Welding Tips and Tricks

I'm new to the forum so maybe this has been discussed before.........

Watched a very good video by Jody on the Everlast 250 EX and all the settings on the front panel. Since I've been deciding whether to purchase one of these or not, it was timely.

However, I noticed Jody was working gloveless on his feeder hand. I am taking a welding class at my local college and when I tried that and found it works quite well, my instructor told me not to do it as I was exposing my hand to dangerous UV rays. Just how critical is this? I like the technique but don't want to damage my hand. Any feedback?

Paul
Newbie welder

I wear light deerskin or goatskin work gloves from the hardware store.

Cheap and have excellent feel - no reason not to wear a glove.

Paul,

I too wear the thin goatskin gloves, but I get them for free at work. I take the old gloves home when they're getting a little tattered and use them in my shop at home.

He's right about the UV rays and if you weld Aluminum without gloves or sleeves you will get a nasty sunburn type burn, been there. Also watch the little V opening in the top of a button up shirt, there's sometimes a gap between where your helmet stops and your shirt starts. I've cooked a little triangle tattoo in there a time or two. You can also use SPF-50 sun block (liquid sleeves as Otto Nobedder calls it) on your hands and arms.

Len

Interesting topic. I'm new to tig welding too. The one time I really zapped myself was when I was tig welding without gloves. I touched the filler to the tungsten while my forearms were resting on the metal welding table. Lit me up pretty good. So, I concluded, perhaps incorrectly, that dry gloves provide some level of protection from shock. Would like to know if that's true.

Thanks.

if you're doing welding of any kind it pays to cover up. gloves, long sleeves, hat and even if you're tigging in a shop bench while sitting down no shorts. uv exposure over long periods is bad news and could lead to skin cancer later in life. i used to have the "welder's tan" from working in a v neck tee shirt till i got wise to myself.

Wen,

Dry gloves will protect you from the shock you described... touching the filler to the tungsten, but will not protect you from the same situation during an HF start. I've lit myself up more than once by positioning the filler and the torch, dropping my hood, and hitting the switch or pedal, and accidentally moving one or the other as I dropped my hood. The gloves are no protection, electrically, from the HF.

Steve S

Gloves all day long for me...After 28 years of welding , my days of getting burnt are over...As for the open shirt area mentioned , this is something that i have suffered from numerous times and found the answer a couple of years ago ...

It's an Optrel made extra that fits on the bottom edge of there range of helmets ..Made from very soft leather .Took a couple of days to get used to , but would not be without it now..Also stops the T-shirts having the colour bleached out of them

As mentioned , if you are doing a lot of Ali , the chances of a sunburn are very good without proper protection ..

if i wore that, well let's just forget what would happen if i showed up in the shop wearing that rig lol. a piece of leather duct taped to the bottom of my flip front fibre metal will do me fine for my last few years. us old guy's hate change.

here's the left hand tig glove I use, nice feel
Its seen better days

I put some peal and stick velcro on the bottom of my helmet lip. Then I stuck a flap of leather on there. It stopped me from getting burned in the triangle. Just used a piece from an old set of welding leathers I had. Thanks Dad.

I always try to use a glove, only time I consistently don't is with .030. I do have a mechanics glove made by hawk I use when using .030 that feels like I'm not wearing one. We've all done it a time or two hundred lol.

I welded the other day without a glove on and lets just say it has the same effect as laying your hand in a tanning bed. My hand has been burnt all week. I always try to wear a glove for that reason and for the fact that I usually grab the metal a couple minutes later not thinking.