Mask Settings & Seeing Puddle

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Went to the Lincoln Welding Introduction class this past May and have been practicing ever since. I just hooked up my aluminum spool gun for the first time and started doing some welding with it.I am amazed at how much clearer I can see the arc and the puddle than with my usual steel/MIG gun.Is this just the way it is or should I be playing around with my mask settings?I must admit I struggle seeing the arc/puddle and my welds are still pretty ugly. Mask: Lincoln - Viking 3350 Delay = halfSensitivity = LoShade = between 10 and 9Welding with: Lincoln MIG 180C Mostly 1/8 steel and 1/8 aluminum ThanksJohn Attached Images
Reply:For the amperage required for 1/8" steel and aluminum I'd be around 11 for shade, but that all depends on ambient lighting conditions.  So how much light is there where you are welding?  Also do you have 20/20 vision or better?  When you put you're helmet on, flip it down, and position yourself as you're just about to weld, is there light coming in to the interior of the helmet from behind your head?  All those those can affect your vision of the arc and puddle. 1st on WeldingWeb to have a scrolling sig! HTP Invertig 400HTP Invertig 221HTP ProPulse 300HTP ProPulse 200 x2HTP ProPulse 220MTSHTP Inverarc 200TLP HTP Microcut 875SC
Reply:You should play around with your mask settings as well as how it sits on your head. Your lens as well as nearly every other auto darkening lens on the market is susceptible to a phenomenon called 'angular dependence'. You can read a summary of it here:http://www.honeywellsafety.com/Suppl...7374/1033.aspxDon't let Honeywell's paper fool you into believing Angular Dependence Compensation is their baby. Balder developed it and licensed the technology to several manufacturers before Jackson bought Balder.-Chris
Reply:Originally Posted by OscarSo how much light is there where you are welding?  Also do you have 20/20 vision or better?  When you put you're helmet on, flip it down, and position yourself as you're just about to weld, is there light coming in to the interior of the helmet from behind your head?  All those those can affect your vision of the arc and puddle.
Reply:Funny, you mention this topic. I'm only 38...but yesterday when stopping at my LWS to get some more aluminum tig wire, I bought a +1.5 and a +3.0 cheater lenses... I had a really expensive shaft I had to weld up a machinist undercut really close to a shoulder for a customer to remachine. I was having a hard time seeing to make sure I didn't roll the piddle over the sharp edge... I guess I didn't quite make it to 40 without having to get one RyanMiller Multimatic 200 tig/spool gun/wireless remoteMillermatic 350P, Bernard/XR Python gunsMiller Dynasty 350, Coolmate 3.5 & wireless remoteCK WF1 TIG wire feederMiller Spectrum 375 XtremeOptrel e684Miller Digital EliteMiller Weld-Mask
Reply:THANKS!Oddly enough I'm an optician by trade so I have a very nice pair of intermediate distance only safety glasses that I use just for welding.A lined bifocal or a progressive lens will not work because of head position. My garage is very well lit but maybe I'll try for a little more and even try the "hood" idea too.Again, weird that aluminum is clear as can be but steel is not?xryan - that 1.5 might work pretty well but that 3 will probably have you a little too close for comfort!Last edited by JESFromRIC; 12-19-2015 at 04:27 PM.
Reply:Aluminium has a brighter arc makes it easier for blind guys to seetrailblazer 302thunderbolt ac dc machine Hobart fluxcoreAHP tig 200x 2015
Reply:The shade settings are for comfort so adjust as needed.You are always protected from the harmful UV rays independent of where the shade is set.Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:I've had to use shades from a 9 to an 11 depending on a lot of different factors. When I was first getting started my hood was at 9, but now that I've gotten a bit more used to it, I keep it set on 11. If you're having trouble seeing the puddle, then you either want to crank that shade dial to 9, or position a reflector or something to bounce more light onto the weld zone. It can be really hard to see what you're doing on that last pass, especially on vertical or overhead, because you don't have a bevel to reflect light back at you.Currently working as a Paralegal, but still interested in hobby welding.Miller Bobcat 225ntOne- Character Fractions: ¼ ½ ¾ ⅛ ⅜ ⅝ ⅞
Reply:Originally Posted by JESFromRICTHANKS!Oddly enough I'm an optician by trade xryan - that 1.5 might work pretty well but that 3 will probably have you a little too close for comfort!