Bob La Londe" wrote in message
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wrote in message
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Hi all, I'm thinking of getting one or two welding helmets for X-mas.
I've got a Dayton welder in the barn that I've used a little,
with an old flip style helmet. My son (age 14) has gotten into metal
working
and would like to try welding. There are a huge number of options.
Here's one review.
http://www.mrwelderreviews.com/revie...lding-helmets/

From which I'm thinking of the Antra for ~$50, or perhaps the
classic Miller for a bit more.
Your thoughts?

TIA
George H.

I've had two HF automatic hoods. The cheaper one did not easily have a
way to change the batteries and I destroyed it trying to cut the
compartment open. The more expensive one ($10 or 15 difference) was easy
to change batteries, but I managed to break it after a couple years it was
quick enough to go dark, but was slow to go light when you shut off the
arc. I liked the cheaper one better for that because there are some thin
metal welding methods that really benefit from being able to see the weld
bead/spot very quickly ater the arc shuts off. I bought a Miller
automatic and I like it fairly well, but I bumped something with it
welding under a trailer, and broke the adjustment knob off. I still use
it all the time, but I can't lighten the shade easily anymore. LOL. Your
mileage may vary.

Regardless of what you decide to use I truly believe an automatic wedling
helmet improved my welding more than anything else except maybe learning
what duty cycle means and that I just need to stop welding and let my
machine cool down when it starts throwing a bad bead whether it has shut
down or not.

I feel I need to add that the larger the viewing area the better.
Regardless of the type or brand of hood.