Welding helmets?

"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich) 12/16/2015 at 16:17 • Filed to: None

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One of my recent projects is a new dining room table. With the design that I’m making it, I am planning on welding up some 1/8” mild steel plate to make some brackets. A cousin lent me his welder (a Hobart 140 Handler, if I remember correctly), but I need to get myself a helmet and some gloves. Eventually I’d like to get a TIG welder (I’m eyeing up a Everlast Micro 185).

As it would happen, Princess Auto (the Canadian equivalent of Harbor Freight) has this welding helmet on sale: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

I figure I’m not going to beat the price, and if I end up not particularly liking welding, I haven’t spend a ton on it. The only thing I’m not sure on is the TIG rating. It says 35A, but I’m not entirely sure what that means. Does it mean it is only rated up to 35A when TIG welding? Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Wacko > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:22

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I bought basically the same helmet but with flames from ebay for about 35 cnd from china.

So far so good. have no idea about the 35a ...

Bman76s-ws6OtherAccount > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:24

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Tig required a higher rating because it’s “brighter”. Usually shade 10 for Tig vs. Mig at shade 8. On 1/8 mild steel you’d probably be running 70-140A.

Check those numbers, I’m no expert.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Wacko 12/16/2015 at 16:24

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Neat. After seeing some welding helmets run up into the hundreds, $50 seems pretty reasonable. And I live a few blocks away from the nearest Princess Auto, so I can probably get my hands on it as soon as the sale starts.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Bman76s-ws6OtherAccount 12/16/2015 at 16:25

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For the mild steel I’ll likely be using the flux-core wire that’s already in the welder. If I can get my hands on a cylinder of gas, I’ll go buy some MIG wire for it. I think I’ll also need to track down a gas hose. (My cousin also lent me a regulator).

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:27

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TIG machines (at least dedicated ones) are sized by amperage, rather than being constant-voltage with a max wattage. IOW, that helmet shouldn’t be used with a Super Giga Death Max Lazor Melter Plus TIG unit. FWIW, a primary MIG unit which can also do limited TIG would be way below that.

Frank Grimes > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:30

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I believe the tig amp rating would be the minimum tig amp the helmet will do. some better helmets will allow down to 5amps.that looks like a decent helmet. the more expensive ones have faster reaction times can react to magnetic fields and arc flash as well as have huge lenses and other stuff. iI like how that one has a good shade range but the lens size is quite small look on ebay and amazon you might be able to find a much larger lens one for only a bit more canadian. basically larger lens equals much easier to see work and more comfort and better able to see arc.

Bman76s-ws6OtherAccount > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:33

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I was talking about TIG. I’ve been TIG welding 1/8” mild steel rectangular tubing lately.

Wacko > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:34

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I bought cheap too, cause I’m a poor son of a bitch, and I’m auto teaching myself to weld. So far so good. Auto dimming helmet is a must.

I rewelded my plow for my 4 wheeler, since the angle was not good. I made a metal box to carry my straps in my cargo trailer, and made a few metal hooks for my garage wall, to hold snow shovels, power cords...

My last project was the plow, and my welds are getting good. My welder is a cheap 200$ 100A mig flux core welder.

I like to get my hands dirty, and i’m not scared of new projects. I’m in the process of building/renovating my house basically by my self. I jacked up my house 15 feet in the air last summer, to build a new story under my old house.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Wacko 12/16/2015 at 16:39

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Nice!

I had a welding lesson from my uncle who is a welder a few years back. We did a bit of MIG, a tiny bit of stick, and a little bit of TIG on aluminum. After doing a bunch more reading/watching videos lately, I’ve really been wanting to give TIG on aluminum another shot. The only problem being that the equipment is quite expensive. When I did have the welding lesson, I didn’t have an auto-darkening helmet, so I found that part of it a bit tricky.

That little Everlast AC/DC TIG welder is on Amazon right now for around $1100, and I have $150 worth of Amazon gift cards that I could put toward it. Princess Auto also has a little tiny DC stick welder for something like $180, but after seeing how clean TIG welds come out, I’m tempted to spring for the TIG machine instead (which can also do DC stick). Either way, I’d be needing a helmet and gloves, and I figure the price looks pretty good on that helmet.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Bman76s-ws6OtherAccount 12/16/2015 at 16:40

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When doing it, what size of tungsten are you using, and what is your amperage like? I’ve mostly been watching videos of TIG welding aluminum, but I love how it leaves such a clean looking weld that I’d be tempted to get it for doing mild steel as well.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Frank Grimes 12/16/2015 at 16:41

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Yeah, that’s the one thing I’m worried about as well - a small viewing area. One thing I came across said go for a minimum of 2” high, but it seems like helmets like that are much costlier.

Pixel > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:42

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TIG rating works the opposite of what you’d expect.

The rating is how low a TIG arc it will react to and auto-darken. The lower the number the more sensitive the helmet. That helmet may not auto-darken if your TIG arc is less than 35amps.

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/showt…

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Pixel 12/16/2015 at 16:44

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Makes sense. From what I’ve seen, most of them are powered by a small solar panel. If the panel doesn’t get enough light, it won’t trigger the shade.

Bman76s-ws6OtherAccount > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:45

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120 to 140A, 3/32” tungsten. It’s so much quieter, calming, and prettier than MIG.

Justin Hughes > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 16:55

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I read this, and I was like “Wouldn’t that affect the Snell rating?” Because I know people who actually make helmets like this. Though technically they should be riveted, not welded.

I should pay some attention here. I have a garage and a Jeep that needs some metal replaced...

tromoly > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 17:13

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They work alright, not sure how long they last though.

Though I will say, invest in a quality helmet and it’ll both last you a long time and work excellent day-in, day-out.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > tromoly 12/16/2015 at 18:16

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Any recommendations in particular?

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Justin Hughes 12/16/2015 at 18:18

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:P

I know a guy who makes similar things. That’s actually another thing I’d like to learn to do: rivet things (not pop rivets, but actual rivets). Given that a person can pick up an air hammer for $40 or less, and a rivet set for about the same, it’s a pretty economical way of sticking two pieces of metal together.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Bman76s-ws6OtherAccount 12/16/2015 at 18:19

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That’s some pretty decent amperage. Makes sense given how the thicker metal would take more heat. I assume penetration with that kind of amperage is pretty good?

tromoly > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 18:30

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I’ve used a Lincoln Electric Viking in the past, it was really nice. A bit pricey, but you get what you pay for in life and performance.

Frank Grimes > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 18:44

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eastwood has some good ones.
this is the large.

they also have an extra large which can be found on sale for $89 all the time pretty much.

DarrenMR > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 18:59

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Im currently a welding student. I started out with a cheapo helmet from harbor freight, then I bought a $200 Hobart helmet on Amazon. If youre going to get into it, get a nice one otherwise just keep the cheapy.

My advice on gloves is, only buy the cheap ones. I went through several $30+ dollar gloves to end up using $8 ones.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Frank Grimes 12/16/2015 at 19:22

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Makes me wish they sold Eastwood tools up here!

Frank Grimes > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 19:24

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http://www.eastwood.com/distributor_in…

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 19:43

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Harbor Freight helmet and gloves are solid. Haven’t failed me yet, been at least a year

Bman76s-ws6OtherAccount > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 20:00

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It’s pretty high, but we can weld a bit faster that way versus running it at 70A really slowly.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Frank Grimes 12/16/2015 at 21:54

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Woah! Crazy! I had no idea!

Frank Grimes > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/16/2015 at 23:31

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btw my prices were in obama fun bucks.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Frank Grimes 12/16/2015 at 23:42

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I figured so much.

I find it odd that the Eastwood dealer in my town is a residential address. Might try calling it anyway.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/17/2015 at 05:02

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Taught myself to MIG weld a couple of years ago. Easy as anything now :)

Never really bothered with gloves TBH. Not really certain why you need them.

I’ve given myself sunburn on the back of my hand once or twice when doing a lot of welding with it set to the highest you can go (welding 3mm steel) but a little suncream and it’s fine.

Just don’t touch the hot bits ;)

Oh, and I'll be teaching myself to TIG aluminium to make some aluminium inlet trumpets for my Spit6 at some point. I hear it's a lot easier with a brass heatsink...

BaconSandwich is tasty. > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 12/17/2015 at 08:34

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https://m.youtube.com/user/ChuckE200…

There’s a guy on YouTube called ChuckE2009 that has some really good videos:

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/17/2015 at 08:35

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Since that helmet is variable shade from 9-14 you should be just fine with either type of welding you are looking at doing. For GMAW/FCAW you need at least shade 10 for minimum protection and slightly darker for comfort. For GTAW it is similar, shade 10 gives minimum protection and slightly darker for comfort. In both cases shade 10 will protect up to 500A which is way more than you will ever weld with.

Source: Work in the welding industry, have access to the AWS Lens Shade Selector.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/17/2015 at 08:57

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Thanks man that'll come in really handy :)

BaconSandwich is tasty. > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 12/17/2015 at 09:33

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That’s some great information. Thanks!

Clown Shoe Pilot > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/22/2015 at 23:07

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I’ve got a not-ridiculous auto-darkening helmet from Northern Tool, and a stupidly expensive 3M SpeedGlas helmet.

The SpeedGlas is fantastic. HUGE lens, built in grinding shield, very comfy and super adjustable suspension. If you’re going to be doing a lot of welding, save your pennies and get one. You’ll dig it.

That said, I used my much more reasonably priced NT helmet happily for over a year. I still keep it as a backup or for guests. I’ve got a decent stock of replacement front/rear plastic lenses that protect the auto-darkening lens. Replacing those lenses is almost like getting a brand new helmet - you can see SO much better when they’re fresh.

Clown Shoe Pilot > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 12/22/2015 at 23:13

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That arc “sunburn” is why you wear gloves. Also, if you’re doing any process that spatters you’ll want them. I can sort of see running GMAW gloveless on thin material, but no way with thicker material or with SMAW.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Clown Shoe Pilot 12/23/2015 at 03:42

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Ah, i always thought they were for spatter which ive managed to get to the point where i can avoid. 3mm is really the thickest that i weld, and good prep usually avoids any spatter. So far anyway.

Definitely going to do somethig about the ‘sunburn’ though...