Forgive me if this is a well hashed topic - I'm really just looking
for more opinions from people in the trenches. (And I only drop into
RCM about once a year it seems...)

It seemed to me that since there is a finite amount of time that an
auto-darkening helmet takes to respond, that cumulatively this
epxosure could in fact be harmful (0.001 second times 2000 arc strikes
in a work day, or whatever....)

This guy, who should know a whole lot more about it than a novice
amatuer welder like myself would, thinks otherwise:

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/jan2002/collision.cfm


Anyone care to give me their 2 cents before I run out and buy one of
these things? And if they are really comparable to sliced bread, is
there a favorite model?

Thanks,

Mickey

Mickey Feldman wrote:

Forgive me if this is a well hashed topic - I'm really just looking
for more opinions from people in the trenches. (And I only drop into
RCM about once a year it seems...)

It seemed to me that since there is a finite amount of time that an
auto-darkening helmet takes to respond, that cumulatively this
epxosure could in fact be harmful (0.001 second times 2000 arc strikes
in a work day, or whatever....)

This guy, who should know a whole lot more about it than a novice
amatuer welder like myself would, thinks otherwise:

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/jan2002/collision.cfm

Anyone care to give me their 2 cents before I run out and buy one of
these things? And if they are really comparable to sliced bread, is
there a favorite model?

Thanks,

Mickey

All of the auto-dark welding helmets provide UV and IR filtering at all
times so there is no risk of eye damage even on the occasions that you
block the sensor and they don't darken. You'll be blinking for a few
minutes, but no UV or IR gets through.

Pete C.

"Mickey Feldman" And if they are really comparable to sliced bread, is
there a favorite model?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There have been two schools of thought on this:
1.) If you value your eyes, you will not buy a cheap helmet.
2.) The cheap helmets do the job, and they're a better bargain than the
costly ones.

I use a helmet from Harbor Freight that goes on sale frequently to $49.95.
There has been a shift among those posting here, and in
sci.engr.joining.welding. The acceptance of these cheap helmets seems to be
growing.

I got one last year as a gift, it has worked fine for the use I give it, but
thats about once a month. Its real nice having the autodarkening helmet.
"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"Mickey Feldman" And if they are really comparable to sliced bread, is
there a favorite model?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There have been two schools of thought on this:
1.) If you value your eyes, you will not buy a cheap helmet.
2.) The cheap helmets do the job, and they're a better bargain than the
costly ones.

I use a helmet from Harbor Freight that goes on sale frequently to $49.95.
There has been a shift among those posting here, and in
sci.engr.joining.welding. The acceptance of these cheap helmets seems to
be growing.

Mickey Feldman wrote:

Forgive me if this is a well hashed topic - I'm really just looking
for more opinions from people in the trenches. (And I only drop into
RCM about once a year it seems...)

It seemed to me that since there is a finite amount of time that an
auto-darkening helmet takes to respond, that cumulatively this
epxosure could in fact be harmful (0.001 second times 2000 arc strikes
in a work day, or whatever....)

This guy, who should know a whole lot more about it than a novice
amatuer welder like myself would, thinks otherwise:

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/jan2002/collision.cfm


Anyone care to give me their 2 cents before I run out and buy one of
these things? And if they are really comparable to sliced bread, is
there a favorite model?

Thanks,

Mickey

I have found one situation where a better auto-dark is superior--very
low-amperage TIG (for thin material). I found that cheaper helmets
would not respond reliably to the arc, and better ones do.

Except for that, the cheapies work fine in my experience.

--
Ted Bennett

Best to get one with adjustable range. I found in low amp TIG, my cheapy
HF AD helmet works well but is too dark, so you can't really see what
you are doing.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Mickey Feldman wrote:

Forgive me if this is a well hashed topic - I'm really just looking
for more opinions from people in the trenches. (And I only drop into
RCM about once a year it seems...)

It seemed to me that since there is a finite amount of time that an
auto-darkening helmet takes to respond, that cumulatively this
epxosure could in fact be harmful (0.001 second times 2000 arc strikes
in a work day, or whatever....)

This guy, who should know a whole lot more about it than a novice
amatuer welder like myself would, thinks otherwise:

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/jan2002/collision.cfm


Anyone care to give me their 2 cents before I run out and buy one of
these things? And if they are really comparable to sliced bread, is
there a favorite model?

Thanks,

Mickey


--
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Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

1. Autodarking helmets block UV at all times.

2. I suspect the effect of 2000 arc strikes limited to .001 sec or
less, is equivalent to being outside in the sunshine for fifteen
minutes without glasses or sunglasses. ( regular glasses block most UV
).


Dan



Mickey Feldman wrote:
Forgive me if this is a well hashed topic - I'm really just looking
for more opinions from people in the trenches. (And I only drop into
RCM about once a year it seems...)

It seemed to me that since there is a finite amount of time that an
auto-darkening helmet takes to respond, that cumulatively this
epxosure could in fact be harmful (0.001 second times 2000 arc strikes
in a work day, or whatever....)

This guy, who should know a whole lot more about it than a novice
amatuer welder like myself would, thinks otherwise:

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/jan2002/collision.cfm


Anyone care to give me their 2 cents before I run out and buy one of
these things? And if they are really comparable to sliced bread, is
there a favorite model?

Thanks,

Mickey

Thanks everyone for their answers.

I'm glad to hear that even the inexpensive models do the job they're
intended to do.

Although having been blessed with excellent eysight for most of my
life, I've now passed that stage where I have to hold the book further
and further from my eyes to achieve focus, found that my arms simply
aren't long enough no matter how far I stretch, and that I need
reading glasses. So at the very least I think I'll get a helmet that
allows the use of a magnifying lens. Variable shade control sounds
awful useful too, for related reasons. This may rule out the bargain
models, but I can live with that. I'd rather spring for high quality
in the beginning and not kick myself later for false economies.

Mickey

"Mickey Feldman" wrote: (clip)I've now passed that stage where I have to
hold the book further and further from my eyes to achieve focus, found that
my arms simply aren't long enough no matter how far I stretch, and that I
need reading glasses. So at the very least I think I'll get a helmet that
allows the use of a magnifying lens.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I wear trifocals, but when I use the helmet, I switch to a pair of reading
glasses. I prefer them to the diopter corrections that fit the helmet,
because:

The helmet already has a protective front shield, a variable filter, and a
protective rear shield. If you add the diopter correction, that will be a
total of 8 surfaces that can collect dust. You can gradually accumulate
dust and scratches on all those surfaces without realizing how bad it is
getting. If you wear the correction on your face, at least that is one pair
of surfaces that you will keep clean.

When you get to the point that you need bifocals, or tri- like me, you will
find that getting a line of sight through the glasses and the helmet gets
more difficult.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Variable shade control sounds awful useful too, for related reasons. This
may rule out the bargain
models, (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My cheap HF helmet has adjustable shade control. The place it could fall
short (according to one poster) is in sensitivity to low current welding
light. I haven't had that problem, but that may be because of the limited
kinds of welding I do.

On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 02:16:47 GMT, Mickey Feldman
wrote:

Thanks everyone for their answers.

I'm glad to hear that even the inexpensive models do the job they're
intended to do.

Although having been blessed with excellent eysight for most of my
life, I've now passed that stage where I have to hold the book further
and further from my eyes to achieve focus, found that my arms simply
aren't long enough no matter how far I stretch, and that I need
reading glasses. So at the very least I think I'll get a helmet that
allows the use of a magnifying lens. Variable shade control sounds
awful useful too, for related reasons. This may rule out the bargain
models, but I can live with that. I'd rather spring for high quality
in the beginning and not kick myself later for false economies.

Mickey

My near vision needs more correction than the diopter lens allow, at
least the ones normally found on the shelf. Instead of my bifocals, I
wear single focal length side shield safety glasses. I had my
optometrist set the focal length at 18", which is about right for me.
One strange thing I found out here is that plastic is better than
glass for hot work. The tiny hot bits of metal instantly adhere to
the glass, but not plastic.

Pete Keillor

In article ,
Pete Keillor wrote:

On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 02:16:47 GMT, Mickey Feldman
wrote:

[snip]

My near vision needs more correction than the diopter lens allow, at
least the ones normally found on the shelf. Instead of my bifocals, I
wear single focal length side shield safety glasses. I had my
optometrist set the focal length at 18", which is about right for me.
One strange thing I found out here is that plastic is better than
glass for hot work. The tiny hot bits of metal instantly adhere to
the glass, but not plastic.

Note that there are at least three kinds of plastic used for eyeglass
lenses, plus two more used only for magnifiers.

CR-39. This is the granddaddy. It is harder than epoxy, insoluble in
all common solvents, and doesn't melt. This would stand up to hot metal
droplets the best.

Polycarbonate. Very tough, but soft and vulnerable to most solvents,
and melts easily.

High-Index. I don't know the chemical composition, but seems to be soft
and vulnerable, like polycarbonate.

Polystyrene. Used for magnifiers, not eyeglasses. Very soft and
vulnerable, and melts very easily.

Acrylic. I'm not sure what material this is in magnifiers made of
"acrylic", but it seems to resemble polystyrene.


Joe Gwinn

I just noticed that Lee Valley/Veritas has a series of self-adhering
+diopter lenses that can be put on glasses, face shields, etc. They
appear to be a similar material to the fresnel lenses that adhere to
your rear window (no adhesive required). I thought of getting a pair
for the times when I have to work on circuitry over my head (well, some
circuitry is always over my head), and the bifocals are on the bottom -
big help.

Anyway, they might be helpful on welding helmets.

Joe

On Sun, 05 Feb 2006 01:23:03 GMT, Leo Lichtman wrote:
I use a helmet from Harbor Freight that goes on sale frequently to $49.95.
There has been a shift among those posting here, and in
sci.engr.joining.welding. The acceptance of these cheap helmets seems to be
growing.

In Lowes the other day, I noticed an autodarkening helmet for $100
(normal price). I opened the box, and other than some different
stickers the Lowes helmet was identical to the $50 helment at HF.

sdb

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