Welding Tips and Tricks

Does a cheater lens take the place of reading glasses? Or do you need to use reading glasses with it? I get the cheap reading glasses at Costco, helps me see up close

They do take the place of readers from the store.

Also, when you need to get closer and/or just need even more magnification, you can wear your reading glasses as well.

Whether on your face, or in your lid, they have a focal length that works with them.
When you need to get closer, you need to put on the reading glasses too.
This gives more magnification at a shorter focal length.

Bellaireroad wrote:Does a cheater lens take the place of reading glasses? Or do you need to use reading glasses with it? I get the cheap reading glasses at Costco, helps me see up close

North of 40 the muscles surrounding the eyeball get slack. The eye in youth can be squeezed just right to refocus for close up. Also, as we age we are less efficient in our use of light.

For me, (61) at the computer, I want little magnification. A 1.00 is pretty good. In less bright circumstances, maybe a little closer, 1.5 seems right. When I have no room to work, can't get my head 20" from work 1.75, or 2.00 is best. In poor light, I might go to 3.00.

Welding, I need to function walking, and fitting, I might use 1.00, or 1.25. it's a compromise. With a helmet, I'm pretty close, it's dark, Adding a cheater as a supplement improves vision quality. Combined value between glasses, and cheater is 2.5 or three.

Willie

Thanks, I will give that a try. What about illuminating the work with a bright light?


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Bellaireroad wrote:Thanks, I will give that a try. What about illuminating the work with a bright light?


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That works also, I tried recently using readers and a cheater, works well.

Bellaireroad wrote:Thanks, I will give that a try. What about illuminating the work with a bright light?


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That's generally a sign you need glasses

Might want to make sure the outer and inner lens shields on your helmet are clean. The polycarbonate scratches easily and gets permanently fogged-up pretty fast. I change mine quite frequently and the difference in visual quality between the old and new lens covers is significant.

BTW: Don't get ripped-off paying 10 bucks for 5 lens covers. Go on Amazon and get a sheet of 0.040" thick polycarbonate for 10 bucks; it will make a couple dozen lens covers. Just cut it with multiple scores with a utility knife.


Ray

Bellaireroad wrote:Does a cheater lens take the place of reading glasses? Or do you need to use reading glasses with it? I get the cheap reading glasses at Costco, helps me see up close

I ended up buying about 4 cheater lenses in different strengths. I tried all of them while wearing my reading glasses to pick the one that gave best results. It's possible to use just a cheater without wearing reading glasses, but for me that was inconvenient because then I have to wear safety glasses, then take the safety glasses off and put my reading glasses back on once my hood is off.

MarkL wrote:

Bellaireroad wrote:Does a cheater lens take the place of reading glasses? Or do you need to use reading glasses with it? I get the cheap reading glasses at Costco, helps me see up close

I ended up buying about 4 cheater lenses in different strengths. I tried all of them while wearing my reading glasses to pick the one that gave best results. It's possible to use just a cheater without wearing reading glasses, but for me that was inconvenient because then I have to wear safety glasses, then take the safety glasses off and put my reading glasses back on once my hood is off.

One of my friends wears safety glasses that have the lower bifocal in them.

Since your can't tip your head back very well while wearing a welding helmet, just look through the regular glass on the safety glasses and the cheater on the helmet.

That's what I do when I'm wearing my regular bifocals. The lower part is not used while I weld, just the helmet cheater.

I like a large viewing area in my hood, but I never realized till reading this that at some point I may need to draw sharpie lines dividing where I need to look when.

Poland308 wrote:I like a large viewing area in my hood, but I never realized till reading this that at some point I may need to draw sharpie lines dividing where I need to look when.

Yeah it sucks when the weld ends up partially in the bifocal and partially in the regular lens....and you didn't notice until you realize you can't really see all of a sudden.

Aging is not for the weak! I have always had an ongoing problem with fogging, something about nostril angle. My sons have always been very amused when I lay a nice bead parallel to the joint, but missing it entirely. The braille system doesn't help with welding. For fog, I have learned to cut a hole in a high end paper mask directing breath straight down, not flaring to the side.

Old people magnification is always a struggle. The old man focus issue didn't hit me until later than most. I was fifty. Now I'm never the optimum distance for my cheater to work perfectly.

No wonder old people are grouchy!

Willie

No the feeling well. I am north of 65.

I need tri-focals to see what I am doing and also have to wear safety glasses for work. I had a pair of work glasses made by my eye doctor. The work glasses are only bi-focals and only have the short and mid range lens in them. The idea is that while working, I really do not care if I can read the clock across the room but I do need to be able to see close up and three or four feet out. Cutting the eye glasses into three sections makes all three sections to small to be of much good and they certainly do not work under the hood. The Work Safety glasses work for most applications for me as I do not have to take them off to weld and when I need to grind, I just lift the hood and grind. Additionally, a lot of work sites require the welders to wear safety glasses while under the hood. As for the closeup lens in the safety glasses, they are not much good under the hood. Cheeters in the hood are a must.

Has anybody used the relatively new welding glasses sold by Miller?? I work in a lot of tight places and the hood often gets in the way. The Miller welding glasses look like they might help but they are expensive.

Bill Beauregard wrote:Aging is not for the weak! I have always had an ongoing problem with fogging, something about nostril angle. My sons have always been very amused when I lay a nice bead parallel to the joint, but missing it entirely. The braille system doesn't help with welding. For fog, I have learned to cut a hole in a high end paper mask directing breath straight down, not flaring to the side.

Old people magnification is always a struggle. The old man focus issue didn't hit me until later than most. I was fifty. Now I'm never the optimum distance for my cheater to work perfectly.

No wonder old people are grouchy!

Willie

i love when that happens. Lift hood and look and see you missed your joint entirely or started curving but couldn't tell usually when I have a passive shade with the sunlight to my back.

You really know you are gettin' old when you realize you've been chasing a 'floater' with a fly-swatter for 15 minutes!

-c-