The Home Machinist!

OK... Taking welding class. Stick is current subject. Specific usage right now is 1/8' 7013, 125A, learning to run a good bead.

Instructor and books refer to "watch the weld puddle and hold a bead 2-3 diameters wide".

Super, but I am not SEEING the puddle. Community College POS helmet, autodarkening, set to "10" on the dial, looks like "1000", all I see is the arc. Don't see the work, the puddle, the edges of the work, the joint, nothin. All guessing and remembering "about where it should be".

I'm not doing too bad for all guessing, but it would be great to have something but the arc length to be in control of with some guidance.

Ask instructor.... he replies "you'll learn". I'm thinking OK, great, I gotta learn ESP so I know where stuff is.

How much should the lens let me see?

Should I actually be able to see the puddle and maybe something about the shape and location of the work?

or is it basically supposed to be all remembering where you are supposed to go and guessing how wide the bead is?

WOW really thats the best the "instructor" could come up with ? Does not sound like a good teacher at all


You should be able to see the puddle the joint and where you going..
Sounds like the lense is set too dark . A trick you can do to see better is mark you weld line with soapstone "chalk"


Yes should be able to see it .. try adjusting the darkness of the hook to where yo can see but it's doesn't hurt you eyes..


welding is not guess work you should be able to see what you welding...

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Plan your work, work your plan..

j tiers,

These are some Visual Aids that might be of help to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeBX6cKKHWY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpPNDgvXoO4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWQXIjE5cz4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaDsmeB5ywM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ibb4BTHpg&NR=1

There are many more on you tube that you might
want to watch that would be helpful.

Have Fun.

Ken.

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One must remember.
The best learning experiences come from
working with the older Masters.
Ken.

I have this same issue sometimes. I think it's just a matter of eye focus and ajustment. Age is not your friend here, at least that's my situation. What is really strange about viewing the puddle is welding in sunlight. I couldn't believe how easy the puddle was viewed my first time welding in sunlight. You see stuff BEFORE you even strike the arc. Try some different shades of glass. If you research this topic there seems to be no source willing to agree on a minimum shade number. I think most agree that if any discomfort occurrs, you need to up the protecton though. They do make cheater lenses for the hoods, which will give you a correction similar to eyeglasses if needed. I use these on my mask. Don't forget to take your regular glasses off,(if you wear glasses), before using the cheaters. Good luck.

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atlas 618,MM challenger wire welder, 4x6 cheapo bandsaw, assorted junk, spears for hunting mastadons.

Tiers: Being a professional Millwright, I have to weld. I am quite ameteur at it, having seen good qualified welders work. In critical welding of some jobs, I always ask the better or best welder to finsh weld if possible. If offer these tidbits from my experience.

Shade #: Use the lowest you feel comfortable with, Shade 10 is usually good for small rod, larger rod with stronger arcs may require stepping up. Auminum with Helium is quite bright, and may require more protection.

Lensing and glasses: Wearing glasses can be problematic. As a matter of personal condition, I am near sighted, but the working length of my glasses force me to work far away,not good for details of the weld, or close in without. I have gone to 2.5 lenses in the helm to work this out. I can speak from experience, this is not a memory excercise, You must watch, the arc, the metal puddle, and the following slag or you will never get good welds, except by chance. There is a tendancy for beginners to focus on the Bright cover slag. This is wrong, as the width of the metal puddle is what must be controlled by arc length, rod angle, and arc forward movement. That is a lot to watch and assimialte at one time without experience. Without being able to see these, you are, and will stay lost in the woods without a clue what to do.

You have to be able to see not only the weld, but the shadows of the weld line, to be done.

Rod control is an issue that always changes. Waving a rod at a weld, like grass in the wind, is going to make for a messy weld. Bracing of the holding arm is most common, and done for comfort, as is getting the stinger cable stable so it does not effect the hold of the rod clamp (stinger). Often , for me, it is draped over the shoulder so the weight is lessend at the hand, or draped close by on the work, so the suspended weight is short.

With You-tube and some books, I believe a good idea of approaches and views can be had, the only thing missing is Practice, practice, practice. Have fun a build something. Go-cart, garden cart, Junk art. Just do it.

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Big Dave

Be Alert! The world needs more Lerts.

What Big Dave said......and my 2 cents....

You should be able to see the puddle, and you must be able to see the difference of the flux & the metal in the puddle. (this generally takes a little time & practice) No guessing about it. More important when you start welding out of position.

Sounds to me your lenz is too dark .

Two most important things about welding....you have to be comfortable (steady) and you have to be able to see.

For stick welding, I usually use a #10, maybe a #11 if I'm going to be doing it all day. Underground, I use a #9.
Wire I use a #11, Tig I use a #11 for quick jobs, #12 if it's going to take any length of time.

Buy your own hood. I have several. If you have the cash, Speedglas is the best auto-darkening I've used. Northern tool makes a good one for a lot less money. I own both.
You can buy regular hoods, wide angle, flip up etc pretty cheap. I prefer Huntsman, but it's a good idea to try 'em on at a welding supplier, to see what fits best.
In any case, lighter weight is an important feature.

As far as glasses, I find it tough to weld with my bifocals. Really gets hard when welding out of position. (anyone else ever try putting their bifocals on upside down to weld overhead? it's not a player.....) I have some cheap Walmart reading glasses I use. 2.00 right now.....but I think I'm going to graduate to something a bit stronger. Gettin' old ain't for sissies.

Bill

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Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.

Pretty much agreed on all that.

I have four helms, two are for hard hats, one for a cap, with a gold sheild, and one Horror Fright auto dark. It is the best $50 I ever spent for welding supplies. Athough a little slow at darkening, compared to 'Quality' auto dark lenses, it opens up a whole new way of welding, by having one hand free without the helmet nod that loses your linup on the weld. Especially with Tig, I think it a big step to quality welding. It is adjustable 8-12 power, and if I ran over it with the truck tonite, I would have another tommorow.

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Big Dave

Be Alert! The world needs more Lerts.

I can not speak from experience but I have read of people using a dark cover of some sort to cut out the light from the back and allowing a little time for their eyes to dark adapt. Seems to me like it would help and I intend to try it as my vision is not what I would like.

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Don Young

Well, I lightened up a bit on the dial, and it was much better. Got a decent handle on the puddle width, although I think I am seeing the slag, mostly, spreading out around the puddle. Kind of a web-work of bright threads around a darker area of light around the arc that is apparently the puddle. I think I could go a tad further on lightening, I still have some problems seeing where I am going to, and following the toe of a previous pass.

it's fairly dark in the welding booths.

Thanks

We practiced doing cover pass "weaving" tonight, and that went pretty well with the lighter setting. Again, might go a hair more. No class next Monday, dagnabit

its good to hear that it is starting to come together. i have a comment and suggestion

glasses and bifocals can be a issue as can the photogray used in alot of lenses. i had a pair of glases made with a lined bifocal in the top so i could weld in good detail and did not have them photograyed so things would not be dim when i flipped down the helmet.

i bought a large window top line helmet and it made a massive improvment in weld quality.

next consider stoping by a welding supply store. they often have a demo area with the ability to test out lots of products to see what works for you.
when you get a helmet treat it well indeed i bought a hard case for mine. considering all the headbands,broken and scratched lenses it will not take long to pay for its self.

enjoy the new skill.

the other item i keep in the welding kit is a leather helmet, it is hot because it is like a sandblasting hood but for odd positions or where light is a headache. i love it.

Yeah, the next pair of safety glasses are probably going to be "plumber's glasses", which seems to be the name for those with the section at top. I just have to decide what distance to get. I do a considerable amount of things where I need to see close over my head, and still want glasses as protection.

I expect a bit of trouble with overhead welding. The good news is I have to take OFF my glasses to see close, the bad news is "close" is about 6 inches, and NOT welding distance. So I can't just use plain safety for welding.

Photo gray not an issue, hate 'em, don't use 'em.

Ignore the rest, but the puddle pics are pretty decent...

http://www.weldingvideos.com/arcwelding1.html

Take note of where the overhead lighting is and try to position yourself so it is not shining directly on the back of your head.

I have Metal Halide lighting in my building and if I sit at the wrong place around the welding table I can see the reflection of a lamp in the lens and it makes seeing the weld very difficult.

Perhaps purchasing and using your own helmet would be a good thing if you plan on welding anyway.

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Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!