lens shade

[fuzz8]

Hi, I see questions about shade but its talking mig. What would be a good all around shade for tig? Should it be higher than 10 for the brightness of tig. Is 11 or 12 a good shade? or is 10 alright I can sure see good with 10.But wonder if that would be to hard on eyes. What shade does most people seem to use,For all around welding with the old flip style helment. I'm just learning I can tell that practice sure does help. I have a older 330A/BP I bought used but it sure overwhelms me what it will do. I enjoy welding aluminum more than steel.
Thank You
Fuzz8

[HAWK]

fuzz8,

If you can see the weld puddle without a lot of glare and brighness surrounding it, you have the right shade. I tig really low amp stuff on shade 5 and use up to a 12 or 13 on 200 amps with 1/4" al and a 5/32" filler because anything lighter hurts my eyes and they feel really dry for several hours afterwards.

[Blondie_486]

Fuzz8,

I usually use a 10 shade for most of my TIG work but when I get into heavier stuff sometimes I bump up to an 11 or 12 depending on how much current I'm using. I used a 12 while welding 3/16 70/30 copper/nickel and use a 10 for 12ga mild steel. It just depends on the work and the individual. Use what's comfortable for you and doesn't cause you any eye fatigue or a dry scratchy feeling in your eyes. I find that if I go too dark it's hard to see the path I want to weld although I can see the puddle.

Blondie_486

[Paul Seaman]

fuzz8, If you are jumping from one job to another and have frequent voltage and amperage changes, then you should consider an auto darkening helmet like the miller Xlix, the speedglas 9000x, or the optrel which ever fits your needs. One of these will set you back around $275-$350 but I have the 9000xi, retails at $335 I bought the local dealers demo unit for $270 and he threw in a set protective inserts for front and rear.

These can jump from one shade to another with the flick of a switch and if you start getting ichy eyes make the setting 1 setting darker and go on. Very cool setup if you do repair work rarely working on the same material repetedly.

[fuzz8]

shade

Hi All, Thanks alot for the infoe. Was all good I got a darker lens and just chang when I weld heavy Alu. But think I'll check into getting a new hood that I will be able to chamge shades with switch.
Thanks alot I read all the info you all put out and it sure helps
Thank You
fuzz8