Helmet question

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They don't do it up here but does anyone know if LWSes keep various helmets as try-before-you-buys. I'm still having a heck of a time seeing the soapstone/white line or markers of any kind outside the puddle. My Lincoln isn't good and I tried a Speedglass today and still couldn't see a line to follow. I don't know if blue, yellow, gold or red are any better than convetional green ADs and I'm getting awfully tired of ballparking where the line is to get at least a fairly straight bead.
Reply:Depends. Some places have machines in house for testing and they usually have a few hoods around. Which hoods they have will probably depend on what the guys there prefer, or whether any of the manufacturers were willing to cut them any deals on units.Open house demos are a good place to look and see if the manufacturers brought along any of their hoods to demo as well. I think my local Miller rep had one of the Elites with him when he had machines at the last demo. It also helps to mention that you are interested in demoing a hood to the counter guys. That way they can mention it to their rep and they can keep that in mind when they pack up stuff for the demo..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:I'm all for auto lenses, but the cost of the outside cover lens for some of the auto hoods is outrageous!It burns me up to spend $.30, to $.40-cents for a clear lens. Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Lay a piece of thin flatbar alongside where you want the bead for a reference point.                                                      MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Make a drape to kill the backlighting.Tape a piece of blue jean to the back of your hood.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Try a pancake hood then you have zero back lite
Reply:I'll be meltin' metal today so I'll try these. And thanks. Very frustrating not to be able to see where you're going.
Reply:Originally Posted by jlamesVery frustrating not to be able to see where you're going.
Reply:Jon,What shade is your lense and what welding process are you using?I know you've been kicked in the head by horses, could be your eyesight Lincoln SA 200Esab Caddy 160Thermal Arc 201TSMiller Dialarc HFI don't like making plans for the day because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around the courtroom....
Reply:Yeah, I tried a Speedglass 9200 last night and it was no better than my inexpensive Lincoln. I'll just keep taking advantages of the times I have to try others' hoods. On 9, I can see the glow of the MIG arc creating the puddle but it's dark at the edge of the puddle and goes black right after that.  10, 11, 12... they just make the arc brighter but not  much else. I was thinking perhaps a change of the color of the lens might help; blue, yellow, orange.
Reply:I have been having a problem seeing what I'm welding lately to. Hopefully orginal poster gets it figured out and maybe it will work for me to.1982 miller blue star 2E ac/dcHarbor freight flux core posVictor oa
Reply:No, my eyesight's still 20-20. I have an FAA physical every year for my pilot ticket and they're real big on being able to see all the little dials with the funny numbers and twirly arrows on them. Seriously, I can still read a 2X3 GPS screen and all the info we have to deal with in the cockpit from 24-36" away in the seat and and my distance vision is fine. I just can't get a clear picture of the road ahead when I'm putting a bead down. I just have to find the what's right for me and so far, I've really only experienced a couple of different hoods, both with green lenses.
Reply:I'd head down to Dungin donuts, buy a couple dozen donuts. Go out to a construction site, tell the guys if they let you try out their hood you'll give them a donut. You'd be surprised what a construction worker will do for a free donut. Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
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Reply:If you have ruled out eye problems, you may want to focus on illiminating any glare from behind you. Some helmets are worse with this than others. My Speedglas 9100xx lets a slightly irritating amount of glare in, Jackson hsl100 helmets are infuriating to use in my opinion (all I can see is the wall behind me when welding). Fibre Metal Pipeliners let almost no glare in, which makes it easier to see through the lens.IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8
Reply:This helps me.  I use one of those inexpensive halogen work lights to shine where I am welding.  The light needs to come from the side, not from behind you.  The other posts had good ideas too.  Maybe altogether, this will work for you.
Reply:I have the same problem of seeing where I'm going with a weld when working inside my garage, not so much when I'm outside.  I've tried all sorts of things and the only thing that works for me is a 500 watt halogen light.  It's not very convenient but better than a wandering bead.
Reply:Originally Posted by jlamesYOn 9, I can see the glow of the MIG arc creating the puddle but it's dark at the edge of the puddle and goes black right after that.  10, 11, 12... they just make the arc brighter but not  much else. I was thinking perhaps a change of the color of the lens might help; blue, yellow, orange.
Reply:I picked up some 1.25 drug store specials today and tried them. You were right. I can see much better. Now I can see exactly how bad my beads really are!  Ignorance IS bliss!Actually you're right. I saw the optometrist today and he said its fairly common. My vision is accommodated to everything in routinely do in life but when I weld, I'm much closer to the focal point and getting older, that what's going first on me; the 0-16" distance like reading distance or welding distance. I tried a gold lens today and it was way too bright. Going for blue tomorrow at a friends.
Reply:Originally Posted by jlamesI picked up some 1.25 drug store specials today and tried them. You were right. I can see much better.
Reply:You mean it get's worse?   I'm only 42 and already dragging out the halogens.
Reply:Originally Posted by ExcaliburYou mean it get's worse?   I'm only 42 and already dragging out the halogens.
Reply:I'll bet they don't smell as bad!
Reply:Originally Posted by jlamesI picked up some 1.25 drug store specials today and tried them. You were right. I can see much better. Now I can see exactly how bad my beads really are!  Ignorance IS bliss!Actually you're right. I saw the optometrist today and he said its fairly common. My vision is accommodated to everything in routinely do in life but when I weld, I'm much closer to the focal point and getting older, that what's going first on me; the 0-16" distance like reading distance or welding distance. I tried a gold lens today and it was way too bright. Going for blue tomorrow at a friends.
Reply:Have a Speedglas, just got the Miller elite, big difference, not cause I just bought the thing. It preforms better then the 3M. Larger viewing, helmet is a tad larger seem to cover more of my face. It comes on when you start to weld, no worry about forgetting to turn it on. The 3M looks dark and goes light when powered, not so with the Miller. Bright when not powered, strike an arc and it darkens, easy adjustment, I 'd recommend the Miller if asked. Need a buyer for the 3M.... Here is a side by sideLast edited by pepi; 02-15-2014 at 10:02 PM.Magazines have issues, everything else has problemsOriginally Posted by ExcaliburYou mean it get's worse?   I'm only 42 and already dragging out the halogens.
Reply:glad you got your problem figured out. I am 57, so I know where you are coming from. If you can find one at your LWS, you should try out one of the new ESAB hoods. I bought one , a 6-13 AD/XL model a few months ago. The thing is amazing! The colors stay the same even after you strike an arc. I weld mostly aluminum with tig. I can see the blue arc come off the tungsten. The aluminum stays silver-the puddle just turns liquid. They are pricey, but well worth it if I can see better.
Reply:Originally Posted by ExcaliburYou mean it get's worse?   I'm only 42 and already dragging out the halogens.
Reply:Originally Posted by pepiHave a Speedglas, just got the Miller elite, big difference, not cause I just bought the thing. It preforms better then the 3M. Larger viewing, helmet is a tad larger seem to cover more of my face. It comes on when you start to weld, no worry about forgetting to turn it on. The 3M looks dark and goes light when powered, not so with the Miller. Bright when not powered, strike an arc and it darkens, easy adjustment, I 'd recommend the Miller if asked. Need a buyer for the 3M.... Here is a side by sideAttachment 622731
Reply:Yep, yep, yep D, especially people in my age group; half-way through our 50s.
Reply:Originally Posted by TSCGG13How much? IM me.
Reply:I am a neophyte so take this with a grain of salt, but I was having a similar problem, and getting flashed by my old EQC masterwhatever auto lens, which had batteries from 2007. So naturally I started trying stuff (yes I changed the batteries also):FIRST was a 1.5 cheater. I am 43. Big help.Then a gold # 10 in place of the autodark. What a nice view thru the giant faceplate! My oh my. I think it LIGHTS up the work also. They do come in shades if it was too bright for you. But my helmet is an old Jackson and backlights terribly.SO helmet shopping. Somebody posted on the Balder stuff, now owned by Kimberly Clark aka Jackson, a lens formerly available in ESAB helmets. The Jackson/Balder helmet looked kind of cheap and had the fancy curved faceplates, for 250, so I went for a fibre metal tigerhood futura 2999, 280 on weldbay, which apparently has the balder glass also with a std faceplate. So those are three options for the nice autodark ADC balder filter, aside from retrofitting an old helmet. Somebody mentioned the ESAB helmet but I am not sure they will have balder lenses much longer. Apparently it is about angular dependency compensation. Whatever. LOTS of good reviews and different color (no green).FWIW. You can get the same lens in a pipeliner also. Good welding,
Reply:As far as the gold lens being too bright... it's sort of the "thing" to buy one shade darker than what you'd usually use. I was using a 10 shade gold lens for a long time and thought it was bright as heck. To the point where I could hardly tell where the edge of the bevel was when I was welding. I switched to a shade 11 and everything comes out just right now.
Reply:Thanks all so much.
Reply:Jon did you realize that the speedglas helmets come with a slight tinted plastic film over the outside lense and the inside lense that have to be removed. Pop the mask apart and check the lenses bud!I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Yeah Mike, sadly, I'm known for doing dumb things like that but not this time. I was checking everything it could possibly be and looked for the film layer. I guess everyone is different and has their own personal needs and wishes. And I guess it's the same way with guns for me, a bow with you and things like that. But this is another example of what we were talking about with the production I asked you to look at; 60 million "boomers" like me wanting to get into metalwork later in life. They have no way of knowing the challenges that need to be addressed that are, not "unique to" but certainly abundant in our generation beyond learning the basics of welding. Kinda like CEP said; thought my welding was bad when the problem was I couldn't see **it!
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeJon did you realize that the speedglas helmets come with a slight tinted plastic film over the outside lense and the inside lense that have to be removed. Pop the mask apart and check the lenses bud!
Reply:Thanks for the tip.  Canada will/has signed a trade deal with EU, so these should be cheaper, or will be cheaper in the foreseeable future than stateside.  Kinda wished I'd held off on purchasing my HT PM30, I would have purchased an ESAB. Originally Posted by 'Stangglad you got your problem figured out. I am 57, so I know where you are coming from. If you can find one at your LWS, you should try out one of the new ESAB hoods. I bought one , a 6-13 AD/XL model a few months ago. The thing is amazing! The colors stay the same even after you strike an arc. I weld mostly aluminum with tig. I can see the blue arc come off the tungsten. The aluminum stays silver-the puddle just turns liquid. They are pricey, but well worth it if I can see better.
Reply:it could be time for a cheater. they come in different strengths. i use a 2.00 and wear my regular prescription glasses as well. you could try the old trick of center punching the joint along it's length. sometimes that's easier to follow than a line.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Originally Posted by docwelderyou could try the old trick of center punching the joint along it's length. sometimes that's easier to follow than a line.
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPIs that welding by braille?
Reply:Originally Posted by MinnesotaDavesome of the welding I've seen was obviously done by blind people.....
Reply:things haven't gotten to the braille method of welding yet but these 59 y.o. eyes can follow punch marks on rusted/painted iron lot's easier than a will o' the wisp soapstone line.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:You're likely right Doc, though I have not tried it yet. I have noticed that some iron pounders use punch marks since they show up as reference marks even after heating and bending and such.Edit: I've also heard those silver pencils work well too: http://www.markal.com/welding-marker...lders-pencils/Last edited by MinnesotaDave; 02-16-2014 at 03:42 PM.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Originally Posted by MinnesotaDaveEdit: I've also heard those silver pencils work well too: http://www.markal.com/welding-marker...lders-pencils/
Reply:I've worn USMC helmets, baseball helmets, hockey helmets, motorcycle helmets & football helmets but earning my living as a weldor I wear welding hoods.
Reply:Never kicked. My horses and me have always had too much respect for each other to get pissy. We got an agreement; they don't kick me and I don't haul off and whallop 'em when they act up!And I've had my head inside more than a few USMC, baseball, football and other various helmets too. But I have been tossed a time or two! Pretty sure it's close to 20 screws and various other parts not on my original, factory spec sheet.
Reply:I've only had a few screws added - later removed because the Doc said I'd end up breaking them...lolBut I think in this case I'd prefer to learn from the examples of my elders and try to prevent any new ones from being put in Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.