Welding without a mask

[English Steve]

well my safety specs are US rated for use on shooting ranges and ballistic impact... how paranoid and sad is that!

Thats sensible, not sad. I wear prescription safety glasses in the workshop ALWAYS. Even if i'm only walking through to get somewhere else!

 

[Horrorking]

I agree totally about the show - my 8yo daughter often says "Hey dad, why are they not wearing gloves/eye protection/masks etc like you do in the shed?"

I have recently purchased a set of prescription safety glasses for work in the shed - anything that could result in something getting thrown about, even drilling wood, now has them worn. I upgraded the old "chinese-special" face shield to a better one, although it's a little darker than I'd like, even on the minimum setting (Maked it hard to follow the weld line!)

My safety is paramount, as is the safety of the kids if they are about when I'm welding/grinding etc. Full face shields for all, welding mask for the kids if they are watching, and they stay well back just in case anything goes bad. Cotton clothes are a must, although I DID forget to tape the slit in the wrist of my cotton welding shirt a few days ago, and now I have a nice case of "sunburn" on my left forearm - oops!

 

[kieranfkilmartin]

Hi, Any of you guys ever watched American Chopper (yeah, sad I know)? Those guys don't bother with masks when tacking stuff up and half the time don't even seem to be closing their eyes! I'd been told that even closing your eyes won't do the job as your eyelids are so thin, is that right? Isn't a TIG arc supposed to be worse for you than MIG too? Is this just blatantly irresponsible programming, and will thousands of half blind Americans be crashing their choppers all over the show this summer... I figure with an auto darkening mask whats the difference anyway?

i been mig welding without a mask for years, used to do it for a living, kieran

 

[bigdavesproule]

haha gd luk mate, are u on ur 5th set of eyeballs? that is jus total madness. jus recently started tiggin and even one flash from it will leave ya wi sore eyes at nite, far worse than mig. i always always always use auto mask now, best purchase i ever made, was only 50 quid but is still a gr8 mask, no1 can put a price on der eyesight.

 

[Arsonista]

When I started out in engineering in the early seventies, if you had asked for some safety equipment you would have been considered a 'bit of a girl'. Times change. Thankfully. We would spent whole days using 4'' & 9'' grinders with no guard and the stories about acetylene bombs and firing needle files out of air lines still make me chuckle. When 'tacking up' with a welder in his welding bay, you just held your hand in front of the weld area to protect your eyes. Now, in my own workshop, my pillar drill has no guard and none of my 4'' grinders do. That's what I'm used to. I don't use gloves either and I don't whine if the machines bite me. I'm not saying any of this is right, in fact quite the opposite, but it will take a generation to get us non safety aware old buggars out of the system. If my boy comes into the workshop he gets told to put all the gear on. You can liken H&S to multi airbag cars, drivers become immune to the dangers because the cars make them feel so safe.

 

[stucktoweld]

See sense with 2 eyes!!!

I was trained as a weapon instructor by the Army many years ago
First Lesson The rifle isn't dangerous and isn't a weapon until in the hands of a (Human) in the case of some on this thread
I just suggest let them one eyed get on with it.
If you don't have an auto mask get one and keep two good eyes in use.
We weren't born with two just to one shut

 

[Stunter]

How paranoid am I?
well my safety specs are US rated for use on shooting ranges and ballistic impact... how paranoid and sad is that!

not at all mate, i've gone from nothing to everything!

PROPER safety glasses and apron for grinding, auto helmet and gloves for welding, looks a bit much but i nearly set myself on fire when grinding a while ago, i kept picking up hot metal with no gloves and touched the bench grinder once which momentarily dragged my finger in which hurt like hell and left me with a painful 'missing tip' for a while.
Even climbing under cars and getting c**p in your eyes gets on your nerves after a while....so the macho image (substitute macho for stupid if we're honest ) has gone and now my hands are burn free, my eyes don't need to be flushed, rubbed or itch at night and my clothes don't get dark patches burnt into them

 

[ian of fev]

i been mig welding without a mask for years, used to do it for a living, kieran

naughty naughty ive had arc once it put the clean shi#s up me i was up all night in pure agony never again no excuse for it do yourself a favor mate get a good mask while you still got two eyes not haveing a go at you kieran but for the likes of new people just starting out in the diy welding game its not so clever to boast about not welding without any protection best thing i ever got was a parweld auto for under 50£

 

[Tom_M]

Only had one flash, and that was when I worked as a welders mate. Not very pleasant at all, it's like having broken class under your eyelids.

Tom

 

[bigdavesproule]

When I started out in engineering in the early seventies, if you had asked for some safety equipment you would have been considered a 'bit of a girl'. Times change. Thankfully. We would spent whole days using 4'' & 9'' grinders with no guard and the stories about acetylene bombs and firing needle files out of air lines still make me chuckle. When 'tacking up' with a welder in his welding bay, you just held your hand in front of the weld area to protect your eyes. Now, in my own workshop, my pillar drill has no guard and none of my 4'' grinders do. That's what I'm used to. I don't use gloves either and I don't whine if the machines bite me. I'm not saying any of this is right, in fact quite the opposite, but it will take a generation to get us non safety aware old buggars out of the system. If my boy comes into the workshop he gets told to put all the gear on. You can liken H&S to multi airbag cars, drivers become immune to the dangers because the cars make them feel so safe.

very true, i have 2 admit i am the same in most areas, but ive had sore eyes far too many times, i now always wear protection when welding, but no guards on 4.5 griders, drills or bench grinders and hands always go into dangerous spots, jus an occupational hazzard i guess!!

 

[Arsonista]

I thought I was going to get grief for writing that Big Dave. I probably look a bit cack handed using spanners, my friend is a plant mechanic and they look like a part of him. He never uses latex gloves either, hates them. Not recommending it, just what you're used to if you're an old git.

 

[bigdavesproule]

latex gloves are only gd for light work, usually end up tearing and ur hands get dirty anyway lol
only time i wear them is if im goin to see the girlfriend later lol
saves time scrubbing!!!

 

[Arsonista]

 

[Sparkey]

lol! How considerate of you, Dave...
I never wear the latex gloves underneath the welding gloves!! what would happen if you burn yourself?
Actually...i never wear latex gloves, can't stand it;..makes my hands all sweaty...ugh!

 

[bigdavesproule]

i didn mean under the welding gloves, only when mechanicin and workin with oil and grease, i burnt th tip of me finger with the tig recently, wasn wearin the welding gloves, its all rough now, keeps laddering her tights lmao jkjk but she does always complain bout them being rough, just wat 17 years of farming and welding does to ya lol

 

[zardoz]

American chopper gets on my wick, Rick and Vinnie, especially Rick is very skilled, The family know how to make money, thats it........

Vinny left to set up his own shop,(with another former OCC employee, Cody) because he asked them for a rise and they knocked him back. i guess he was sick of building the bikes himself while Junior sat playing with the computer, until it was time to have the mid day argument with Senior, just for the cameras. Both Junior and comedy errand boy Mike both got big money and huge new houses and cars. Many times now we have seen these idiots smash up workshops and vehicles for a "joke" as the camera rolls. ARGGHHH!!

 

[Sparkey]

i didn mean under the welding gloves, only when mechanicin and workin with oil and grease, i burnt th tip of me finger with the tig recently, wasn wearin the welding gloves, its all rough now, keeps laddering her tights lmao jkjk but she does always complain bout them being rough, just wat 17 years of farming and welding does to ya lol

Ah yes!!! i know that! mr sparks is a farmer too!
I'll share a trick with you: he always forgets to put cream or lotion on his hands, but he loooves it when i do it! a small hand massage...have to use both hands to rub one of his! lol


ps: cool down zardoz! they are just doing that stuff to get more people to watch their show! it's not worth to get annoyed by it! they're a bunch of *****!

 

[Robotstar5]

Vinnie & Cody's new business - V force

 

[Wizard of Arc]

Hi, Any of you guys ever watched American Chopper (yeah, sad I know)? Those guys don't bother with masks when tacking stuff up and half the time don't even seem to be closing their eyes! I'd been told that even closing your eyes won't do the job as your eyelids are so thin, is that right? Isn't a TIG arc supposed to be worse for you than MIG too? Is this just blatantly irresponsible programming, and will thousands of half blind Americans be crashing their choppers all over the show this summer... I figure with an auto darkening mask whats the difference anyway?

I've been offshore on the rigs and seen a grizzled welder applying the heat pads via a spot welder/TIG device. He'd just squint his eyes and *POP* away with the machine, and repeat until finished!

Previous to that a REME welder I knew was known to weld car exhausts with nowt, no even welding gloves!