autodark or not?

While I am not a pro, I don't see why there is something superior about not using one. A "standard" helmet will have a bigger window(generally), but the higher end autodarks have pretty big windows.

I like my autodark because I can adjust the tint based on the type of welding I am doing. This seems more professional to me, than having a single darkness helmet, or multiple helmets(screens). IMHO

Sidenote: Not that these guys are "pros", but have you ever noticed some of the welders on American Chopper/Monster Garage/et al that have Speedglas(or similar) helmets and do the "nod" thing? Worse are the "pros" who weld w/o a helmet. One idiot was welding for about half the show and then had to quit because he had such severe retina burn he couldn't see anymore. I like these shows for what they are building, but if they could just get rid of all the drama crap.

JW

I am not a pro but if the autodark makes life simpler for you and gives you good vision then why not use it? I understand there are certain difficult to weld in locations that might render an autodark useless because of blocked sensors. I have also read cases of earlier autodarkening helmets causing eye-strain of sorts. Maybe it's a real carpenters don't use blade guards type of thing. Billh

Might be that the person who said that is an "old school" welder stuck in his ways and thinks technology is bad.

I would never weld with a non-autodarkening helmet. Seems archaic. They're so cheap nowadays. I buy the Harbor Frieght ones for $40 when they're on sale. Works fine.

-T

What I like about the autodark hoods is... No more accidentally touching the work peice with my hood up and blinding me

Of the shows on right now, my favorite ones are Overhaulin', The new motorcycle build-offs and Southern Steel because there is no drama. Jack

- henning wright - spluttered in news:Xns95F1D1F1FCD96mfemgeoyahoocom@213.163.128.166:

The only negative on lens' or whatever I've heard about is gold-film

A small nick on a gold-film will damage your eyes with a plastic lens. The Fournier d00d mentions that in his publishings. I have a supplier that does have Glass cover lenses available, screw OSHA.

But I use a top-of-the-line autodark, per this ng, and I'm quite happy with. 50% of what I do is out of position.

Most of the pros I know use the old fashioned kind of helmet. That is what they learned with. They can start an arc in the right place without an autodark helmet.

Autodark does sure seem to help beginners get past the problem of striking an arc when stick welding.

Only downside to autodark I see is cost. They don't last forever, especially if you are prone to dropping things. And if you are doing overhead flux core, they just may not be a good choice. Drop some slag on the front of an old fashioned helmet and you will be replacing the cover plate and quite possibly the filter. Total cost a few bucks. Do the same on an expensive autodark and you could be out anywhere from $50 to $400.

What is a pro? Anyone who does something for money.

I used to hear the word "pro" used a lot in referring to old Las Vegas casino workers. (I live in Las Vegas.) One day, I asked what "pro" meant. The guy said, "A pro is a person who does a good job no matter how they feel." It made sense to me.

I have known some real pros. I have worked offshore in the oilfield, and have worked overseas. Both were back before the days of autodark hoods. Were that to be happening right now, I believe a lot of those hands would be using autodark.

I got a NexGen more than a year ago. In fact, I've had it so long, the batteries just needed replacing. It has helped me weld: I can precisely start my welds. No jerking my head which gave me a headache and neck ache after doing it about xxx times a day. I can see better because my field of vision doesn't jump when I nod my head. (I wear bifocals, but wear contacts and cheaters when I weld.) I can leave my hood down and do repetetive welds or stitch welds without bringing it up and down.

Thing is, it is not up to me, or some other to say that autodarks are good or bad or the sign of a good welder or a lazy welder. I am unsure if I would want to take my NexGen into the saltwater environment of a pipe laying barge, and weld while standing on a pallette and having seawater slosh underneath, like I used to. And salt spray blowing on you. I am not sure how it would do in that environment. And in really hard knock industrial situations, they may be prone to breakage with all the knocking around they get. I would definitely take my fixed lens, but then, I have broken them, too.

In a production shop where you do hundreds of simple welds, like wrought iron production, it would be less likely to get broken. In a home shop environment, who knows. If you are a guy like me, I can break an anvil.

It's up to each guy. I know that AWS sets standards for welds, but I don't believe anyone sets standards for hoods. I have seen outstanding welders wear those cheapest plastic hoods with a piece of tire inner tube to hold it on their heads. (Their beer was more of a priority.) And, they passed x-ray all the time. Those guys were pros.

I'm rambling.........

Steve

Auto-dark or LCD lenses do not perform well in sunlight, so most construction weldors don't use them.

For shop work, and especially TIG they are quite wonderful.

I like Overhaulin'. But, if they ever did that to me I think I would have to kick someone's ass. Some of them have been very tasteful, but some have been pretty extreme.

The motorcycle build-offs are hit-n-miss. Some are pretty good, and some have some drama. I haven't seen much of Southern Steel yet.

In my first night-school welding class, I had a "old school" welder as an instructor. This was about five years ago, before you could get a $40 audo-dark helmet. My instructor thought that the auto-dark hoods were probably a good thing, but, during the day, he worked in a large fabrication shop. He said that no matter what he did, within a couple of months any helmet he had would find its way onto the floor and under a fork-lift, or getting crushed some other way, so he refused to spend the money on anything more than a cheap helmet.

For my part I had resisted getting one, I guess because I wanted to be a "tough guy". This Christmas, my wife got me a really nice one. Now I wonder what the heck I was thinking. While it is lovely for TIG, I am particularly happy with using it on stick. My stick technique is still poor, and I have a habit of sticking the rod on startup, but being able to see the rod right into the initial contact helps immensely.

-- Kev> Might be that the person who said that is an "old school" welder stuck in

I love my autodark lid- also when you have a helper holding something in place for you when tacking or starting a run the person will REALLY be happy you stuck a autodarkening lid on his/her melon, very comforting and they can see 100% of what is going on. Even the cheaper ones for the "helper" is money well spent and it sure beats a mistake or a flinch from not being ready for the flash or changing angles. If a "Pro" disagrees so be it, I will never use anything since I got mine! I even take time to clean them up, keep them in helmet bags etc. My old helmets are still around the shop for guests. I never weld with people in the arc-area just so I don't get the shit sued out of me by some TV lawyer scumbag...

Rob

touching

What I don't like about my autodark is that I get used to being able to see before striking the arc ... so the other day, I went ahead and struck an arc while I was still wearing my full-face *grinding* helmet. Fortunately, I was just dazzled.

In the past, I would sometimes forget to switch helmets, but when I went to "nod," I would immediately realize that I didn't have the right helmet on, and wouldn't strike the arc.

Nonetheless, I do like having the autodark!

When I first got my autodark, I would still nod my head to drop the already dropped helmet..........

Steve

Definitely auto hoods are great but way too fragile for my environment. I have lost count of how many sad tales told across the lunch table. Maybe it would be fine if you were in a union shop were the employer replaced damaged tools but that is a rare situation. Also those helmets don't like the heat of 300 plus amps. Randy

I'd hate to have to repair those motorcycles they build - they're one-off, they don't appear to use any kind of drawings to plan where they put things, and they don't appear to be built with maintenance in mind. I think I'll stick with my old BMW. Steve

Some of the builders do quality work... BUT, some of them... I wouldn't let work on my wheelchair... Some of them shouldn't have a TV show for fear it would run off business. Jack

you must be talking about the guy (orange county choppers)that driller a hole in the rear tire, when he tried to drill a hole in the rear fender, even he knew there was only a 1/4" gap between the tire and the fender. To make things better when he went to the other side to drill a hole on the opposite side in the fender, this time he was smart ans used a metal backing plate of some sort between the fender and the tire , but the backing plate already had a big whole pre driller so its purpose was useless, so he drilled a second hole in the rear tire....... again.

to give it a happy ending they rammed sheet metal screws in the holes so that when his father comes back the tire still holds air and looks infalted.

back to the topic of this post , those guys don't wear helmets most of the time , they just look away when they do spot welding with a MIG, and never wear gloves when TIG welding. to their defense, they at least wear a T shirt. :-)

Randy, just curious: what do you weld at 300+ amps? When I first got my 220v AC stick machine, with a max output of 275 amps, I thought "oh, boy, I can't wait to crank this up to full throttle and see how it does." But I've found that I only rarely get up to 125 amps for the stuff I do (1/4" max), and mostly stay at 100 amps or less. I have used it at 200 amps for rough cutting using 6011.

Andy

There is a shop across the highway that builds fames for Simms, etc. They do good work, but the custom builders that buy the frames are not craftsmen, they are artists. Jesse James may know how to operate an English Wheel, but he is still a hack! I won't watch those shows, as much as I love motorcycles, Jeeps, and cars, it irritates me to see work done poorly, or overly simplified by a marketing show like "Trucks". I'd rather take my chances with the questionable quality of a Russian "Ural"