problems with the weld pool

[trikealight]

hi guys , very new to mig welding here in the bowels of kent, my problem is ,i have difficulty seeing the weld pool clearly as i weld , i can lay welds on plate ok but its mostly guess work and on 90 degree welds no chance ! i have tried with an auto darkening mask , with the knob on the side down on 9 , but loose it when i strike an ark , its slightly better with the cheap old mask which came with the welder ( clarke 160tm) , i have to wear glasses is that the problem ?
any ideas would be most welcome

 

[gordon stephenson]

Some people do have difficulty seeing exactly what is going on, I myself (and some others on this forum) use extra lighting at the welding area, I use an Anglepoise lamp, try different wattage bulbs to see if any of them are any help with the problem.Position the light so as to Make sure the light does not influence the auto helmet.

 

[scott0031]

since 18 months ago i also have to wear glasses, It doesnt seem to cause a problem for me. If you have tried an auto mask i would suggest a lot better backround lighting. This helps illuminate the areas that are often blackened out by the mask and helps you keep better orientation in my view. This is mainly my tig work bench and often you cant do a lot about the backround light such as working on awkward places on cars.

My works didnt have good enough lighting over the welding bench for some years, Soon as i could be bothered i improved it and it did make ther world of difference. Some prolly wont agree. Its really a matter of what works for you.


Kind regards,


Scott (ward eng)

 

[trikealight]

thanks for the replies so far , i have not tried welding indoors yet only outdoors

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

I use an '8' in my mask, or on the auto mask it's down to the minimum setting. As stated above, extra lighting makes a big difference. I also wear glasses but take them off for close work so they're not affecting anything I do, but could you be getting reflections between your glasses and the screen?

If the lens isn't clean then you can get odd 'shadows' or 'flare' and that makes it much harder to see what you're doing. I tend to wipe over the screen at least at the start of each session and if I'm doing overhead, like under the car, then I'll wipe it a couple of times during breaks as I'm working.

Have you tried marking a line in either dark marker pen or chalk to see if that helps?

Regards
Peter

 

[pedrobedro]

Sometimes I find I look at the screen instead of through it, usually when there is strong light behind me and my screen is a bit scruffy. Try covering the gap round the back of the helmet with something to keep the light out and cleaning the screen or de-fogging it.

 

[trikealight]

i have had strong light behind me so will try moving also will see what happens if i mark the weld path with marker pen or chalk