Learning to weld with a non-aircraft project

On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 14:06:19 -0600, Russell Kent
wrote:

Corky Scott wrote:

Ah, sorry, I did not describe the face shield properly: It's a full
plexiglass shield, not a face shield with a little window in it.

Yes, had it been the face shield with the window in it, I could have
replaced that window with the tinted glass from Tinman. But I would
have experienced the same problematic cutting off of the lower field
of view that I need for proper focusing.

Using the plexiglass face shield, you don't have to worry about
cutting off your field of vision, the entire shield is see through
tinted plastic.

Does that explain things better?

Yes, much. So theoretically you could cut a rectangular window in the
plexiglass shield (positioned appropriately for your vision issues) and insert
the tinted glass rectangle from Tinman. That way your primary field of vision
is properly protected, yet you still have some secondary field vision, too.

I have no idea if this is workable, however.

Russell Kent

There are actually full face shields that are designed to have the
narrow window that the goggles use. These are the shields you often
see guys wearing who are doing TIG and MIG welding, as well as stick
welding. The reason for the full face protection is because there is
often a lot of spatter from the welding process when using MIG and you
definately don't want those molten droplets hitting your face.

The lense in these shields is often so dark that you literally cannot
see your work with the shield down, so you get yourself arranged with
the shield up, and configured so that it will drop down over your face
with a nod. Then you get set to weld, hold you hands where they need
to be, nod your head and begin.

Welding with Oxygen and Acetylene is different. The face shield isn't
so dark, it's more like dark glasses. You can see with it down so you
don't have to get yourself so pre-arranged before dropping the shield:
You can pull the shield down, light the torch, adjust the flame and
begin.

The lense that I got from The Tinman is a bit lighter than what I've
used in the past so this aspect makes it easier to use. It's also
configured to protect your eyes from the flares encountered while
brazing, in addition to protecting your eyes from the damaging rays
produced when welding.

When I said I could replace the lense of a full face shield, I did not
mean that I would take my full face tinted shield and cut a hole in
it. I meant that I could have bought a full face shield that had the
little window, the same size as the lense I got from Tinman, and
exchange them.

But y'know, you've got me thinking. I'll go out to the shop tonight
and have a look at the whole lense enclosure and see if it might be
possible to graft it on to the tinted face shield. That might give me
the best of both worlds. Thanks for the suggestion.

Corky Scott