welding helmet

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gjgm

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Had a first attempt at welding yesterday to an outboard lock. Cant say the standard of work was wonderful and a little practice is needed, but what was obvious was the handheld freebie helmet is impractical !
So given I might do 1 hour a year welding , what is a sensible upgrade so I can see the damn work ! What am I looking for in choosing a helmet,where to go,what to pay.
 
I use a cheap (about £20) welding helmet from Tooltrade, that has a replaceable smoked glass window. The helmet flips up, which is essential because you can't see anything once the welding stops.
 
gjgm said:
Had a first attempt at welding yesterday to an outboard lock. Cant say the standard of work was wonderful and a little practice is needed, but what was obvious was the handheld freebie helmet is impractical !
So given I might do 1 hour a year welding , what is a sensible upgrade so I can see the damn work ! What am I looking for in choosing a helmet,where to go,what to pay.
Click to expand...

Until you gain little proficiency I think you may find the hand held visor more convenient . I have not tried the autodarkening ones. Must be the best bet by far though.
 
I use a Starparts Hawk automatic helmet. I paid about £45 from my local steel stockholder who has a trade/retail counter. We useless welders need all the help we can get, and I find the flip-up type an extra hassle.
 
I do little enough welding not to have paid for an auto-darkening mask - mine actually came from Aldi!

What does help a lot is a really bright light or two (I have a pair of anglepoise types with hundred-watt bulbs mounted above my workbench) shining on the work, so that it's somewhat visible even through the dark glass.

Pete
 
gjgm said:
Had a first attempt at welding yesterday to an outboard lock. Cant say the standard of work was wonderful and a little practice is needed, but what was obvious was the handheld freebie helmet is impractical !
So given I might do 1 hour a year welding , what is a sensible upgrade so I can see the damn work ! What am I looking for in choosing a helmet,where to go,what to pay.
Click to expand...
You haven't stated what sort of welding you are talking about but if it is TIG, you need another hand for the filler rod.

Go for auto-darkening, they are worth the extra.
 
You will find a world of difference with head mounted welding shield. It gives you a hand, either to hold part of the work in place, or to steady the rod. The auto-darkening kind is probably a (financial) step to far for occasional welding.
 
Don't make life hard for yourself: Go with an auto-darkening helmet. Now people still ask me if I welded it myself, but at least they don't ask if I got a seagull to sh*t on it!
 
The cheap auto one are rubbish, dont seem to last, whereas the flip down type last forever.
Dead easy to used get everything ready, nod head forward, mask drops down, pull the trigger and you are away, but if you are a beginner the auto will help a lot, plus the better ones have adjustable shades on the glass.
The bigger the screen is the better it is for viewing especially trying to weld something awkward shaped.


Lynall
 
I have a cheapo Silverline auto-darkening helmet; it works fine, I've encountered no eye problems when using it, even for long periods. The rest of the mask is a bit gimcrack, but it all works fine even after 7 years.
 
The auto-darkening welding helmet at Screwfix costs £300 :eek: - more than the cost of all my welding gear combined - 2nd hand Sealey MightyMig 130XT, CO2 bottle, helmet, gauntlets, overalls and boots.
 
I think you can buy glass with different levels of tint for welding helmets. I had a cheap auto-darkening one but it packed-up after a few months so I went back to my flip-down head mask.
 
The biggest single advance to my welding success was to change the almost opaque dark glass which came with my 150 amp welder for the lightest shade the local supplier stocked. I could actually see what I was doing.
Now got an auto off ebay. Better still.
 
Yep. I have 11 and 9 glass for my welding. Depends what you are welding and how bright the environment is. The clear front glass can affect your vision if you let it get covered in spatter.
 
Very proud of my new Lidl arc welder but like you found the cheapo hand-held helmet un-user-friendly. Following discussions with "those wot knows" I have just ordered from Amazon a Sealy solar powered helmet with auto darkening on striking arc. £44.99 down from £206.94. I am hoping that this will enable me to at least get the rod on the same planet as the target.
 
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