Welding Tips and Tricks

A friend of mine took a welding test for the local boilermakers union. I too plan on taking this test. However, I want to be comfortable in my gear. Is there a specified hood that boilermakers wear? I'm getting a Fibre-Metal Pipeliner style hood today, however I have several hoods already but I want to be comfortable in one that I will take my test in as well as persue my career with. Any and all help is much appreciated!

Well man that's kind of a to each his own thing. A Pipeliner is tried and true and you can beat the shit out of them. John is a fervent believer in using them for everything You kind of hit the nail on the head first off. It all matters what YOU are comfortable in. No one can weld well if they hate their hood and can't see a thing.

Thanks. Yeah, I mean, from day one of learning to weld all I have heard as a main key point is get comfortable. I just wasn't sure if boilermakers were required to wear a specific hood or if it was personal preference. My first week of college classes my neck hurt from my Miller Digital Elite being heavier than my Lincoln hood that I wore all summer on some small repair jobs. Now I am used to it but I don't know that I want to wear it working 12 hours a day and five to six days a week haha. Thats why I hot a pipeliner hood. Buddy grabbed one not long ago and I felt how light it is.

GreinTime wrote:Well man that's kind of a to each his own thing. A Pipeliner is tried and true and you can beat the shit out of them. John is a fervent believer in using them for everything You kind of hit the nail on the head first off. It all matters what YOU are comfortable in. No one can weld well if they hate their hood and can't see a thing.

Which ever helmet works best for YOU.

You ask 10 different weldors, you get 11 opinions.

We can't answer that question for you.

Like everyone seems to be saying, stick with what works best for you. I have found that I need a large lens. It helps me see all of the peripheral 'stuff' going on around the puddle.

Glad to hear you have a shot at a great job! Good luck to you!

Am I understanding you correctly when you posted that you needed to pass a welding test just to get into your local Boilermakers? Humm ... back in the day, over thirty years ago, to get into the local ironworkers union, a guy just had to show up reasonably sober. Times have changed.

Thanks guys. Seems that everyone, including my current and previous welding instructors have the exact same answer. I have about six different hoods as it is. Currently I use a Miller Digital Elite. A fantastic hood for every application I have needed it. However, it can be a bit cumbersome at times. Especially with overhead position welding or even coming around some tubing or pipe. Oh, Boomer, yeah, I think it's because around here there is huge 'waiting lists' for big money jobs (coal mines, ironworkers, boilermakers, etc.) and few people with the skill level required. It's probably to sort out the good, bad, and ugly of it all.