Welding Helmets To Auto Darken or Not?

[Jordan Baker]

I’ve on,y ever used the auto darkening style so I can’t compare. However I do love it for all the reasons stated above. Sometimes after sitting in the drawer for a long time there is a delay for darkening. I just know to keep my eyes closed for a second then it’s fine.

I was also given one of the older style ones but have only ever used it when someone else wanted to see some welding. I got bored one day so painted it up. My wife (gf at the time) tried it out. She’s a keeper and good sport for a laugh

[Robin Craig]

Lionel, auto darkening all the way for sure, with a couple of caveats.

The old school style are good to keep as a back up. There are some jobs that it is worth having an analogue version.

Get one that has a variable shade setting and a grinding setting, that is very useful. Know what settings are for what if you dont know laminate the chart and put it on the wall. Various process types are brighter than others, like humans.

A welding helmet is PPE and very personal, I keep mine in a cloth bag and ensure it is not hung up to collect dust like many do.

Clean it regularily.

If you work outdoors and it is sunny then the sun will trip the darkening function depending on day etc. Having a leather drape as descibe by other is useful.

As per Richards comments the shielding gas gets blown away in the wind and that is why MIG is more suited to indoors.

Just a comment, one of my welding teachers always cautioned if doing repair work to understand why the part failed before welding it up to fail again for the same reason.

Welding is a skill and it needs to be practised. Soldering and brazing are also good repair and original fabrication processes and much under utilised or valued today in the instant world, consider them as they were the technology used years ago.

9/10ths of the welding success depends on knowing the best process and sequence before you start welding. Positioning and being able to rotate the assembly to your advantage aids a good outcome heavily.

Remember, welding processes from the 1940s were crude and often not acceptable by todays standards, spatter and undercut can be brutal.

Community college night school classes are well worth investing in for skills development.

Likely way more information than you wanted.

Good luck

[Matthew P]

Another option for outdoor welding is flux-core wire. Run it in your MIG with the polarity reversed and no shielding gas. Popular among hobbyist for it's budget and simplicity (no gas bottle) and farmers for being able to work on stuff out in the wind.

I'll let you do your own research on the details. But I'll just say that it looks like a big steaming pile until you hit it with a wire brush and not the slag off, then it looks like a proper weld.

YouTube is great for learning.

Matt

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Matthew P

Another option for outdoor welding is flux-core wire. Run it in your MIG with the polarity reversed and no shielding gas. Popular among hobbyist for it's budget and simplicity (no gas bottle) and farmers for being able to work on stuff out in the wind.

I'll let you do your own research on the details. But I'll just say that it looks like a big steaming pile until you hit it with a wire brush and not the slag off, then it looks like a proper weld.

YouTube is great for learning.

Matt

I have a confession. I used argon shielding gas with my MIG for years. Then I tried resin core and became the world's worse welder (sometimes approximating poor wartime welds adding authenticity but that's not the point). Once I cottoned on to the need to reverse polarity my welding is much better and I'm now a fan of resin core for most basic fabricating. A little splatter perhaps but that can be dealt with.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Once I cottoned on to the need to reverse polarity my welding is much better ....

I have been issued with a couple of the small lincoln 140A welders over the past decade that welded like absolute crap. Same deal on both of them....they had been wired backwards.

Personally, I prefer the inert gas over the flux.I also prefer a minimum of 175Amp for the little semi-portables. My next machine though is going to be an Esab Rebel....I have heard a lot of good things about them.