Can't see what I'm welding

I'm 17 and can't see anything either when I weld. I think it's that crappy harbor freight helmet I'm using.....

 

I did the same thing when I started needing glasses to read things close to me at age 45. I tried using cheaters but putting them on and taking them off got to be a pain so I got prescription bifocal safety glasses. I had trouble using them welding because it was difficult to get the glasses and the helmet lined up. I guess no line bifocals are even worse because the sweet spot is even smaller. I had safety glasses made to focus at arm's length where I weld and I can see anywhere on the lens.

Almost any auto darkening helmet protects your eyes from most of the ultraviolet and infrared light just by using plastic lenses. You will do more damage to your eyes with the random arc flash than you will with even the worst auto helmet because they all cut out a certain amount of light even if they don't darken.

I use an Optrel e680 auto darkening helmet. It's the best I've found and it's expensive but I've had the same one for 5 years. I used their OSC for ten years before that. Speedglass changes way to slowly. Even the cheap helmets darken faster. Miller helmets use a battery that seems to be dead every time you use the helmet and the lens is very sensitive to moisture. The Optrel has variable shade that can be set to use for anything from grinding, torching, stick, mig, tig, plasma cutting, etc. It has a lithium battery that charges from a photocell so the light from welding charges the battery. You can also change the dark to light speed and detection angle. It is sometimes to sensitive as a strobe light on a forklift 50 yards away will cause it to darken.

Optrel doesn't make a large window helmet. I assume because it takes too long and to much power to darken a large window. I don't like a large window because it adds too much weight to the helmet. The guys I work with use Miller helmets because they have the bigger window but they always come and get mine when theirs fails. That and I always clean the lenses after I use it.

 

Seriously, if you need glasses for far only and see good real close up, try just taking them off completely to weld.

 

after being in the welding trade for as many years as i have and teaching welding this is how i started and also showed my students.

when the arc is started you have to be in a position to be able to see the puddle and the arc at the same time. the first thing is to be able to differientate between the arc and the puddle. if the arc is blocking the puddle or if what ever form of welding that is being performed and the device that is being used is not positioned in a way for the operator to see both the arc and the puddle then that is usually the problem. one must be able to see where the filler metal is being deposited and learn to concentrate on that because if things are not visable then either there is not going to be enough metal deposited or too much will be put in the desired area.

i have put this information on this site and others before;

THE CLAMS OF WELDING


C is the current, this is the power coming to the machine from the source.

L is for the length of arc, this is how far the arc is from the place that is being put together. if it is too long not enough filler metal will be deposited, but if it is too close then the filler wire or rod will stick in the puddle.

A is for amperage, this is that generates heat from the electricity. with out the heat nothing will happen.

M is for manipulation, this is how the device is heald and moved to produce a proper bead and apply the desired filler material into the semi molten puddle. if the person that is performing the process can not see what they are doing then either the person performing the process has to move themselves so they can see or move the piece so they can see what they are doing.

S is for speed of travel, if the person that is performing the process is moving too slow or in a manor that dose not allow the proper amount of filler metal to be deposited because of something that is not set up properly or if there is too much metal being deposited then one of the previous explainations is not being done properly.

i have written this before and there are those out there that think this is a joke or some HOAKIE thing and made fun of this. well if those that are having problems seeing what they are doing then they must not be following the above mentions explaniations. if an individual wants to do something and do it right the first time then do some homework and practice until what you are doing looks as good as or better than what is shown and described in the text books.

welding is not something to take lightly because what is put together by this process must be done properly and the majority of the time there peoples lives involved.

any questions contact me, smart comments keep them to yourself. what people are doing, if not performed properly could do some serious damage.

 

I've been welding all my life and have also been teaching welding full time for 14 years.

Clams of welding ? Yes very hokie.

Seriously, you may have some decent information there but clams

Almost as funny as your "Milk Truck" mold

 

Seems to be a problem as we get older. I've had the problem fo several years. I just ddon't do much welding any more.

 

When I was at Chrysler I'd go to the tech center for weld training and certs, the instructors there all had 30-55 years of experience. Loved it, learned a ton from those guys.

Anyways, me and 2 of them were talking about eyesight. Neither of them really thought their issues had much to do with getting flashed, at least not as much as this: concentrating on the puddle. One of them had talked to his eye doctor about it, and he agreed....decades of focusing so intensely on the tiny puddle would probably do a number to your eyesight.

And as far as getting flashed, I read a story one time....not sure where...they did a study on arc flash in a shop environment. The majority of the time the effect is from your peripheral, not from anything you look at directly. You might not even be aware of it, but the culmination of the light builds up and ends up being worse than getting flashed directly.

I can't vouch for the validity of either story, but they make sense to some degree.

Personally, I've always used Speedglas or Nexgen(Jackson) helmets. Doing work where precision starts are necessary, auto darkening really helps. And even when they "fail", they are typically at a 5 shade, so it's not like you're getting no protection.

One piece of advice, always carry eye drops. I've never had the dreaded "sand in eye" after effect from getting flashed. A trick my first journeyman tought me, always drop your eye after flashed.

I've got pretty bad double vision. Makes it kinda hard to see the puddle.

 

I just double checked my helmet. It did have some spatter but didn't look too bad. I went ahead and waxed the inner and outer lense. WOW! it made a difference.

As far as auto darkening helmets being more dangerous as I understand it they have UV protection if the lense is dark or not, just like sunglasses. Reflected light is a bigger danger.

 

to start off with if someone is an instructor and thinks they are above others that have done the same thing tells me there is a serious problem with someones mind set. i learned that comparing and using others ideas is a compliment. when someone ridicules someone that tells me there is some personal issues with the person doing the ridiculing. just because one dose something one way and another dose it a bit different, but comes out with the same results. where is the problem?

i am curious about how you present something similar to your students?

i learned that using acronyms is a good way to help remember things. once the information is instilled in the individual it is like riding a bicycle, it becomes second nature. so as far as making fun of the way i was taught and the way i took the training i recieved and put together my lesson plans. i am sure you had to go through training and spend time becoming proficient at what you do and somewhere along the line you picked up a dose of egotism that has infected a part of you in a way that belittleing others has apariently become quite a past time.

good luck and i hope you never have something that you make a mistake with or on and or have something break that puts someone in danger.

i hope you don't live in a glass house.

 

well put bernies welding.