Rebuilding a welding mask- Kydex and Leather 

Charl Joubert Thanks Charl... I hope he is... just wished I finished it when he was still here:)

mcLuvineer Thanks McLuvineer... it's not the most relatable project as most people don't weld... that's why I threw in the bike crash and other stuff for more interest factor:)

CGLouisiana Thanks CG! My wife thinks it looks like a horror movie mask but I told her to just think iron man instead.... she said I'd need to hit the weights a bit more for 'iron man'....lol!

Roy McElwee Thanks Roy... it's always fun to see what you can salvage from what you already have:)

yack f zay haha... that's what my wife thought... that and a little iron man too:)

mark perren hahaha.. that would be a little freaky...lol! Thanks Mark!

Terry Beadle Thank you Terry! Much appreciated:) Joe

RetroWeld Thanks Douglas! Now I need you to come down here to give me some welding lessons:)

DURGANBUILT Thanks DB! I have to say that the 2" gash on my shin from the fall at the end of the video agrees that it's not much of a bike helmet either! LOL I felt a bit stupid but once my wife saw it she was laughing so hard and said I had to put it in the video:) Thanks for the good words DB! Joe

I was thinking that too, a steampunk Ironman helmet.

+InformationIsTheEdge ahahah…. thanks IITE! My wife loved the fall part when she saw it…she said I had to put it in:) Can't wait to use it in an upcoming video…stay tuned:) Joe

homesteadonomics It takes a special kind of cool to keep the gaffs in! Anyone can edit them out and look like a pro but leaving one in... Excellent!

+ethan dellinger Thanks so much Ethan! Joe

Blackberry Hideout haha... I did too after the initial pain of hitting my shin wore off;)

+Joe Pearson Thanks Joe! Joe ;)

Bruno Sacomani haha... you are the first that mentioned the fall! I think probably most people turned it off after the last little talking/showing of the mask. Glad you stuck it out to see my 'bike skills' LOL!

homesteadonomics Definitely the best part :P

Jonathan Glenn Thanks JG!

radicaljoe Thanks Joe... unfortunately the crash was not planned and I have to say the mask made me lose sight of the bridge for a second... but my wife wanted me to put it in as she was laughing so hard at the video:)

gavin murray haha.. you're smart to not use it in those ways for sure... that fall at the end of the video resulted in a 2" gash on my shin...lol! Anyways, I'd love to see pics of your projects Gavin! I'm actually going to mention that in the next QA video when I answer your question:) I'll send a private message with my email to you right now via the youtube message system. btw... sorry for the slow response, I was camping for the last week and couldn't do emails, etc,. Joe

Ricardo Gutierrez Thanks Ricardo!

+TheWoodWerker hahaha... thanks Gus! It did leave a mark... about a 2" gash on my shin... if I would've left the next few seconds in when I was walking back to the camera you would've been able to see it... but then any lip readers out there would've been able to see what I was saying while getting up...lol! I'm glad that it wasn't too bad though... funny moment that I couldn't not include:) Thanks for the sub and I hope you find some of my vids interesting :D Joe

***** Then it'll be custom molded to the face... lol jk.... But that shouldn't be an issue as the kydex would have to be near the heat source for prolonged periods before getting soft again. The welding will let off some heat but is done in short bursts and the mask is mainly to mitigate pops, arc burns, etc,. Hope that answered your question Joshua... and thanks for watching!

Ah that makes sense. Maybe I'll try this one day.

Fernando Yáñez Thanks Fernando! I wanted to throw the curve ball by not just sitting there with a welder and a bright arc/light for the testing. My wife just shook her head...lol! hahah... it was fun though... I was actually laughing at myself, thinking... why am I running and biking with a helmet one! Glad you liked it:) Joe

haha... cool, yes I can see that! And I'm definitely going to check out those shades too... would be an awesome upgrade:)

Connor McKee Thanks Connor! I love working with both materials... I think you've probably already found that out yourself too! It's addicting:) Joe

Connor McKee Y5

Thanks Fenrid! Joe

+thehegt Tr Thanks! I did do... gave it a cool look... and... I didn't have much more kydex to add to the bottom so I was trying to get the most out of what I had...lol! Joe

helidodge That's awesome to hear Jarrett! I should have some more rainwater vids coming up this week as well as an update to my mini swale that waters my fruit trees. Thanks for subscribing and listening to TSP.... it's my favorite podcast so it was pretty cool to be on with Jack! Joe

Looking forward to any new content you put out

Canadian Sasquatch hahah... I was thinking .... 'man, i can barely see outta this thing... hope I don't crash.." lol, I guess i win the darwin award on that one;)

Henry Pu Yi Thanks Henry! btw...I think I'm gonna make the copper cup a staple of the questions and answers segment in honor of you and the Wildcats:) I actually filmed it last night but the wind noise was really bad so I'm considering re-filming it... stay tuned though:)

Joe I am honored! I really enjoy the eclectic nature of your projects and vids. It keeps them interesting. I saw a piece on how the increased precip in the desert southwest might be part of a long term rain/drought cycle and you all are headed back into the rain. Bear Down!!

+Don the Onion Thanks Don! Hoping to use it in some videos soon:)

TheEmptynester Thanks E! Hope you stuck around to see the bike crash..lol! Happy Sunday to you too!

homesteadonomics Yes, I did. I watched till the end. And loved it all. Even the bike crash. Sorry. LOL

+Mark Nichols Thanks Mark! JOe

takis kail thanks takis!

I Do Stuff Thanks IDS!

yes, it has. you can see me using it in my beer holder video and my mountain board video which are pretty recent videos. But I just recently go an autodarkening helmet. but I still use this from time to time as well. I was showing my wife how to weld so I let her use the new one and I use this one:) thanks for watching! Joe

Ted Alexander hahaha... yep, too much brake and I lost sight of the trail and panicked...lol!

jdptulsa did u ever try it? I’m looking to make one but wanna know how can I make it myself with limited products. Just get a regular old school pipe liner hood cut the edges and add leather.

Yep, you certainly could. But then I wouldn't have been able to crash on my bike in the ending clips..lol Thanks for watching Paul:) Joe

cokeman250 Thanks CM!

You can buy the leather at Tandy Leather Factory and you can also get both leather and kydex, rivets, etc,. from knifekits.com or ebay as well. hope that helps:) joe

Eye Toldyoosso Thanks ET!

I’ve got my own Grandfather’s welding helmet and it’s the exact same style, right down to the hole placement on the lower outer jaw edges. My Grandad was a boilermaker from 1935 to 1985; he had his own industrial ship repair machine/welding/fab shop from 1948 to 1985 and actively welded until 1975. This one has the clear glass under the shaded side ( which is under the flip up portion) just like mine. Good luck on your project and stay safe! Best Regards, Shawn

@@FIGGY65 Thanks! I did some time with the pipe fitters and the Boilermakers as a welder and fitter. Got to see the country and met some great people. That is quite a keepsake you have there from your grandfather!!

+Enclave Soldier Hi ES... It's pretty much the same as any other helmet I've tried on... except that it's a tad bit heavier that some newer ones. You can see it get a lot of use on my 'dual stool' shop stool video. Should be in my more recent videos... just click on the 'videos' tab on my channel page and it should be one of the ones at the top:) Thanks for watching! Joe

izeugirdor haha... it probably hurt my pride most of all ..lol! And to you question...I get kydex from either knifekits.com or ebay. Hope that helps:)

homesteadonomics No, no. I love what you did with the helmet. I subscribed because of this video. My sister is a working welder and is forever breaking her helmet. But I'm just saying the technique has so many applications! I've just recently been playing with Steampunk ideas because of my adult kids. Gotta keep up with them. :) Thanks for the lead on Kydex. :D

+TheWoodWerker ebay, knifekits, tandy leather usually sell kydex in sheets... last time I purchased i did so thru knifekits... Hope that helps Gus:)

+Nicholas burgess Actually, I have no idea.. I thru the old frame away. But maybe I'll have to check on the other pieces and see if there are any other marks. But I'm guessing the lens is original to the old mask. I was worried about it and took it to the hardware store and compared the darkness of that one versus the newer ones while looking at the florescent lights in the store. They seemed to be just about the same. But I'm planning on switching it out anyways. Thanks for watching:) Joe

I have sold it since then.. but it was a delta 14" saw in that video I believe:) Joe

Thanks! Joe

HerringBone thanks HB!

+Eric Lewis Thanks Eric! I'm assuming you stayed till the end to see my shin get banged up...lol! Joe

+homesteadonomics Totally man, you got a great sense of humor leaving that footage in. lol... Really enjoying your videos.. 👍

+Eric Lewis Thanks so much Eric! Much appreciated:) Joe

my2cents0 haha... the way I've been eating lately I'm gonna need to do some of their workouts! Actually I'm planning on doing a video on my little trail to... but need to do some trail maintenance first so it actually looks like a trail... which will end up being a pretty good workout too:) Joe

Sorry, probably not.... unless is was like several thousand...lol... jk.... thanks for watching:) JOe

yes, it's a bit heavy as compared to a commercially made one.. but still custom;) Joe

+Mike Van yep... you are right, it's not the best material for sure. But it's what I had on hand. The very little welding I do has consisted of tack welds and small projects. So for my purposes it'll be fine... for pro purposes, probably not at all. Thanks for watching:)

Well, considering welding helmets you buy on the shelf are made of ABS plastic and the lenses are made from PP plastic, and the headgear is probably nylon; kydex wasn't a bad choice at all.