Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey guys new guy here just joined the forum about a month ago and this week is the first week of school im attending for an associates degree in welding. Im doing every welding class the school has to offer and some extra classes I dont need to graduate but I feel will benefit me later on in life and while applying for jobs. Im always looking for a leg up on the competition. But back to the reason im here. Im looking for a good all around helmet that I can use through school and beyond. My instructor recommended getting a cheap helmet and buying a nicer one after graduation but I spoke with a few 2nd and 3rd semester students and they said theyve already upgraded and threw the recomended 30$ helmet out. Any suggestions om what to look for? Where to get the best price? Ive already acquired a pile of tools and stuff ill need the helmet is the last item on the checklist and also one of the most important I think so id like to make an educated decision any help is appreciated.

There's alot of personal pref when it comes to hoods. I'm sure you will get 8 diff answers from 10 diff people. I've personally got 3 hoods. A miller performance, jackson hsl100 with 370 headgear and phillips safety gold glass lense and an esab globe arc. The performance I use for tig, the jackson for everything else. The globe arc is a great hood but the price of replacementslenses keeps me from using it out of position. I use it mainly for cutting and grinding now.

If I were told I could have only one, it would be the jackson. The cover lenses are readily available and very cheap and there are no electronics or batteries to fail.

I have a fixed-shade Jackson with a large viewing window and have no intent of changing it any time. It weighs very little, easy to get replacement covers and different shade lenses, and no electronics to fail. A cheap and restricted helmet is going to hinder your progress simply because you won't see what you are doing as well as you should. The best helmet in the world doesn't make a weld good, its the man behind it. You can get a fixed shade like mine and keep a few different shades around if you need to for different processes to get you learning, then when your money is better and you're looking to go pro find a good autoflashing helmet. Just remember this, do not pull it out of the box and use it the day of a test. You never want to change what you have practiced on test day. You want some time to play with the thing and get used to it.

Guys who do a lot of different processes and such would probably want an autoflash for the convenience and adjustable shade levels, but in my particular job building bridges my helmet takes a bit of abuse and I work quite well with just a 12 shade in it at all times. Each man will have his own preference though, so if you can try out different helmets from other guys who already spent the cash to get them you can find what will work for you. Would be a shame to spend a few hundred bucks to find out later you aren't really happy with the model you got.

Best of luck in the school. Send us some pics of some welds and don't be shy of the ones that didn't come out too well. Even the best welder in the world laid down a complete pile of bird crap on some steel at some point in his life. The way you get better is to learn why it happened and how to improve for the next one. You aren't going to be a master welder in a month. It takes time to develop and with the right teacher you can get there. Trust me, if the Wright brothers could've built a 747 right out of the gate they would've. Took time for people to learn how to do that.

I love a cheap, black, fixed, 4.5 by 5.25, never will let me down, I keep a 11 gold and a 10 green handy....
The main thing with a helmet is "LENSES", they have to be available and affordable!
You cant pay 40 bucks a piece for clear lenses, because they are only valued at 2.00 or less!!!
If you do any stick welding you need a big box of replacements....
John

I've been using a $25 Jackson big-lens hood for the last 25 years... The same one. Changed the headgear a time or two.

It's finally about done... Takes a bit of duck tape to hold the lens in without light leakage.

I'll be buying another just like it.

Yes, there are times an "auto-dark" would be handy, but they are rare.

BTW, I sometimes work in the most messed-up, jambed-up, stand-on-your-head-and-do-it-in-the-mirror positions you can imagine.

Will you "like" that $200+ hood? Yes. Will it benefit you? Depends on what you use it for. The one drawback, is that you may find positions where the sensors don't see the arc directly, and you get "flashed". This is why I won't even spend $70 for a Harbor Freight model; The odd positions I find myself in.

"Worth it" is up to you and how you'll use it.

Steve S

If you have issues with the sensors not picking it up in odd positions i bought the digital elite miller and it has a mode where if the sensors get blocked it somehow works by picking up certain frequencies or something

I have a Jackson Nexgen for tig and a Jackson big lens passive for everything else. Actually I use my old Jackson passive for most all of my welding. It is lighter than the nexgen and I keep my helmet on all the time. I bought the passive helmet in the 80's and I am now on my 3rd headgear. If you are going to do any stick welding, it will mess one of those "pretty" helmets up quick. Buy a passive lens Jackson for around 40.00 and buy a fancy one when you feel the need.

No more than I use my Nexgen, I should have saved my 300.00, but it does look good hanging in my office.

2nd and 3rd semester students are buying fancier helmets because they think they are already pros, and that it's the equipment that must be the problem.

I have two. A miller passive something or other and the same type 20.00 school issue Metal-Fibre I got originally. I lost the original and bought the Miller passive. It works good enough. After a couple years using the Miller, I got tired of the lens replacement procedure, or affixing a cheater to it occasionally. Was not user friendly in that regard as far as I was concerned. So I went and replaced my school issue, for no other reason than that it held up for 20+ years and I was used to it. Fresh out of school, I laneded a job working 4, 10 hour shifts and 3 days overtime. I ran so many beads the first 5 years that the novelty of the hood was the first to wear off. Custom welding gloves was the 2nd.



The first real damage to it came from flux core overhead. I remember being really glad at the time to have such a bucket for a hood. All the rest of the smoke is primarily aluminum. Walk into a job interview with a hood that looks like this and you can usually take all the BS out of the interview. Firstly, for how roasted it is. Secondly, because you still have it and the working parts are still intact. I think another benefit is that it's so ugly, nobody wants to steal it or even put it on their head when you aren't there.

Actually, now that I look at it, it could pass for art with that "steam-punk" look that is so popular these days. Try to buy that!

Ok so ive decided to go with something cheaper 30-80 dollar range? Mostly because we were told we wouldn't need one until feb.5 when we'll begin arc welding. But there are 3 or 4 of us in the class that blasted through the basics in oxy and brazing and they're going to allow us to move on starting Monday and I'm broke so I can't afford a nice Helmet so cheapy it is for now. Im perfectly ok with that. Any recommendations on cheaper helmets? I'll either order online today or go pick one up locally if available.

these helmets are OK.
I bought 2 of these helmets, the head gear is uncomfortable and cheap....
So I changed out the headgear with a nice comfortable one I had out of my old helmet that I melted....
For the price you can't beat them....
the lenses are inexpensive and super easy to change....
John
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-1-2-W-x-5-1-4 ... 4860dba68f
This seller puts a helmet a helmet up for sale every week or so....

I personally like my Miller Digital Pro Hobby, but when it comes down to it I like my wife's Miller Digital Elite because it has a setting that detects electromagnet waves produced by the arc so you won't get flashed when welding out of position with your sensors blocked. Both are great auto dark helmets. I like the features they offer. For the most part most auto dark helmets are very similar and not one is right for everyone. Personally I like my $10 Hobart flip front passive helmet. I keep it hanging on the welding cart at all times. I keep my Miller in the truck or house but if I am outside and need to weld something I grab the Hobart and it is a great helmet for anything. I like the fact you don't have anything electronic to fail, you can flip the dark lens up and grind or chip with the helmet as a face shield. That is why I like it as an all round helmet.
Matt

Have a ESAB 613XL dual shade 9-13/6-8 grinding mode and O/A welding
very sensitive for out of position and it takes the yellow out of aluminum arc
cheap auto darking hard on eyes for all day welding
nicest one I have had in 30 yrs of welding and this model is light weight

Cheap, I would absolutely go with a fixed shade. Hard to break, easy to replace parts, and will always be dark. Plus, when (if) you advance to an auto helmet, you'll be a lot better. I started with an auto and switched to a fixed shade. Weird transition, but I love it now. You can go to your LWS get a fixed shade Jackson or Miller, a gold lens and 10 cover plates and be about $80-$100. As far as autos go, go big or go home. Big difference in clarity between the price brackets. If you can't go big, go fixed shade.

There are really only two good options. Which one you take depends on your pocketbook.

Fixed shade with a decent helmet will cost $80 or so, including a good Phillips Safety gold glass lens in the shade you use most.

AD helmets are very nice, but only the upper end ones are the best for vision. The Jackson Nexgen ECQ is a top of the line helmet with an amber shade to the puddle. Others prefer the green puddle that they get with a Speedglas. You should look through the lens you are considering buying at a true weld puddle in order to see which ones your eyes like the best. You should also look at availability and cost for the clear covers etc, because some are much harder to find and more expensive (like the curved Speedglas). The Jacksons use an inexpensive set of covers that one can buy at almost any LWS. Jacksons also have a great warranty and service. You can get a replacement AD lens from them overnight if you need to...

I currently have 3 helmets:
A Chicago electric auto darkening from harbor freight, it performs pretty well, and has lasted me a surprisingly long time I got it about 5 years ago. It was my first helmet, my only issue with it is the headgear, which I could change out.
An arc one auto darkening... It's alright at best, but it was a hand-me-down from a friend of mine who went through a career change. Anyhow this helmet's biggest issue for me is that there is a large delay from starting the arc and the darkening, one thing that a lot of people will fault the auto darkening helmets on hence the preference above to fixed shade lenses.
My third and newest is an Auto Arc auto darkening helmet, currently my favorite fast reaction to arc strike adjustable delay and sensitivity(which is nice since I work in a production plant and there are other welders to all sides of me, after a little fine tuning I finally have it set so that only me lighting up on the metal makes it go dark).

Overall if I had to reccomend one for you in your given situation I would go with the Chicago electric since it's relatively inexpensive and you could pick it up today, the only catch is if you are going to be doing any low amperage TIG it isn't rated for that, 10 amps and less I think is the limit.

Good luck in school, post some pics it'd be cool to see your progress.

Personal I love my Miller Titanium 9400 with the new head gear big viewable area, after you get it set right I almost forget that I am wearing it the bump to grind is a nice feature I didn't think I would use much.

I hope im not too late, hoping to catch you before you buy.There have been some good points brought up here. Anyways heres my two cents. Over the years i have had quite a few hoods and i guess you could say i collect them. The only auto hoods i have owned have been Speedglass but i have tried several others. I have had four of them. I currently keep three hoods in my truck and one of them is a speedglass, one a fibremetal pipeliner and a sarges pancake. For being a welding student i would not recommend the pancake hood as they are meant really for one thing and one thing only, pipeline. I use the speedglass for some foot pedal tig but thats about is now. I prefer to use the fibremetal for just about everything now. You can get them online for about 45 bucks and they are pretty much indestructible. In the fibremetal i run a Lincoln supervis lens and i think i bought a dozen or so off amazon for like 3 bucks each in various shades. the pancake i have a Athermal gold glass shade ten and it is by far my favorite lens but i haven't had much luck finding them. My recommendation is by far the fibremetal. Any of you guys tried weld at night with an AD? Just like welding with a passive right. I think it is good for a student to learn with a passive hood. Just remember the 2x4 lenses are available at any LWS for cheaper than any other lens and if you are going to run a glass lens you need two. Put one on the inside to keep the glass from pitting.

Arizona SA200 wrote:Any of you guys tried weld at night with an AD?

Man, I am spoiled by my AD helmet, and today at work the lights were acting up and went out intermittently and It's exactly like using a passive which I haven't used since welding class in 2005-2006... so yeah, hard to see period. I work indoors with plenty of light and nobody worries about a flashlight or an alternative light source besides maybe a lighter, hood up or hood down still couldn't see. It was sort of like chase the arc the guy next to me starts welding and his arc gives me light to see where I am about to light up at. Because when I say the lights went out it was just the lights not the entire power.

-Matt

This is a very good helmet....
had mine for about 2 months now, and she's doing great....
John
http://www.ebay.com/itm/370878896627?ss ... 1439.l2649

I must fall into the collect weld helmet category as well. I have lost count of my helmets. Personally I don't think there is one best all around helmet. If you went with AD its all good till the batteries die at the most inconvenient time. If you go with a fixed than there will be times you wish you had a AD because you want to see what you are doing instead of flipping a helmet down. I keep both types with me at all times. For a beginner I would recommend the Jackson HSL 100 with a assortment of lenses. A fixed helmet should teach you skills that a AD would not. For a AD I picked up a Jackson W60 Trusight and will say I am very impressed. It works well with low amp TIG and high amp MIG. I like the HSL 100 so much I put the W60 ADF cartridge into it instead of the HLX 100. I have not had any problems with the delay on this helmet. Also we just demoed the Miller 9400 PAPR and will say I was most impressed with the helmet. I never liked Millers helmets but this one sold me. With x-mode, external grid control and comfortable head gear, this is a great ( expensive )helmet.

[quote="Superiorwelding"] If you went with AD its all good till the batteries die at the most inconvenient time.

I've had this happen and had to get e loaner from my boss. It was a passive and when i went to use it I almost forgot how.

The Jackson ECQ in a 2x4 will fit in most hoods as well. A guy could start with a fixed shade and upgrade with an AD later.

I have two Jackson nexgens that I use for tig, I also have a nexgen she'll that I keep a fixed lens in for some jobs. For everything else I use a 3m speedglas, I have one of the older styles and one of the newer. I much prefer the nexgens, but love the head gear on the new speedglas as I did a lot of overhead in that helmet and the head gear really helped with neck strain

Well I see a ton of great advice and I greatly appreciate all of it. I ended up grabbing a miller mp10. http://www.millerwelds.com/products/wel ... ets/mp-10/ I got the all black one I figure ill decorate it myself with burns, scratches n cuts lol. As fait would have it though I had a gentleman come into my job the other day "pawn shop" with a brand spanking new digital elite apparently he got 2 for christmas from different family members on his and his wife's side and both got him the same exact helmet. He decided to sell one and just let them both think he was using theirs. Vs asking for a reciept to return one. Well I explained that im a welding student and how I really wanted one so he sold it to my shop for 100 bucks and that means I should be able to scoop it up for around 150 so ill have that after the required 30 day waiting period to sell goods. Btw they decided not to let us 5 guys move on as expected because than they would have to continue the trend through the semester so they gave the option to take a few days off or dick off in the shop. 3 guys took the days off me and my friend took the time to draw up and build some stuff for fun using the stuff weve learned so far. N I must say i think I finally found something I really enjoy. Its pretty awesome.

zachkuby87
Sounds like you are coming out on top! I hope you like your purchases. Good luck for your future.

Thanks I appreciate the kind words. Ill post some pics of the work ive done so far. Maybe start a new thread elsewhere. Some of it isnt so pretty but id say im making solid progress. Teacher also said if we keep up our pace he'll shoot a personal recomendation to a dry dock that repairs tugs on the Mississippi for me and my buddy as a summer job. Feels good finally doing something with myself. Just wish I wouldnt have waited 8 years after high school to pull my head out of my ass. Lol