Lobster wrote:

I know you need to wear a mask when welding, obviously, but never
having welded anything myself, what actual damage does it do to your
eyes? Does the flame belt out U/V or something?

Depends whether you're gas welding or electric (arc/MIG/TIG) welding.

The former is just a hot flame, which heats the metal to white heat. You
need dark goggles, otherwise the very bright metal [a] blinds you and
[b] makes it impossible to see hwta you're doing.

The latter make use of an electric arc, so make a *really* bright spark.
As well as chucking out lots of visible light, they also chuck out lots
and lots of UV. You need an even darker lens in this case, otherwise you
can't see what you're doing, and your eyes will be damaged in a very
short time. Much brighter than the sun.

--
Grunff