New tools in the shop!

[sblunier]

John G.

I work for a gas utility and all of our pipeline welders use Speed Glas helmets.....because laying upsidedown in a hole in the mud is no place to have to try and flip down a helmet and strike an arc.

Personal preference plays a big role here.

John, do you have a friend/neighbor who would let you try one???

I will say, stay away from the $88 brand X auto-darkening hoods.....they cast a blue-silver hue on everything and you can't get a good feel for the heat you are working with......picking out various shades of silvery blue is not somethiing the eye does well.

 

[hsimon]

John- It is mostly as Steve says personal preference, I do a lot of TIG and it seems like the thing never goes dark fast enough and when making a continious weld around a pipe it seems to lighten up when you get to the "blind" side of the weld. Plus my glasses don't seem to function so well with them.

 

[kg]

My two cents - Get a name brand auto-darkening , adjustable (not fixed) and if you're to the point that ya use reading glasses, put "cheater lenses" (from your welding supply shop also) inside. I've used a Hornell Speedglas from the first year they were available - but again it's all personal preference. My son-in-law works in a large steel fab plant and he sez it's the same there..

 

[jgeorg]

Thanks for all the comments!! I started using the helmet cheater lenses before I got bi-focals. Still use them, its easier than trying to turn your head upside down.

 

[kg]

One other thng - watch the size of the actual viewing area from the inside. I like a big view, but they are more $$$ Also - anyone got a sure cure for lens fogging ? I rigged a blower (an old CPU fan) but it kept tangling my hair (when I had some) in it, so I took it out.

 

[dkamp]

LMAO! I like the CPU-fan trick!

I have several different helmets, and for the really-tough-positions, I made a leather hood with an oxy-acetylene-type single-lense flip-up goggle fitted with a #12 shade. It's rediculously hot, and probably won't pass an OHSA inspection, but when you're in the situation Steve referred to (standing on your head, in a mud-puddle, with no room to flip up a big mask), it works... wouldn't recommend it for long-term.

I carry a conventional flip down (think it's a Fibre-Metal) as well as an inexpensive auto-dimmer on my service truck- the auto-dim is 'da bomb' for tight situations and when you've got a long-line of short welds to do, or hafta crawl-in to make the bead.

Auto-dims aren't all equal- some are way too slow to dim, and some lack adjustable latency AFTER the arc.

They're ALL supposed to respond to an arc immediately. The adjustable ones, if you adjust them too FAST for your conditions, they're very hard on your eyesight... the adjustment is to extend the 'dim' recovery time. If you set the recovery time to 'slow', it won't flicker open-and-closed on you... hence, you won't feel like you're at a teenage rave.

Most people I've met who don't prefer auto-dimmers... are those that use corrective lenses. Next thing to remember- the auto dimmers may come in quick, but not instantly- the general rule is- close your eyes when you strike, open afterward.

FWIW- I don't trust my eyesight to anything- I always wear polarized full-wrap glasses... both for glare (sun/flash off the back of the shield) and particulates, etc... I just don't feel comfortable without having lenses around my eyes. .. I sunburned my retinas drop-line fishing on Lake Okoboji when I was about 8, and have never forgotten what it felt like to be blind, and in pain for two days.

If you have the budget for a good auto-shield, buy the fastest you can, and when in doubt, fit a #3 filter to it too.

There is one nice thing about auto-dimmers... using flip-down, every welder will, at some time or another, flash themselves just trying to get everything in position. With the auto-dim, and the shield down, you're not as likely to get punished by the flash.

Use what you feel comfortable with, but protect your eyesight. Welding is a double-barrel'd risk- you're most likely to lose sight with BOTH eyes.

 

[hsimon]

John- another good reason not to get a speed lens helmet is that they don't survive falling from overhead too well. I just had my Jackson fall the other day from over 60 feet up in the air and was expecting to find it in pieces but it was all intact!!! Guess someone was watching out for me!!

 

[kg]

I've been tempted to get one of the cheapies w/variable, since my Speedglas is fixed, but I've already got problems w/my eyes (used ta gas weld, just squinting....) and when I look at the specs, the expensive ones still have the best reaction times. I do find that if I put a halogen worklight on the work, it really helps. I've also flashed my eyes scratch starting TIG with the old flip-up before I had the Hornel. (My eye-hand coordination isn't what it was 45 years ago, and somehow I'd get the old wrist rolling the torch before I got the hood down). I'm really drawn to the new ones that go clear for grinding - I think they're Jackson - been a while since I looked. Since I'm hobby welding, I have to watch the $$$.

 

[jgeorg]

Dang, I never thought this would stir up so much action. One good thing I see about an auto is you can't flash yourself, which I've done a time or 2, (I don't think I can blink in 1/20000 of a sec. and thats got to do some damage) but in sunlight or as Kendell said with a halogen worklight you can see where you are before you strike the arc. And as Hugh pointed out, a good big window flipper is cheap by comparison. Decisions, decisions.

 

[kg]

New (cool) tool ....
Kids wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas - told 'em just to throw money in the hat for this. Not sure if anyone else has one of these, but I've had my eye on one of these since Sears had them in the tool book (same electronics, more expensive body). It'll read in tenths of a degree, percentage of slope or rise per foot in inches. You can use it by itself or in 2 foot or 4 foot aluminum level bodies. Price isn't bad - Macklinburg-Duncan (as in roofing stuff, glue and tools) is the maker.

Wish I'd had this when I put the Volare front end under my F-100...

 

[kide]

(See the post just below this one...)
Well, a year later and while doing Christmas shopping at Sears, I saw this level.. what caught my eye was that in addition to the digital readout the M-D level had, this one had a laser output also (when I was laying out my barn last summer, I actually put a small laser level on top of the M-D while shooting some rough grades). In addition to the laser, this one's got four strong magnets in the base, fixed calibration, the ability to set zero at any angle for measuring relative angles and it's half the cost of the M-D, which is now set into a two foot level.. Note that my bench is about a tenth of a degree off level.

 

[kweaver]

Boy I've not been here in a long time - there's A LOT in here that needs straightened out ! Should I ...

 

[digger]

Kentuck,
I think I got it fixed so you won't have to stomp on'um to bad!

 

[kweaver]

Digger - March 25, 2005 - 04:38 pm: <font color="0000ff">You call that a load? Try a D6 blade, D6 Hyster winch with cable, D6 pony motor, 2 D6 blade cylinders pulled behind a '63 short bed GMC V6 with my 2 huge torch tanks and probably half a ton of jacks / come-a-longs, chains and tools in total. No electric brakes on the trailer and the old single brake reservoir style on the truck. We were in the far Eastern tip of Ky which has mountains like you wouldn't believe.</font>

Dennis - May 31, 2005 - 01:35 pm: <font color="0000ff">A 2- stage does no good what so ever for blasting, a 2 - cylinder is what you need to keep up with the volume demand. I have a 2- stage 80 gallon compressor and it runs non-stop trying to keep up. The 2 - stage is for higher pressure , the 2 - cylinder is for higher volume. Most all 2 - cylinder compressors are set @ 125psi while 2 - stage will go to 175psi. Most air tools require at the most 90psi except impacts @ 125 - 150psi.</font>

John G. - December 28, 2005 - 07:35 pm: <font color="0000ff">I bought an el-cheapo from Harbor Freight. I like it and the following will tell ...</font>

Steve B - December 29, 2005 - 11:58 pm: ...because laying upsidedown in a hole in the mud is no place to have to try and flip down a helmet and strike an arc.
I will say, stay away from the $88 brand X auto-darkening hoods.....they cast a blue-silver hue on everything and you can't get a good feel for the heat you are working with......picking out various shades of silvery blue is not somethiing the eye does well.

<font color="0000ff">I'll continue what your welders didn't say - Try forcing your head into a piece of heavy equipment that you can barely get the helment into and maybe even putting your face almost into the weld just so that you can get to the work area. Now try to weasel the rod/holder and your other hand through a place to make contact ... now flip your hood! now flip your lens!
My el-cheapo cost $49.99, not complained once! No "blue-silver hue" either.</font>

Hugh Simon - December 29, 2005 - 07:38 pm: <font color="0000ff">You're full of it !</font>

December 31, 2005 - 08:52 pm: John- It is mostly as Steve says personal preference, I do a lot of TIG and it seems like the thing never goes dark fast enough and when making a continious weld around a pipe it seems to lighten up when you get to the "blind" side of the weld. Plus my glasses don't seem to function so well with them. <font color="0000ff">Tell me HOW the HELL do you weld on the "Blind Side" of a joint with any style hood? I suppose your eyes can tell better than the solar cell that the lens should stay dark. IF the light is strong enough to trip the solar cell then it'll darken as needed. My el-cheapo has a potentiometer to set the sensitivity as well as highest darkness level. You drop your equipment from 60 feet up? Remind me to never be around your work area. A professional will take better care of his equipment and the workers around him, if not then he's fired. 34 years of welding and only 2 flashes, both BEFORE I bought the auto dark helment.</font>

Kendall - did you level your table with the first level

 

[kweaver]

I forgot the load pic ... aw forget it, I'll email it to ya if ya ask nicely

 

[kide]

KentucK:
Geez - didn't mean to wake ya up or nothin'.. Both levels read the same. The M-D is a Pita to calibrate, but I've done it ... Still like my Speedglas and the only thing I'm concerned about on the "less expensive" models is the reaction time. SInce I'm a hobby welder, the cumulative effect isn't probably a risk for me, but a Pro, working all day long, I'd want to make sure that the lens was shutting down as fast as possible, as the exposure to flash adds up, even if it's the difference between 1/20000th of a second and 1/60000th of a second. As I said before, I can't see as good as I did 40 years ago, and probably part of it is stupid things like gas welding and brazing with no protection. When I started doing a lot of TIG, I got the Speedglas rather than my old standby flipup..

 

[kweaver]

You do know that arc welding calls for a #10 shade while TIG requires an 11 shade. I use to do alot of aluminum TIG (that's why I HATE jb so much, from the home repairs by ppl). I'd still be doing it if the doc hadn't screwed up my eyes with the lenses he put in my eyes after my cataract surgeries plus I'm just to shaky now to keep the tungsten out of the puddle. Use to I'd rather TIG aluminum than eat or go see my girlfriend!! I was good at it and that's the plain fact. I've tried to find a young guy (or gal) that truley wants to learn how to TIG weld. I can't do as well myself now but I sure as hell still know how to do it and I'd like to pass it along. The shops around here that "say" they weld aluminum is a farkin joke! Makes me sick to have them give aluminum welding a bad name that I took so much pride in doing. So ... I've got a 460amp Miller just sitting rusting. I've welded up to one inch aluminum with it and down to welding Pepsi cans together as advertising for my shop.

 

[kide]

Ken - yup, the Speedglas is a fixed 11. Sensitivity is adjustable, but lens is fixed. One reason I'm looking at new ones - I like the Jackson that goes clear, is adjustable and has a BIG lens..The 11 is too dark for a lot of my gluegun stuff (100-130 amp tops on most of my Mig work). I've done very little aluminum TIG, mostly mild steel. I started out with a good gas rig and about '75 traded some Ham gear for the Linde setup pictured below. In about '95 or so, I bought the 110 volt Century (this was about when the little Lincoln migs were first out - I liked the Century features better and still do). I tend to choose which welder based on what needs stickin'.. Light, non critical, I'll MIG - heavier or critical I'll TIG, heavier yet (butt welding I beams, log splitter type stuff), I'll DC Stick. I was lucky to have a next door neighbor back in the mid - 60's ,who was a millwright, teach me to gas weld... Here's my hobby shop equipment

Not sure if you ever saw any of this Linde (Union Carbide) equipment. I always liked that it was shunt adjusted rather than switched like a tombstone. I wish I'd bought a bigger plasma cutter - the 20 amp Hypertherm is good up to about a quarter inch - but even it was lotsa $$$ when I bought it..

 

[kweaver]

I've had to go to a Lincoln 175 (false advertising) 'cause my '95 model Century has quit feeding for some reason. I like to penetrate with an arc rod myself but I've welded a lot of heavy equipment with a MIG too with no failures. I bought a spool gun for the Century to build a pontoon house boat for a guy , not used it since. Here's an old pic from when I could still get in the shop door! Not seen is a Miller Bobcat 225 behind me.

No Plasma cutter, wish I had one because I've been cutting 3/16" sheet to rebuild an 88 Toyota 4x4 frame. I know it's a crappy way of doing a frame but it's all I can afford now and it's just to beat up on rocks anyway. If I can find a solid front axle I may build a frame from scratch next winter if the ol lady will let me go out of the house. She's gettin onto me pretty bad for doing this job, something about me not being able to walk to the house when I get done...not being able to breath...not sleeping...nag nag nag

 

[kide]

Ken - I cut all the boxing plates for my '54 F-100 with a sabre saw (3/16 mild sheet). I've been lucky with my Century - don't know if you can get parts since they were sold. I know the feed motor on mine looks like the DC motor that Dave Kamp (I think it was Dave) used on his chute turner. Wish I lived closer, I'd dig into it (my kind of challenge...). I've seen some bad mouthing of Century, but it was all USA made (mighta had off-shore components, but AFIK they were built in Minnesota).. I'll check to see if I've got the prints for mine. One problem with the air plasma cutter is that it does harden the edge of the work. My son in law uses big 3 phase 300 amp units on the job - he's been in steel fab for about 30 years (structural - big buildings) and saw the change from oxy cutting - he sez you can't believe the amount of time saved...