Welding Tips and Tricks

Howdy Folks, PropanePaul here. I'm a 52 year old welder & learned my first welding process SMAW/Stick) in 9th grade High-school general mechanics. Learned Tig & Mig in the mid '90's. About 5 years ago my vision started to deteriorate due to diabetes. For a while add on magnifiers (from Tractor Supply) got me by. Now all I can see is a bright fuzzy ball which obscures the consumable electrode or Tungsten, puddle & metal junctions. However Jody, I have been watching many of your welding videos to remember my skills & techniques & learn new tips. One day I realized I see your videos Clearly! including the junction of the metals, the puddle & the electrode. I thought maybe a welding camera setup & monitor might work for me! What do all you folks think & what's available commercially as well. Thanks for your knowledge & help. I love the videos Jody. Thanks for doing all of those!

Welcome Paul. What kind of welding hood do you currently use?

Hello Josh, I use a Sellstrom Phantom GTW adjustable automatic at work, and a HF automatic helmet at home. when activated they have a blue/grey tint (unless I dip the tungsten into the stainless puddle which turns the light thru the tint greenish! :oops!: ). I'm also using a 2.5 magnification flat lens just behind the front spatter shield. That used to help but a fuzzy ball is all I can see now. But all the weld tips videos are CLEAR on my computer monitor!
I have an old school Nod your head type helmet & could experiment with different type tint lenses. I have heard of a gold lens some say helps them (but they still see well.) Thanks for any suggestions

So your using the auto dark hood and adding a tinted lense ?

No sir, not a tinted lens. I use a "2.5 Magnification flat lens" just behind the clear front spatter shield lens.

Sorry,Let me clarify: On the outside of the helmet is the clear spatter shield, then the 2.5 magnification lens, then the Auto-darkening electronic lens, then a clear spatter shield closest to my face.

What shade do you have the lense set for?

I have experimented with all brightness settings (shades 9 thru 12) on both hoods, over & over to no avail. I have also experimented with prescription glasses, mid range computer prescription glasses, 3 power reading glasses, stacking the prescription glasses &/or the computer glasses with the reading glasses over & over & it does not help! I still see a halo fuzz ball at the arc & puddle. I do not believe I can get any more out of my current hood & lens setup.
My first post was inquiring about what kind of camera setup is being used & with what kind of shaded lens is being used to produce the videos for Welding Tips & Tricks. I can see the videos on my computer monitor in detail & wonder if I can duplicate that in order to see my welds again.
I have seen an advertized camera setup for welders that replaces a mirror for a limited access space & is connected to a virtual reality video goggle set that the welder wears. Does anyone have any experience with that? Thanks, PropanePaul

You may be developing/having cataracts ( https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases ... -cataracts ).

As you're diabetic you're more prone to developing them sooner, but almost everyone will get them over time as they age.

Cataracts will tend to blur and 'blow out' various light sources (eg. a weld puddle/arc!) and make them indistinct and blurry. Glasses won't help with that and you may notice the same effect (blurry lights) driving at night.

Apart from looking at video setups I'd also strongly suggest visiting an ophthalmologist and have your eyes checked out.

If you do have cataracts then you can have artificial lenses implanted to replace your original ones. This works great and even with the plain style (single focus) replacement lenses set up for mid to long range viewing most people are fine as they were already used to having to use reading glasses before that time anyway so not much changes (except for suddenly getting crystal-clear vision again!)

Bye, Arno.

Arno, you are right on the money. I am developing cataracts & am under treatment by an ophthalmologist. I've already had 2 separate vitrectomies to clear junk out of my eyes & rogue blood vessel growths with laser treatment. I may have the cataract surgery next year.
Again, can anyone share the video method & cameras used to film the videos for welding tips & tricks? If that's a proprietary secret that cannot be shared, please say so & I'll quit asking! I won't be offended. I'll keep looking elsewhere. If I can use a video camera & live feed it to a computer high resolution monitor then I think I can see to Tig weld again. After all, I can see the Welding Tips & Tricks videos perfectly clear! PropanePaul

Don't think it's a secret

Question has come up before and AFAIK Jody in the past didnt' really use any fancy video gear at all. I think he just uses/used a fairly plain camera with a non-auto darkening shield (eg. pipeliner lense) in front of it.

Alhough I can imagine that it may take him a lot of takes/shots to get the polished and beautiful results we see in his videos.

In your case I'd start with someting simple like a GoPro clone and experiment with some lenses to get an zimage that's 'zoomed in' enough and then try some different shades/type of shields. Probably need to lock stuff like white balance down to stop the camera from trying to adjust to the hugely different light levels.

Just to get a feel for things and see what might work in your situation. You'd likely also need to construct some sort of viewing 'box' around a monitor unless you want to go fancy and expensive with VR/AR headset gear

That way you could have your work piece on a table with a camera pointing towards it and look straight ahead on the monitor to see what your hands/puddle are doing. May take a little getting used to, but after a while your brain starts to connect-the-dots.. Lots of people in the world do similar things with microscopes and displays instead of viewfinders..

Actually... Might be an idea to see if you can perhaps salvage a not too high magnification microscope of this style from Ebay/Craigsist/etc. as a base to start working on..No need to invent the wheel again and again..

Bye, Arno.

Arno, Thanks for the input on the G-Pro clone camera & various shields to try. I'll give this some careful study, borrow some equipment & find out what I can do.
Sorry for the long delay before my replay but I was concentrating on being with my dear Mom thru her last breath in ICU. She is not suffering any more! I was blessed to have her live for almost 94 years! R.I.P. Mom, She was awesome. PropanePaul