another question????????

[walterjacque]

I have a welding helmet with a standard lens, i find it too dark for mig welding. Anyone has a suggestion on what lens to use for mig welding??

[Goodhand]

I have a welding helmet with a standard lens, i find it too dark for mig welding. Anyone has a suggestion on what lens to use for mig welding??

If you are using a #10 filter, suggest you purchase the next two lighter filters to try. Also suggest you, seriously, consider an auto-dark helmet, which has a method to vary the filter shade. Suspect that once you have used an auto-dark, you won't go back.

What is your age? Is it possible you are having near focus problems that interfere with seeing the puddle?

[tacmig]

Good advice above..

Can't say anymore the advice from goodhand sums it up.

TacMig.

[fun4now]

better lighting in the shop can help a lot also. but getting the proper shade for the job at hand is a must. the auto hoods are great for this as its like having 8 hood's to chose from to get the right shade.
Goodhand's advice is dead on. best to have the right lens to keep you from straining your eyes they are the only set you get, invest in a good hood to protect them. i have had my BWE for almost 7 years now, so thats about $33.oo a year to see not only safely but comfortably.
P.S. i expect to get many more years use out of it as its going strong and looking great.....well time to change the battery's, but its still working great.

[shorerider16]

Try some different brands of filter lenses. There are different quality lenses out there and they make a big difference. You can also buy different tints, including green, more of a goldish, or even red. The difference between two different shade 10 lenses can be jaw dropping.

Just to cover the bases, is you lense and, cover lenses clean?

[robphillips]

use caution going lighter. I have a huntsman 10.5 that is not near dark enough. It will smoke your eyes welding mig with it but works great for stick.

[shorerider16]

Going to a lighter shade won't cause any eye damage, it may just be uncomfortable. In that case you would just go back up a shade.

If for some reason you end up with a Big Window, or other Miller auto darkening lid, you can try the classic, "Should of pushed the button." trick. (You know what I'm talking about, we've all done it. )

[tsalagi]

i use a #10 gold glass. get glass and pollycarbonate clear lenses on each side of it. my shop won't let anyone use less than a 10. like fun4now said, a well lit shop helps alot.

[shorerider16]

It depends on what you are welding too. Open corner verses tee, stainless verses mild steel covered in millscale, and so on. You may have to varry your shade depending on the application, not just the amperage.

[Heavy D]

food for thought

An auto shade is the way to go lots of options its money well spent I have a jackson nex 3 and won,t weld wihtout it now remember you only have one set of eyes and they can,t be replaced

[Mojo]

i use a #10 gold glass. get glass and pollycarbonate clear lenses on each side of it. my shop won't let anyone use less than a 10. like fun4now said, a well lit shop helps alot.

It depends on what material I'm welding, but for carbon steel I'm a big fan of the gold lenses. You get a lot of light reflected back towards the weld (gee, go figure) which lowers the contrast and improves visibility quite dramatically. The colour is also a bit nicer than the usual green. Stainless is a different kettle of fish, and I find the old green glass #11 a lot nicer to work with.

If you have a Princess Auto store near by you can pick up a gold poly lense for around $9.00, (for the small size) cheap enough to take a chance on and see if you like it.

-Morgan

[trash collector]

I had the same problem, I went to a gold shade # 9 it really makes a difference.