trouble seeing weld-tig

[squazy84]

sometimes i find it hard to see where i am when tig welding, im using an ebay automatic welding mask,i just find it hard to distinguish say where the joint is on a butt joint,any ideas?mask quality i guess? or my eyes lol

 

[Rich.]

Mask shade too dark i assume, i think i weld on around 9, maybe 8 if i getting into the low amps.

Im guessing the cheaper masks wont go this bright, 10 or 11 is usually it.

Rich

 

[gordon stephenson]

You may find that some extra lighting directed at the work-piece helps a lot, Give it a try you WILL be surprised,

 

[biodoctor]

its all to do with ambient lighting,i often use a 500w spotlight when i'm mig welding,it makes the world of difference,mine came from Machine mart £ 12.00 ish

 

[gavuk]

I use a fixedshade with a cheater lens which is magnified1.5 times....try some reading/prescription lens?

 

[Paul G]

Hi,

It may help if you flash a flap disc along the top edges prior to tack up.
A 0.5mm bevel on each side will give you a 1mm line to follow, easier to see than square edges tacked together.

I use a Speedglas helmet that I set on 8 for low amps (30) and 9 for 40 ish.

I also have prescription safety specs with +.5 and +.75 lenses. Yup, I am a wonky eyed welder.
OK, they were £50 from Boots but worth every penny for those intricate jobs.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Paul G

 

[RichardM]

I had the same problem and use an angle poise lamp or the over head florescent.

 

[Autolupus]

If you're not working within strict contamination guidelines, a chalk line can help too.

 

[Shox Dr]

My eye sight is 20/20 I know this because I've just had them tested. However I do find if I don't do any Thin (>1mm) welding with the TIG for sometime, I find it hard some days to see what Im doing. I asked the spec guy and he said it's just because your eyes are not used to working at such close distances and with that type/brightness of light.

If you are still finding it hard buy a pair of cheap reading glasses for a couple of quid

 

[squazy84]

light may be the key the shed is a bit dark,ill sort a light out!

 

[mike os]

better helmet will help a lot..... i had this issue to start with but when I upgraded to a better lid it all came good

 

[Graham S]

Another thing to try and avoid is light coming in to the back of the helmet, what happens is the that the shade goes dark and all you end up seeing is reflections of light from behind, a little like being on a train at night, you can see very little through the glass apart from the very bright things.

Graham

 

[heinz57]

I just got an swp helmet from this site for £58 + vat, great investment, great bit of kit. The helmets provided at the college are rubbish and im glad that i tried one during the beginning because it just makes me appreciate mine all the more. Worth a look mate.

 

[squazy84]

the light helps a lot, and making sure the helmet glass is clean is even better lol,i still have an itch to try one of the better auto darkening helmets,still sounds wrong!

 

[julieanncharters]

I just got an swp helmet from this site for £58 + vat, great investment, great bit of kit. The helmets provided at the college are rubbish and im glad that i tried one during the beginning because it just makes me appreciate mine all the more. Worth a look mate.

yep i bought one of these smp lids for tig welding when i had trouble with flicker on a cheap mask .
instant cure clear as crystal