Welding Question

I have a hard time seeing fine cracks I'm repairing or seeing closed-up-tight-together seams. I can't see it, and my weld sometimes walks away from where I want it to be. What do you guys do to light up those areas? Or do you? Or am I just not getting the point, I gotta pay more careful attention? Do you do anything to light up areas?

Depends on your eyes. Sometimes some people need cheaters welding glass if you need help to read (reading glasses). I found the gold plated lens to work best for me, but you also need the correct shade for the type of welding one does. Indoors needs a darker lens, I use a 10 for stick welding and an 11 for heliarc. Outdoors, depending on how bright the sun is, you usually need a lighter lens, usually 1 or 2 shades lighter.

I had to go to cheaters (magnifying lense) in my hood a long time ago. You can get them in different degrees of magnification. I also wear my glasses along with them. I had to go 1 shade lighter and changed to an auto darkening hood & has been working good for me. Just my thoughts, Keith

Don't you v the crack out first? Proper practice and easier to see when welding

I tried cheaters but they didn't really work for me. Get a bright shop light that you can shine on it, that seems to work best for me. You could also try a different shade lens in your hood, if you have gone lighter go back darker, lots of folks think a lighter shade will help but then they can't see because it's too bright.

(quoted from post at 04:52:44 08/21/15) Don't you v the crack out first? Proper practice and easier to see when welding

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Even when a couple too many amps blows a hole right through it?

Sometimes it helps to draw with soapstone along or close to the weld so you have something to use as a guide.

I welded at John Deere for many years,the first thing I did every morning was to clean the colored lens in my hood and put a new clear lens on the outside. You wouldn't believe how dirty they get in a day.

(quoted from post at 03:17:22 08/21/15) I have a hard time seeing fine cracks I'm repairing or seeing closed-up-tight-together seams. I can't see it, and my weld sometimes walks away from where I want it to be. What do you guys do to light up those areas? Or do you? Or am I just not getting the point, I gotta pay more careful attention? Do you do anything to light up areas?

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If you do not already own an auto-darkening welding helmet, get one. Make sure it is working correctly and has a GOOD battery.

I was having the same problems as you. The helmet made all the difference.

I know the problem that you are having. This is not quite the same thing, but I have been butt welding a lot of sheet metal with my mig. I have a little LED work light that has a loop carrying handle along one edge. I found that I can put my hand through that loop and then steady the mig with that hand at the same time. I am applying just little dots of weld and they need to be within a 32 of where you want them if they are going to make a continuous air tight weld, so it is worth getting set up to see very well.

(quoted from post at 07:52:44 08/21/15) Don't you v the crack out first? Proper practice and easier to see when welding

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Not always. If you try to v out sheet metal you end up with a gap!

I use soapstone both sides of the seam, it lights it up on cracks and seams.Weld between the lines (seams) and it works, doesn't hurt the weld with contamination. Hope it helps.
LOU

I pop the hood lenses out every now and then and give every layer a good cleaning with an automotive plastics cleaner. I like to get my face right in the weld, if possible, and it smokes the lenses pretty quick. A bright work light and an auto darkening hood work good, but sometimes the work light darkens the hood when you don't want it dark, and you have to adjust your position. I also use lens magnifiers. Sometimes I still screw up, in spite of all that.

I had the same problem seeing the joint to weld and found my self darkening glasses were getting darker under the hood while welding. Reduced the lenses number to a point I knew something was not right. Changed to a pair of glasses that don't darken and that solved the problem for me.

I'm near-sighted, and I normally have to take my glasses off to see close up.

But for some reason, I've always kept my glasses on while welding - never really thinking about how close I was to the work.

One day I happened to have my glasses off when I went to weld something and my god it was like night and day. I could not believe the difference it made.

I might as well have had wax paper in front of my eyes doing it all those years with my glasses on.

Makes SO much sense once I did it, but I had just never thought to try it before.

Unlikely that's your problem - but figure I'd mention in case it helps anybody else.

For some reason I have trouble with the wire welder and not the stick. Here is what I do when wire welding. If it is a flat surface I just lay a scrap piece of iron about 1/2 away from the seam. Then start welding and use the scrap iron as a referance point.

And all these years I thought it was just me!

I use a cheater.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is to use one of the gold coated lenses instead of the green lens. I am somewhat color blind, with my problems being with the reds and greens, and there are many other guys out there with the same problem that don't know it if they have never been tested. When I started welding I couldn't see squat with a standard #9 green lens. Someone suggested trying the gold plated ones, and I have never used anything else. It changes the color of the weld puddle and, at least for me, makes a world of difference in how well I can see what I am doing with the same shade lens.

I had a buddy that was learning to weld, and he was having problems seeing the joints. He was using a moderately priced QC lens in his helmet, and I used it a couple of times just to show him the way to do certain things. I was able to weld because I knew what I was doing, even though I couldn't see as well as I wanted. When he asked me to fill in a gap, I had to get my helmet off the truck. When I was done I let him try it, and I just about didn't get it back. Like me, he said there was a world of difference in how well he could see what he was doing.

Too, as others have said, a clean cover lens both inside and out, makes a world of difference, regardless of what shade lens you are using. When one gets dirty the scratches will reflect the light and make you feel like your welding in a fog. You'll notice a BIG difference in how well you can see just by changing one, or both, of them, if that's your problem.

Good luck.