mikeknowle
mikeknowle
- Messages
- 8
I've seen a few postings asking the virtues of the auto-tint helmets. I'd love one but I can't afford £80+.
I'm a novice MIG welder and one of my (many) mistakes is finding that sometimes I'd start the weld off in the right place but go off at an angle and end up nowhere near where I should be (so just welding a line on one of the pieces). My cheap mask is just too dark so by the time I've got my hands in position and then flipped the mask down, I've moved!
I found a solution which means I don't have to buy an automask. I place my 500W halogen lamp about 1M to one side nearby and with my mask down I can see nicely the panel gap as a contrast line/shadow. Even after striking an arc it is just a comfortable brightness to see the arc, the weld pool, spot weld holes etc.
Works a treat for me but I don't know if its a well-known old-hands trick or not: so i thought I'd share it. Only careful point - apart form the UV/heat of the halogen - is to remember it is brighter after I lift my mask compared to when it's down (Halogen-eye!)
Cheers
I'm a novice MIG welder and one of my (many) mistakes is finding that sometimes I'd start the weld off in the right place but go off at an angle and end up nowhere near where I should be (so just welding a line on one of the pieces). My cheap mask is just too dark so by the time I've got my hands in position and then flipped the mask down, I've moved!
I found a solution which means I don't have to buy an automask. I place my 500W halogen lamp about 1M to one side nearby and with my mask down I can see nicely the panel gap as a contrast line/shadow. Even after striking an arc it is just a comfortable brightness to see the arc, the weld pool, spot weld holes etc.
Works a treat for me but I don't know if its a well-known old-hands trick or not: so i thought I'd share it. Only careful point - apart form the UV/heat of the halogen - is to remember it is brighter after I lift my mask compared to when it's down (Halogen-eye!)
Cheers