Hand Held Welding Masks - Novice Welders

[bryan_rice]

The first MIG welder that I ever bought is coming with a hand held welding mask as an added bonus.

I'm completely new to welding, so I don't know if I should trust the hand held mask or not.

I'm thinking about going onto ebay.com and finding a auto-darkening mask that I don't have to hold so I can concentrate on my welding.

To get to the point, are hand held welding masks good for novice welders, or would it be better to order a hands free mask?

Thanks!

 

[BillJ]

I'd say you can trust it, safety-wise. I learned to arc-weld 25 years ago with a cheap (in those days) AC arc welder and the crappy shield that came with it. Out of necessity (a broke student with a car that needed fixing), I learned to make do.

20-odd years on I bought a MIG welder, probably costing not much more in real terms. I splashed out on an auto mask despite the welder coming with a fixed shield. The auto mask was a revelation! That blindness while trying to strike the arc is gone for a start. It's very hard to line up the torch, then put the shield in place, then strike the arc exactly where the torch was, because it may well be elsewhere now...

 

[fingers99]

I'd say that hand held ones are a menace to the newbie. They're safe enough, providing you remember not to try and look round them, but.............. Using a drop down or -- much better -- auto sheild will make your life so much easier.

 

[bryan_rice]

I was thinking about a drop down. Now more than ever.

I got the welder tonight. When I unpacked everything, I found that the glass for the hand held mask was chipped in 7 places and was also broken in half. I e-mailed the
seller, but I don't think they can do anything.

I'm going onto ebay.com in the morning to order a drop down welding mask. I should
not have agreed to let the seller include a mask with the welder!

 

[bryan_rice]

Yeah, it was a good mask but the glass shield was chipped in 7 places and broken in half when I got it earlier tonight. So, the hand held mask is pretty much out of the question.

Now I have to go onto ebay.com in the morning and find another mask. I think that I will look for a drop down this time. My first encounter with a welding mask, and it's a bad one.

 

[fingers99]

You can get spare glasses and lenses. But the drop downs Machine Mart do for £15 or so are not bad.

 

[rtbcomp]

Yeah, glasses come in standard sizes. What you should do is fit a clear glass to the outside, then the shaded glass then a polycarbonate lens on the inside.

The clear glass is very cheap and takes all the splatter, the shaded glass absorbs the light and the poly protects your eyes if one of the glass lenses breaks.

If your budget will stretch to it, get an auto-darkening mask.

 

[Richiew]

If you're a novice then get yourself a budget auto darkening mask. It will make the learning experience sooo much easier. Theres no point putting unnecessary obstacles in your way when you are learning. No point getting disheartened due to not being able to see what you are doing.

 

[jrmig]

Interestingly, I got out my battered old hand held that came with my welder the other day. I was welding in a tight spot in the footwell of my restoration project and no matter how I tried I couldn't get in with my auto mask.

Hand held's do come in useful occasionally so don't throw it away.

Other than that auto darkening all the way.

jrmig

 

[rtbcomp]

....
Hand held's do come in useful occasionally so don't throw it away.

Other than that auto darkening all the way.

jrmig

Yes, they come in handy if you have someone watching you too, the spectator can use the hand-held one.

 

[fingers99]

Read the threads on reliable budget auto-darkening ones if you decide to go the eBay route -- there is some trash out there.

 

[TurboShed]

...The clear glass is very cheap and takes all the splatter, the shaded glass absorbs the light and the poly protects your eyes if one of the glass lenses breaks...

Isn't best practice to wear safety specs under your welding mask?

 

[bryan_rice]

I may just go to Lowes Home Improvement over in San Dimas, California. They have some MIG welding supplies. I saw a decent drop down mask last week that would
be good for what I need. The brand was Lincoln Electric if I remember correctly.

From what I have heard and read on the internet, those are supposed to be a quality brand.

As far as ebay goes for ordering a mask, I doubt that I will go that way now. I like to know exactly what i'm buying. Online I can't do that. In person I can.

I'll figure something out. Thanks for the reply.

 

[shenion]

Lowes/HomeDepot sell the Lincoln masks. The fixed ones are fine; the auto-darkening one is not good as it responds too slow (1/400 second.) Will have an annoying flash at each start.

I picked up two autodarkening ones off ebay with a 1/20,000 response time for half the price of the Lincoln one ($50)

I hate to recommend Harbor Freight as most what they sell is Chinese junk. They do have a good auto darkening one that is often for sale at $50. Me and a buddy have themand they work great.

 

[bryan_rice]

I checked harborfreight.com. I'm going to get the one at the local Lowes Home Improvement.

That way I won't have to wait as long for it. I don't want to try my new welder
without a mask. It's raining outside here, so I guess I couldn't weld even if I did
have one.

Bryan R.

 

[clevinski]

Bryan,

I would really recommend the auto-darkening mask rather than the drop down. I'm a beginner too, and it is just soooo much easier to see where the torch is positioned exactly and be able to keep it there when you start. With a drop down, you have to nod your head, which invariably moves your hand. With an autodarkener, it seems like you're looking through green sunglasses, and as soon as you strike the arc, it darkens to whatever shade setting you've selected. (Shade 11 is generally recommended for MIG welding.)

I second what Shenion says about the Harbor Freight auto-darkening mask. I have had one for a year and it works great. We differ in that I like Harbor Freight for some other items; some of what they carry is garbage, but a lot of it is OK for home hobbyist use. For example, I have two of their 4 1/2 inch angle grinders and am very pleased with them.

Regarding not wanting to wait for the autodarkening mask from Harbor Freight, they have a lot of retail stores. In California, they are located at:

California

ARCATA, CA 5000 VALLEY WEST BLVD #14 707-822-1629
BAKERSFIELD,CA 3745 ROSEDALE HWY New Location!
CAMARILLO,CA 3491 MISSION OAKS BLVD 805-445-4791
CHICO, CA 130 W. EAST AVE 530-892-8908
CHULA VISTA,CA 680 L STREET 619-425-5127
EL CAJON,CA 1196 E MAIN ST 619-441-3771
ESCONDIDO,CA 1350 W MISSION RD 760-432-2087
FRESNO NORTH, CA 4486 W. SHAW AVE 559-271-0116
FRESNO,CA 1349 N BLACKSTONE AVE 559-268-5157
GARDEN GROVE,CA 13691 HARBOR BLVD. 714-636-7192
HEMET,CA 1200 W. FLORIDA AVE 951-929-8875
HESPERIA,CA 11940 HESPERIA RD 760-949-0558
LAKEWOOD,CA 4247 WOODRUFF AVE. 562-425-1780
LANCASTER, CA 2330 MALL LP RD BLD5 #105 661-949-6656
LOMITA,CA 2040-B PACIFIC COAST HWY 310-326-7942
MODESTO,CA 901 N. CARPENTER RD. 209-549-1312
MONTCLAIR ,CA 9137 CENTRAL AVE, STE B 909-626-2544
NEWARK,CA 39155 CEDAR BLVD. 510-793-5425
OCEANSIDE, CA 316 N. HORNE ST 760-754-8548
ORANGE,CA 811 SOUTH TUSTIN AVE 714-633-9881
PASADENA,CA 3660 EAST FOOTHILL BLVD. 626-304-9272
PLEASANT HILL, CA 535 CONTRA COSTA BLVD 925-689-7235
REDDING,CA 1175 HARTNELL, SUITE. A 530-222-2667
RIVERSIDE,CA 3530 ADAMS ST. 951-351-8848
ROCKLIN, CA 6860 FIVE STAR BLVD 916-781-7214
SACRAMENTO NORTH,CA 5439 AUBURN BLVD 916-344-6297
SACRAMENTO SOUTH,CA 5051 FRUITRIDGE RD. 916-451-5338
SALINAS,CA 117 ABBOTT ST 831-424-0405
SAN BERNARDINO,CA 580 INLAND CTR DR, UNIT A 909-384-0607
SANTA MARIA,CA 1460 S BROADWAY ST 805-922-4337
SANTA ROSA,CA 930 PINER RD 707-544-6442
SIMI VALLEY,CA 995 E.LOS ANGELES AVE #10 805-578-9870
STOCKTON,CA 1120 E WATERLOO RD #4 209-467-7041
VALLEJO,CA 2001 SOLANO AVE 707-645-0185
VENTURA, CA 1425-B S. VICTORIA AVE 805-644-5896
VISALIA,CA 1847 S MOONEY BLVD 559-625-9308
WESTMINISTER,CA 15436 GOLDEN WEST ST. 714-896-9737
WOODLAND HILLS, CA 22912 VICTORY BLVD. 818-888-4011

I don't know if one of these is within driving distance to you or not, but if it's raining, maybe a drive isn't a bad thing.

Good luck!