O/A torch no shade?

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I am in the automotive industry and travel around to different shops all day. Every time I see someone with a O/A cutting torch they are NOT using anything to protect there eyes beside safety glasses SOMETIMES.I asked someone today that was cutting.. He acted surprised when I asked him if your supposed to wear a ?tinted? shield when cutting and said "no".Is this true? I am picking up a torch soon and want to do it right.
Reply:have always worn tinted shade goggles to cut with, otherwise always saw spots
Reply:Originally Posted by cdseven95I am in the automotive industry and travel around to different shops all day. Every time I see someone with a O/A cutting torch they are NOT using anything to protect there eyes beside safety glasses SOMETIMES.I asked someone today that was cutting.. He acted surprised when I asked him if your supposed to wear a ?tinted? shield when cutting and said "no".Is this true? I am picking up a torch soon and want to do it right.
Reply:I always wear #5 shade when cutting with either O/A or Plasma.  It's a full face shield for protecting my eyes and  all the rest.  The only time I don't wear a face shield is when I'm using a rosebud tip to heat.
Reply:My understanding is that a cutting or welding torch puts off infrared radiation, which over time can cause cataracts.  A plasma cutter or welder will add UV radiation into the mix and the possibility of 'arc-eye.'  So you'll want to be sure your eye protection is rated for what you're using it for.I have been guilty of heating with a rosebud or rough-cutting with a torch using only clear safety glasses or face shields in the past, since I knew that torches weren't known for UV radiation.  Once I learned they still put off IR rays, I started being more careful.
Reply:The temperatures of an O/A flame are plenty to create UV.  The sodium flare seen while cutting is also dangerous to the eyes.
Reply:THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING EQUIPMENTThe link above has some good information.Don't forget to pick up check valves & flashback arrestors for the torch and regulators.I always wear eye protection year round, I don't even leave the house w/o sunglasses.I use # 5 for torch & # 8 for plasma.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:i am always on my boys to wear the shade 5 goggles or #5 shields i have hanging on every torch set or plasma cutter in the shop. seems the HS instructor tells them it's ok to not use them. he also allows them to tack with no hood and you only need safety glasses in the shop if you are grinding. yeah i know. a lot of folks on here have or do do it but it's not something a teacher should be teaching kids. even though i don't practice my preaching when i'm working in the shop on my own, anyone that works in my shop has to. it's like my dad told us kids. "do as i say, not as i do". i know now it was for our safety so we would live intact to the age to became dumb on our own.Last edited by jbmprods; 10-24-2011 at 12:41 PM.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw