1st rule of welding, is?

[Gary Fowler]

Back when you could still get them, I used a clear glass lens in back of my welding hood and put a clear CR39 (plastic) lens in front. The glass would catch and hold those bouncing BB's of hot molten metal. I havent seen them lately so maybe the safety police made them quit using them. Prior to the CR39 clear lens the glass lens was all you could get and required changing often especially when welding with 6010 (welder slang called the P5 even though the Lincoln box had 5P on it.)

 

[Shield Arc]

Gary that is exactly how I load my hood. My independent welding supply hardly ever has clear glass in stock, but they will order them in for me, but ouch! The local Air Gas is the same way.


You can get them here, (bottom of page) but you really want to stock up to make shipping worth while. Most likely not worth it for you, as much as you weld now a days.
Welding Lenses - Laser Safety Glasses | Radiation Protective Eyewear | Bifocal Safety Glasses | Lampworking Glasses | Phillips Safety

 

[weldermike]

Me and my partner from work bought the last 75 clear glass my lws had in stock, and someone stole the whole box on us out of a locker thats opened 8hrs a day. Fuming!
Dont hold me to it but I THINK tractor supply carries clear glass if your in a pinch, and your there anyway. I just bought a gold glass from them, and was suprized what a descent supply of lenses they had.

 

[Ruark]

When that glass fell out it burned my eyes so bad that I couldn't open my eyes for 2 days. Chad

Mine didn't fall out, but it was about halfway out when I noticed it, just accidentally. You get so hung up on your gear, metal, rods, beads, etc. sometimes you take your helmet for granted. DON'T! Look it over when you start a welding session.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Gary that is exactly how I load my hood. My independent welding supply hardly ever has clear glass in stock, but they will order them in for me, but ouch! The local Air Gas is the same way.


You can get them here, (bottom of page) but you really want to stock up to make shipping worth while. Most likely not worth it for you, as much as you weld now a days.
Welding Lenses - Laser Safety Glasses | Radiation Protective Eyewear | Bifocal Safety Glasses | Lampworking Glasses | Phillips Safety

You are right about not worth the effort for amount of welding and besides now most of my welding is on a table. Heck I havent changed the clear lens in front in a year plus I always have my prescription glasses on now so they help with any stray sparks too. If I was still welding professionally, I would for sure make sure the company kept a supply of clear glass.

 

[pat32rf]

MY first rule is to check the location of our golden retriever that likes to crawl under anything I'm working on......

 

[muddstopper]

I have a hard time welding with my prescription glasses on, bifocals, I use the cheater lens that fit my helmet. A plus for using the cheater lens is nobody else can see thru them so they leave my hood alone.

 

[Ruark]

Clothes - I got the heavy fabric welding jacket at Tractor Supply - the black one from Hobart - and it works great.

Helmet - had the lens fall out once, but I wasn't sparking at that moment. Scared the heck out of me, though. So now I check the helmet out frequently, make sure everything's tight.

Main thing overall for me is RELAX. Stay calm, think about what you're doing, pay attention, go slow and steady. Never, never rush.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I like to say that the first rule of welding should be before you strike an arc, clean the weldment of paint, grease, dirt, rust and anything else that is not metal to be welded. Cleaning will make your work improve 100% vs trying to weld over something other than bare clean metal. Second, prep it with proper joint detail ie V bevel or double V or whatever joint design that will give you a weld that is as strong as the part to be welded. Third, select the proper weld rod for the metal and prior to welding ,4 check your hood for leaks, 5 clean lens of dust dirt etc so you can see and 6 get in a comfortable position if possible.

 

[Ruark]

Watch for eyes. We live on a farm, and it's VERY important to remember that ANY animal's eyes can be severely injured by looking at a welding flame. That includes your pet dogs and cats, cattle, goats, sheep, horses, wildlife, chickens, anything. They don't know any better, and will stare right at it out of curiosity. Always make sure nothing is around when you start welding.