Welding helmets

I know a marvelous head shrinker on Borneo...

-- Age is always advancing, and I'm pretty sure it's up to no good. --Harry Dresden

After throwing out my Harbor Fright automatic helmet, I got a Miller one, and I am generally happy with it.

Why did you throw out tht HF helmet?

Because it broke. It was a solar helmet and it stopped darkening.

I have a NexGen in a Huntsman 951, and like it. It is best that you just take the guy shopping, and let him find the one that fits his head the best.

I wear a 7 1/2 to 75/8 size hat. I have either a very large brain, or thick skull, tests were inconclusive. The crown of my head is also high, and I have to use the last hole in the over the top of the head adjuster. So, everyone's head is different, and those holding mechanisms are different, too, as is the functional part of the helmet. And don't forget that you can buy headbands that fit in other helmets, so it is possible to mix them. You gotta let the guy pick it out, as he's the one who's going to wear it a lot.

Steve

Heart surgery pending?

But before it broke, you were happy with it?

I was happy with it before it broke, yes.

I've got two HF auto helmets. Their cheaper one, and their more expensive one. I kinda like them both, but the more expensive one takes about 3/4-1 second to go clear when the arc shuts off. If I am stacking (overlapping) tack welds doing thinner materials its kind of a pain having to wait after each spot for my helmet to clear so I can see to position the gun again.

I bought one on eBay when I got my TIG. I am pretty sure it is similar to the HF stuff. Has a darkness knob on the left outside. That is a peeve, as that knob constantly gets bumped.

What I found is that you need to leave the unit where it can see light, so I leave it pointed so it is looking straight at a light fixture. This keeps the battery charged.

Jon

I'm also a fathead (7 3/4), and as a bonus, my forehead keeps getting taller! When I need to tack or do simple fillet welds, they let me use the company generic helmets; I think the best thing you could get someone in that position is a cooling fan! :-)

Hey, maybe that's an idea for an invention - a welding hood with a built-in cooling fan! I hate it when my forehead sweats under that leather headband, and the hood slides all over.

Cheers! Rich

It was exposed to light all the time.

Set up a high-intensity light on the weld area. It will light up the workpiece while keeping the lens dark. Win/win.

-- Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -- Howard Thurman

This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing, although I have worn a bandana to keep the sweat out of my eyes. It never occurred to me, primarily because I'm no weldor - I'm just the detail draftsman who occasionally gets an opportunity to melt some fluxcore.

Thanks! Rich

Try a welding cap.

Take a Comeaux cotton welding hat, and when the weather is hot, put ice water on it, and put it back on. There's about half an hour of relief there.

When I was working in the early 70's in the oilfield, a weldor brought hand sewn caps that his wife and in-laws sewed. He sold all he brought every time. I have written Comeaux about their history to see if it was that same weldor. Will keep you posted.

Steve

Heart surgery pending?

LOL. Ok... or set up high intensity lights and just use my old ordinary dark welding helmet.

I'll have to go out to the shop and take a look, but if I recall there are still batteries in it. On the cheaper one the batteries are not replaceable. When they go bad you throw the helmet away. So far both of mine still work.

they were not replaceable on mine.

You had the cheaper one then. Plane grey. The one that comes with the fancy paint job has replaceable batteries. I actually like the functionality of the cheaper one better as it goes clear much quicker when the arc breaks. I would never have bought either one way back when. A buddy of mine got me the cheap HF auto hood as a gift to say thanks for a bunch of misc repairs I had done for him. Fixing his boat trailer, welding up holes in his boat, repairing the hitch and jack on his son's horse trailer. The kind of things you do to help out a buddy. After I got the auto helmet I discovered my welding got better and setup was a lot easier. I bought the fancier one myself when my son exhibited an interest in welding and signed up for welding in high school.