your eyes at risk but exposed skin can be a great starting spot for cancer. spoken with old time welders and their exposed arms had some nice scars where skin cancer had been removed and the areas were really ugly because sometimes its not just on the surface and they dig until it's gone!!

 

lol, that's exactly what I was thinking.

 

I agree with you there

 

One time I had to weld without a hood ,I could not get car High enough ,At 300 am I woke up in agonizing pain ,Couldnt wear my glasses or contacts the tears just kept tearing from my Eyes ,Went for a walk to get smokes ,The cool air felt good on my eyes .When I got home my wife was sitting on the couch wondering what went on .I told her welders flash ,She asked me,Were you wearing a mask ,I said no.She said Dumb ass
I also had a steel sliver in my eye from grinding and they grind your eye ,Weird feeling You have to stare at them while there doing it,Now I grind with my sunglasses on