While looking for something completely different (automatic welding
mask, mines getting flakey) I found these multi-tool blades,
incredibly cheap compared with local prices:-

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/7347...Type=price_asc

Scroll down a little from the first few items.

You have to buy more than 1 set but at a pound or so a go that's
still not much!


--
Chris Green
·

wrote:
While looking for something completely different (automatic welding
mask, mines getting flakey) I found these multi-tool blades,
incredibly cheap compared with local prices:-

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/7347...Type=price_asc

Scroll down a little from the first few items.

You have to buy more than 1 set but at a pound or so a go that's
still not much!

The pricing is actually a bit confusing, they're basically about £1
per blade, the 'minimum quantity' is simply the price for the whole
set illustrated. I.e. the set of 6 costs £6 and the set of 13 costs
£13.

So not *quite* as cheap as I first thought but still not bad.

--
Chris Green
·

On Sunday, 15 May 2016 15:48:04 UTC+1, wrote:
While looking for something completely different (automatic welding
mask, mines getting flakey) I found these multi-tool blades,
incredibly cheap compared with local prices:-

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/7347...Type=price_asc

[snip]

This is probably a numbskull question, but is aliexpress a good
(i.e. reputable / financially safe) site to order from? There is
an item available on it I wish to purchase, but I was hesitant to
use the site because I have never heard of it (and am an easily
spooked mard).

I still have slight worries using amazon and ebay.

Thanks,

DP

On Sun, 15 May 2016 15:46:28 +0100, wrote:

While looking for something completely different (automatic welding
mask, mines getting flakey)

snip

I have been considering the same as I bought mine when I bought the
MIG welder 20+ years ago.

From what I thought I remembered back then I could actually 'see' what
was going on with the weld, just as I could when gas brazing /
welding, or even stick welding for that matter but now I can't.

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

Cheers, T i m

David Paste wrote:
On Sunday, 15 May 2016 15:48:04 UTC+1, wrote:
While looking for something completely different (automatic welding
mask, mines getting flakey) I found these multi-tool blades,
incredibly cheap compared with local prices:-

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/7347...Type=price_asc

[snip]

This is probably a numbskull question, but is aliexpress a good
(i.e. reputable / financially safe) site to order from? There is
an item available on it I wish to purchase, but I was hesitant to
use the site because I have never heard of it (and am an easily
spooked mard).

I still have slight worries using amazon and ebay.

I use aliExpress a lot and haven't had any problems at all. The
sellers sometimes find english a bit difficult but they do their best.

It works much like eBay.

I don't let aliExpress save my credit card details (nor do I allow
eBay to have them either).

--
Chris Green
·

T i m wrote:
On Sun, 15 May 2016 15:46:28 +0100, wrote:

While looking for something completely different (automatic welding
mask, mines getting flakey)

snip

I have been considering the same as I bought mine when I bought the
MIG welder 20+ years ago.

From what I thought I remembered back then I could actually 'see' what
was going on with the weld, just as I could when gas brazing /
welding, or even stick welding for that matter but now I can't.

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

I wouldn't be without mine, bought cheap[ish] in the UK more than ten
years ago, it just made my amateurish welding a whole lot easier and
better than a non-auto helmet.

--
Chris Green
·

On Sun, 15 May 2016 18:09:22 +0100, wrote:

snip

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

I wouldn't be without mine, bought cheap[ish] in the UK more than ten
years ago, it just made my amateurish welding a whole lot easier and
better than a non-auto helmet.

So, assuming you have done gas welding where you can generally watch
the molten weld pool as you go, can you say you can see what you are
doing 'clearly' when MIG welding? If so, may I ask what mask you got
please?

Cheers, T i m

T i m wrote:
On Sun, 15 May 2016 18:09:22 +0100, wrote:

snip

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

I wouldn't be without mine, bought cheap[ish] in the UK more than ten
years ago, it just made my amateurish welding a whole lot easier and
better than a non-auto helmet.

So, assuming you have done gas welding where you can generally watch
the molten weld pool as you go, can you say you can see what you are
doing 'clearly' when MIG welding? If so, may I ask what mask you got
please?

It's not quite like that but once you get the settings (of the welder)
right then you can produce a reasonable weld.

The one I have (that's now past its best) was from Cromwell,
www.cromwell.co.uk:-

PRO-885-0001A AUTO VARIABLE 9-13 WELDING HELMET @ 69.27 incl. VAT

bought back in 2003, so it's lasted 13 years.

--
Chris Green
·

On Sun, 15 May 2016 08:24:39 -0700 (PDT), David Paste
wrote:


This is probably a numbskull question, but is aliexpress a good
(i.e. reputable / financially safe) site to order from?

The parent company, Alibaba, has been going since 1999 and is worth
over $US 200 billion.

There is
an item available on it I wish to purchase, but I was hesitant to
use the site because I have never heard of it (and am an easily
spooked mard).

I've ordered a few dozen items over the years and all have arrived.
That said some of the much cheaper bits were of awful quality. Those
that were more sensibly priced were generally fine.

Overall, no worse than eBay and usually cheaper.

On 5/15/2016 7:34 PM, T i m wrote:
On Sun, 15 May 2016 18:09:22 +0100, wrote:

snip

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

I wouldn't be without mine, bought cheap[ish] in the UK more than ten
years ago, it just made my amateurish welding a whole lot easier and
better than a non-auto helmet.

So, assuming you have done gas welding where you can generally watch
the molten weld pool as you go, can you say you can see what you are
doing 'clearly' when MIG welding? If so, may I ask what mask you got
please?

Cheers, T i m


I have some sort of budget model, for MIG (as an inexperienced welder)
it's certainly vastly preferable to a fixed filter. I sometimes find
mine a bit too dim unless I have reasonably strong lighting on the
workpiece, and then the mask will sometimes dim before I strike the arc.

Never done gas welding although I have done lots of silver soldering.
Gas welding is one of those "Wouldn't it be nice to have the kit" jobs.
Can't justify OA, but think about MAPP from time to time.

In article ,
T i m wrote:
On Sun, 15 May 2016 15:46:28 +0100, wrote:

While looking for something completely different (automatic welding
mask, mines getting flakey)

snip

I have been considering the same as I bought mine when I bought the
MIG welder 20+ years ago.

From what I thought I remembered back then I could actually 'see' what
was going on with the weld, just as I could when gas brazing /
welding, or even stick welding for that matter but now I can't.

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

I have a 300 watt halogen flood light on a stand. Blast that on the work
and my auto mask is good.

--
*PMS jokes aren't funny; period.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 16 May 2016 11:15:54 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

snip

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

I have a 300 watt halogen flood light on a stand. Blast that on the work
and my auto mask is good.

Interesting. I would have thought there would be enough light from the
arc but it's probably in the wrong direction (in yer face rather than
towards the job).

I'll give it a go, thanks. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

T i m wrote:
On Mon, 16 May 2016 11:15:54 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

snip

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

I have a 300 watt halogen flood light on a stand. Blast that on the work
and my auto mask is good.

Interesting. I would have thought there would be enough light from the
arc but it's probably in the wrong direction (in yer face rather than
towards the job).

No, the bright light is needed when the auto mask is 'clear'. 'Clear'
isn't absolutely clear and you need a fair amount of light to see what
you're doing through it before striking the arc.

--
Chris Green
·

In article ,
T i m wrote:
I have a 300 watt halogen flood light on a stand. Blast that on the work
and my auto mask is good.

Interesting. I would have thought there would be enough light from the
arc but it's probably in the wrong direction (in yer face rather than
towards the job).

It's to see things before the arc starts. That's always been my problem.
But I'd be the first to admit welding isn't one of my better skills. ;-)

I'll give it a go, thanks. ;-)

--
*On the other hand, you have different fingers*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 16 May 2016 13:45:56 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
T i m wrote:
I have a 300 watt halogen flood light on a stand. Blast that on the work
and my auto mask is good.

Interesting. I would have thought there would be enough light from the
arc but it's probably in the wrong direction (in yer face rather than
towards the job).

It's to see things before the arc starts. That's always been my problem.

Ah, ok, so not the same as my problem (with auto helmets).

But I'd be the first to admit welding isn't one of my better skills. ;-)

It used to be one of mine, as the trailer I built 40 years ago and the
tri-fold all-steel garage doors seem to suggest (but no expert either
etc) but of late I don't always seem to be able to see where I'm going
*once* welding. ;-(

Maybe I need to re-learn how to do that ... like when looking into
water to see what's below the surface.

Cheers, T i m

On Mon, 16 May 2016 13:35:12 +0100, wrote:

T i m wrote:
On Mon, 16 May 2016 11:15:54 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

snip

That said, I borrowed my mates new / expensive BOC mask the other day
and I can't say it was that much better (so more like see where you
are going to start ok but then it's lucky dip where you actually end
up). ;-(

I have a 300 watt halogen flood light on a stand. Blast that on the work
and my auto mask is good.

Interesting. I would have thought there would be enough light from the
arc but it's probably in the wrong direction (in yer face rather than
towards the job).

No, the bright light is needed when the auto mask is 'clear'. 'Clear'
isn't absolutely clear and you need a fair amount of light to see what
you're doing through it before striking the arc.

Ok, so not likely to help me then.

So, I'm looking though the mask and can see everything as clear as
day. I'm going to do a 2" but weld and have ground the corners of the
two edges away to form a reasonable fillet. I strike the arc and then
all I can see is the arc, not much around it so if I do an inch of
weld then stop, I often find I have a good bead of straight weld but
going out of the fillet by a few degrees?

Now I'm right handed and so would normally lay the torch over at a
slight angle to the right and weld left to right (so potentially also
obscuring my required direction with the torch).

Looking at some of the videos on Youtube I *can* see the weld pool and
surrounding material so I know what I'm looking for, it's just that I
can't seem to see it on my setup anymore.

Cheers, T i m

In article ,
T i m wrote:
On Mon, 16 May 2016 13:45:56 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
T i m wrote:
I have a 300 watt halogen flood light on a stand. Blast that on the work
and my auto mask is good.

Interesting. I would have thought there would be enough light from the
arc but it's probably in the wrong direction (in yer face rather than
towards the job).

It's to see things before the arc starts. That's always been my problem.

Ah, ok, so not the same as my problem (with auto helmets).

But I'd be the first to admit welding isn't one of my better skills. ;-)

It used to be one of mine, as the trailer I built 40 years ago and the
tri-fold all-steel garage doors seem to suggest (but no expert either
etc) but of late I don't always seem to be able to see where I'm going
*once* welding. ;-(

With you now. ;-)

Maybe I need to re-learn how to do that ... like when looking into
water to see what's below the surface.

That bit is OK here. A nice puddle seems to mean a nice weld. It's thin
stuff like car bodywork I don't get on with.

Cheers, T i m

--
*Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 16 May 2016 17:01:54 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

snip

Maybe I need to re-learn how to do that ... like when looking into
water to see what's below the surface.

That bit is OK here. A nice puddle seems to mean a nice weld.

Yes, so you can see said puddle?

It's thin
stuff like car bodywork I don't get on with.

It is tricky and where TIG really comes into it's own.

I think the general thing there is join a load of short tacks together
.... but now car panels are being glued together and I understand,
acceptable for MOT repairs, I'm not sure what the future is re welding
such things?

Cheers, T i m

On Sunday, 15 May 2016 18:16:05 UTC+1, wrote:

I use aliExpress a lot and haven't had any problems at all. The
sellers sometimes find english a bit difficult but they do their best.

It works much like eBay.

I don't let aliExpress save my credit card details (nor do I allow
eBay to have them either).

Thanks! I'm not keen on the save payment feature, either

On Sunday, 15 May 2016 22:01:41 UTC+1, Peter Parry wrote:

The parent company, Alibaba, has been going since 1999 and is worth
over $US 200 billion.

There is
an item available on it I wish to purchase, but I was hesitant to
use the site because I have never heard of it (and am an easily
spooked mard).

I've ordered a few dozen items over the years and all have arrived.
That said some of the much cheaper bits were of awful quality. Those
that were more sensibly priced were generally fine.

Overall, no worse than eBay and usually cheaper.

Thanks for the info! I'll give 'em a go.