Starting welding school...

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It's a 16 week program for a citation in B level welding in BC, Canada. My dad bought me a 700+ dollar (unsure of the real cost he got it discount for 500 something) Speedglas helmet. It's so freaking nice that I'm really hesitant to actually weld with it since I don't want to mess it up.We've started with 1G SMAW welds on 3/8 plate. I've used my beater *** 20 dollar helmet for the first 2 days, and it's nothing but a pain in the *** hassle to use. I really want to get my speedglas going but I'm doing root and hot passes with 6010. How well is the "3M™ Speedglas™ Outside Protection Plate 9100, 06-0200-52, Scratch Resistant" at staying clean/spatter/smoke free? With my cheap helmet the outer lens was just a standard cheapo peice of glass that they give out free at the college, and it was riddled with spatter after the first day of use. Should I just buy like 50 new lenses and deal with it that way?
Reply:The best way to get the most value from any tool is to put it to good use.Get lots of cheap protector plates. And, do your best to get used to the spatter, smoke, and dust, they are a necessary evil.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:All the outer covers I can remember are plastic. I do know if you run a hood without the plastic cover the glass lens gets F'd up fast. Trust me my glasses are F'd up with bits of slag and grinding crud that gets past the faceshield and embeds itself in the glass. Thats usually the whole purpose of the outter covers, they are cheap and disposable, especially with the expensive AD hoods.The plastic covers will scratch easy, even though they are more resistant to the hot sparks and bb's. I'd keep a bit of windex and some soft rags in my bag to clean off the smoke and crud that builds up. Paper towels, especially the brown rough ones they had at school, will scratch up the lenses pretty quick.Buy a pack of the cheap cover lenses and change them as needed. They are disposable. What ever you do, don't run that nice AD without both the interior and exterior protective lenses in place. ( I think that Speedglass has both) They are there to keep spatter and grinding sparks from ruining the expensive AD unit. I've seen a few guys who laid down their AD face down to grind and got sparks on the unprotected inner face of the AD and there's nothing that can be done at that point. As a side note it's also a good habit to get into of not putting your hood down near where you are grinding, and always setting it face up so cr@p doesn't get in the hood as well as helping to keep the lens from getting scratched..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Would these scratch the polycarbonate outer/inner protective lenses? What about armor-all wipes?http://www.associatedbrands.com/jcloth/index.html
Reply:I smell, SPAM  This looks like a typical "Pyramid" scheme add.............If not disregard.Dude just told you windex.......And learn to use the standard hood before going to the speedglass.You will eventually be in a position where you won't be able to use it.As most warranties are void by overhead welding, and you'll likely really F it, up by doing so.And your going to go through some lenses. But, shouldn't have to everyday. I go through about one every week.Last edited by jsm11; 07-28-2010 at 04:47 PM.1981 Lincoln SA 200Miller Trailblazer 302gMiller 211 Mig Welder w/ AutosetI'm learning to stick metal together