Too dark to see work area

[Tim Green]

Hello all,
I am a hobby OA welder working on maintaining vintage cars. Using pretty standard square lens goggles I find it almost impossible to see the work area until I have formed a bead. Until then I can see almost nothing at all which means I’m often flipping the shade up to get started which is not the best idea. I am using the recommended shade apparently. The workshop is quite well lit but do I need to illuminate the work piece more? A directional bright work lamp?

 

[Jackimus]

Sounds like you need an auto darkening filter and/or one of those little LED work lights pointed right at the work.

 

[Cobbler]

Sounds like you need an auto darkening filter and/or one of those little LED work lights pointed right at the work.

Will an auto mask work with OA?

 

[Jackimus]

Will an auto mask work with OA?

Bloody hell I need to work on my reading comprehension...

No, or at least not reliably. Stick with a fixed shade and bombard the work with light. Like a point blank 20W LED worklight, maybe two.

 

[frank horton]

Perhaps Specsaver might be a good place to start....
Glasses made all the diff for me.....

 

[tom2207]

try lightening the shade one ,,, fixed masks are available in a range of shades ,,,, also check your vision , can you read a newspaper at the distance you weld at.

 

[rtcosic]

How to say you're getting old without telling us your age!

Reading glasses
Lots of light.

Did I say lots of light?
Not enough, add more more!

 

[voipio]

As others have said, lots of light. A 500W halogen, or 50W LED floodlight, a metre or so from the workpiece will make a huge difference. Or try doing the welding outside in broad daylight, if it's feasible.

 

[BrokenBiker]

on my welding table i have a 60w adjustable lamp that i point directly at the joint im welding. i tried brighter but it played havoc with my old mask, havent tried with the new mask yet, but as you are fixed shade, all the light you can get and then some more. the more light you can throw at it, the clearer the area will be...then its just down to your eyes and i would imagine with OA you are a bit further away from the weld than i am with TIG, so if you cant read small print at that distance it might be time for an eye test. i started wearing glasses about 2 years after i started welding and it made a huge difference

 

[brightspark]

try a lighter shade .you should still be able to see the work before you start brazing or welding in a reasonable light

 

[Migmac]

What helped me was glasses, light, cheater lens, light and more light.

 

[premmington]

What helped me was glasses, light, cheater lens, light and more light.

That is my plan - cheater lens - and magnetic lights behind me - so not to trigger the auto lens in the welding lid

 

[Migmac]

That is my plan - cheater lens - and magnetic lights behind me - so not to trigger the auto lens in the welding lid

Cheater lens made a huge difference for me

 

[voipio]

That is my plan - cheater lens - and magnetic lights behind me - so not to trigger the auto lens in the welding lid

Auto darkening helmet lenses respond to rapid changes in brightness, such as that produced by an arc being struck, and by the flickering light produced during the arc welding process. A constant light, such as that from a halogen floodlight, normally doesn't trigger the helmet, unless the light path to the helmet sensor is interrupted in some way. Some LED floodlights produce a strobe-like light, rather than a constant light, and this can trigger the auto darkening circuitry in the helmet. It's possible to tell if a light is strobing by rapidly moving a hand with outsretched fingers in front of the light. If the fingers appear as a number of lines, then the light is strobing. Moving your hand in front of the computer monitor may reveal that the light coming from the monitor is strobing.

 

[premmington]

Cheater lens made a huge difference for me

Cheater lens not too expensive for a Speedglas lid

But eyewatering for an Optrel helmet....

 

[Tim Green]

Thanks all for your responses. Eyes recently tested and new bins in place. Lighter shade mask lens and much more light on the subject seem to be the obvious answers.

 

[Migmac]

Cheater lens not too expensive for a Speedglas lid

But eyewatering for an Optrel helmet....

Mines a parweld helmet, lens wasn’t to expensive.

 

[brightspark]

its gas welding not electric totaly diffrent lenses a lot lighter and you dont get a flash

 

[Smallfry]

I have a cheapo auto mask, and it works fine. Before welding starts I can see the work well enough, and then when welding I can see the pool OK, but I find it hard to keep track of the welding joint ahead of the pool, so I have wound it down a bit which helps, but I think the main problem is to do with my eyes

I do wear me glasses under the mask though. Couldn't do it at all without.

 

[voipio]

I have a cheapo auto mask, and it works fine. Before welding starts I can see the work well enough, and then when welding I can see the pool OK, but I find it hard to keep track of the welding joint ahead of the pool, so I have wound it down a bit which helps, but I think the main problem is to do with my eyes

I do wear me glasses under the mask though. Couldn't do it at all without.

Extra light will help. The weld pool, being the closest to the arc, receives the highest level of illumination. The still to be joined area, being further away from the arc, appears to be in relative darkness, and therefore not visible.