Seeing is Believing

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I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, but I thought I would throw it out there.  When I weld I have a hard time seeing my puddle, lines and just about everything else.  I think this is why sometimes my welds are not consistent and straight.  I have an auto darkening helmet that can be adjusted from 9-11.  I thought about adding more lighting, I currently have an overhead florescent light.  Any ideas or suggestions on improving visibility would be appreciated.  Oh I do wear glasses that I consistently need to pull up, they area cheaters for close up.
Reply:The FL light above is pretty much useless.Throw a halogen work light on the welding areaEd 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:Do not hold a Maglite anywhere near the weld zone after dark to see where to start then forget to move it away while you burn 1/8" E6010 rod. (That is advice I heard from a friend of a friend, [I have no {Ahem} actual knowledge of what any of this means].) City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:I mounted a spotlight on my helmet  yes, extra lighting will help you see stuff other than the pool & help you follow where it is you intended the weld to go before you struck the arc  overhead bright lighting can help a lot..miller 330a bp TIGmiller dynasty 200DX TIGmillermatic 185 MIGthermal dynamics cutmaster 101 plasma cuttersnap-on YA5550 plasma cutterhypertherm powermax 30 plasma cutterbaileigh CS225 cold sawetc....
Reply:Jcaro,I had a similar problem.Adding lighting helped, so did getting my eyes checked and wearing magnified safety glasses under my hood.But, the biggest improvement by far was blocking the light reflected into the back of my hood. Seeing IS believing. I can see now. My horiz. stringers are now easy to see. I can actually weld in a straight line now.Here's a couple photos of my MacGyvered hood:It was just a quick job to see if it helped. I could have spent a moment or two getting the snaps straight but oh well, just a concept prototype. Guess what, it works very well. A scrap of leather and 5 snaps from the leather store (or Tandy Leather online if you prefer).Good luck.Eric Attached Images
Reply:thats awsome!!! i thought about doing that to mine so i would stop caching hot ones down my back.  i might do that.  just one qusetion do you still get spatter that finds its way under the leather?WELD TO LIVE LIVE TO RIDEA bad welder blames his equipment, a good weldor can lay a perfect bead on any thing
Reply:thats awsome!!! i thought about doing that to mine so i would stop caching hot ones down my back. i might do that. just one qusetion do you still get spatter that finds its way under the leather?
Reply:the poppies/poppers from welding (SMAW) can and will shoot 5 feet in the air and land inside your hood. If you havent seen that, you havent welded enough. When welding deck while standing, poppers land on the inside if my safety glasses sometimes. I had them land in my ear when my head was tilted and anywhere else. I am mystified by you guys who do not wear a thick beanie at least. I even wear a hardhat at home when I weld to protect my dome. I have a collection of home made beanies. Take your favorite, too dirty to wear in public ball cap, cut off the bill. Restitch that front part. Cool, re-purposing, and free!Weldanpower 225 G7Ironworkers Local #24
Reply:I am mystified by you guys who do not wear a thick beanie at least. I even wear a hardhat at home when I weld to protect my dome. I have a collection of home made beanies. Take your favorite, too dirty to wear in public ball cap, cut off the bill. Restitch that front part. Cool, re-purposing, and free!
Reply:Thanks I will get a light in there.  I think most of them are 500 watts so I am going to see if I can find something a little smaller.
Reply:I like the leather idea, never thought that blocking light from the rear could make a difference.  Thanks for the tip.
Reply:I did something similar with velcro inside the helmet because I wear a white fiberglass hard hat that reflects a poop ton of light forward into my helmet.
Reply:I just turn on one of my halogen work lights and point it directly on the area. It helped out tremendously! My welds still looks like crap, but atleast now I've narrowed it down to being my fault.....
Reply:Originally Posted by tenpinsthe poppies/poppers from welding (SMAW) can and will shoot 5 feet in the air and land inside your hood. If you havent seen that, you havent welded enough. When welding deck while standing, poppers land on the inside if my safety glasses sometimes. I had them land in my ear when my head was tilted and anywhere else. I am mystified by you guys who do not wear a thick beanie at least. I even wear a hardhat at home when I weld to protect my dome. I have a collection of home made beanies. Take your favorite, too dirty to wear in public ball cap, cut off the bill. Restitch that front part. Cool, re-purposing, and free!
Reply:Originally Posted by Welding_SwedeI not only wear the beanies, I collect them. I keep 2 or 3 in my helmet bag all the time and most days I forget I'm still wearing the darn thing hours later. My favorite is the beanie with a little elastic stitched into the back panel. I can't ever find the fitted kind for my over-sized head.Great tip on the homemade kind. I'll give it a try.Eric
Reply:If you can get a basic non ad hood try a gold lense, I switched over to one two days ago and love it for the clarity and better visibility.
Reply:Originally Posted by Big65moparIf you can get a basic non ad hood try a gold lense, I switched over to one two days ago and love it for the clarity and better visibility.
Reply:Cant say that Ive had that hard a time seeing the puddle or lines. I havent noticed additional light making a difference for anything other than chipping slag. I run my NexGen at shade 10 for almost everything, for overhead work, I use good old Goldie, glass lens shade 10, I really like the optics with the Gold lens.Lincoln Power MIG 210 MP ( boat anchor )Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 HDHobart IronMan 230Cutmaster 42Jackson NexGenSumner Ultra ClampsDWM120
Reply:Originally Posted by USARMY44Bthats awsome!!! i thought about doing that to mine so i would stop caching hot ones down my back.  i might do that.  just one qusetion do you still get spatter that finds its way under the leather?
Reply:Originally Posted by Don BGet an old Tillman tig glove cut the cuff off and use the cuff on the front of the Hood. Keeps UV and crap from bouning up into your face.The cuff is a perfect fit.
Reply:I got more light by buying a couple of 300 watt halogen bulbs for a couple of work lights I had laying around.  I plan on doing something with the helmet just have not gotten around to it yet.  Thanks for the feedback.
Reply:Just thought I'd bump this old thread.Yesterday I picked up a Huntsman fiber hood and put a gold lens (#10) in it on a whim to see if this would help me.I was absolutely shocked at the clarity of the puddle. Seriously! I'm working on 4G and 4F welds in school today and I can finally SEE. Should have take all the advice about going without the AD a long time ago. I think it (AD) has its place and I'll keep mine around in the shop as a second but I'm converted. I got the Huntsman at my LWS for a good price and except for getting used to the "head nod" routine its been smooth sailing.Funny thing, I looked through an older gold lens a few months ago and didn't like it because everything was red. This gold lens I just bought makes everything look a little cobalt blue which really seems to add contrast to the puddle geometry.Love it!Thanks again everyone.E
Reply:All the talk of gold lenses makes me miss mine. Think I should get another. Thought ad was the way to go sometimes you overlook one thing to improve an otherMillermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Lenses are cheap. Try different one, because you can't weld if you can't see.When I weld outdoors I use a Shade 8 gold to compensate for the light from behind that causes my pupils to close more than when welding indoors. I scatter various helmets with various shades around the shop so I don't have to remove and install lenses just for a different shade.