I began welding school like 2 months ago, and they gave us auto darkening. My instructor showed me his fixed lenses and was amazed because I was able to see more than just the arc. I already did much better on my 5g weld compared to when I had auto darkening on the first day
Have been a professional welder for more than fifty years. Still have a passion for welding as I did from the start. Enjoy each of your videos. Yes a person can learn from each one you put out. You are an awesome teacher, keep up the good work! Thanks!
I’ve been a trucker my whole life, done it all and I can’t see a damn thing under that stick lol I’ll keep hauling the heavy loads, you boys keep doin the good work.
I’ve been a Pipefitter/welder for just shy of 10 years now. I did general fab for a bit before that. Im just getting started breaking out on my own doing whatever welding work comes my way. It’s a side hustle for now but, my goal is to be fully self employed within the next few years. I appreciate all your content. Great tips and info 👊🏼
Radnor 24S drop-in autodark got me through welding school with ease. I dropped the pipeliner style hood a couple years ago for an Optrel and haven't looked back. Expensive, but absolutely worth it.
I have been using Optrel 2.5 and clear 2.0 for the past few years and I really like them. They weigh 17 oz. But I just bought a pipeline cloud carbon fiber hood that only weighs 9 oz. I am going to use this with a high clarity lens and also a wens fixed lens for backfeeding tig root while looking through the gap
I had no idea how many lens are available, both fixed and auto darkening. I got my first auto darkening hood maybe 5 years ago and the reason I got was a friend was rep for someone and had a demo he gave me and I liked it well enough that I bought another one, it's been really nice to use. Thanks for showing all the different looks through the lens.
Shade 11 was my go to for most thin wall to heavy pipe applications. A shade 10 would give me a headache after a full day. Wouldn't recommend using anything less than a 10 for most arc welding applications. To each their own, but most the welding I did was doing had at least a TIG root and hot pass and then either a 7018 filler and cap or just TiG the rest of the way out.
Thanks for making this video. Gives us our best guess to what we want without spending 500$ to narrow it down. I can't believe you use a shade 8, I use a 10 and want to go to a 11 lol
Man. I love your video. I've been a combo welder for 25 years and in the past three years, been able to see the puddle has gotten harder and harder. I wear progressive/transition glasses plus a cheater in the hood but wearing 2.50 reading glasses and a 1.00 cheater lense seems to suit me better specially putting the root. keep up the good work.
I'm in Iran. i was browsing in the internet about auto darkening helmets, if i convert to us dollar a whole helmet with a spare lens was something between 25$ to 50$ in different brands. And everyone was happy in the reviews.
well, stick welding outside in the bright sun, you'll see why some weld that low, even a shade 10 and 9 is too dark, but i wont go less than what miller and lincoln recommends
@@Mikey-ym6ok You're still damaging your eyes. Instead of using such a light shade lens, you should shade your work area with either an umbrella, tarp, pop up, etc. Or more convenient is a pancake hood, or tape a cape over the back of your hood. Not trying to be preachy, but shade 8...man, you GOTTA be scarring up those eyes!
@@AZ-kr6ffI've welded with just mirrored googles on and covering the arc with the nozzle. Had my eyes checked after years of doing it here and there and my optometrist said my perscription has pretty much been the same. Then again the goggles have uv protection. Pretty sure that has something to do with the lack of damage on my eyes. 🤷🏿♂️
I've worked mainline construction, compressor stations, refineries, power plants and even built miles of pipe fence, all I know is welding just like my dad and my grandpa. All I've ever used for 16 years is a fixed shade, usually 10 or 9. I've always preferred a gold lense or a Lincoln Super-vis, I tried an auto darkening lense once but I didn't like it because we were heli-arcing 8" and when I went to look through the bevel to put my bead in guess what didn't happen. The sensor was blocked by the pipe and it didn't activate, after that I said never again. I know a lot of hands like the auto because it lessens the chance of arc marks but the old hands welded for 100 years without them and they did just fine. But what do I know? I'm just a broke toothed welderer. Good job on the video Austin, keep it up hand.
They haven't made them in years, maybe decades (for modern safety standards) but if you can get yourself a red/rose lens you will be blown away by the clarity, even better than gold.
Opticool sells scarlett. Best custom lenses I have ever used. I am speaking of the 2 piece lenses he makes. Although I don't have the red I have a white and a gold. All the same quality though just whatever color you prefer. I am color blind so I pretty much have to stick with white and gold or else I can't see where I am going very well.
@@JustinRolfe gold lenses? Yes. Get them at a welding supply place or there's glass ones on amazon. Clearest lens I've ever used, but you pay for em. Not as much as an autodark lens though
Just bought an arc one singles HD shade 10. I absolutely love it. I usually use a 10. I stick, mig, tig, high frequency tig aluminum. Everything from stainless pipe to car body panels. I have an old technology automatic shield. I have heard good things about the Miller lens also
I'm an Ironworker. I normally use what is provided Crap #10-12. If I have a gravy OT gig I'll break out my gold, in a fiber-metal hood. 30 years welding. I'm currently flux core welding 1-1/4" moment connections, so I'm using a #11 gold.
Hello there friend (-: the best part of the video and often the hardest examples to find was the actual showing of the lens color in use. thank you and great job man!!
The trouble with gold or silver fixed lenses is scratching the coating. One tiny scratch and you are asking for flashburns. I found that using two gaskets in front of the lens to make more space helped prevent the clear resin lens from warping and scratching the gold coating when it got hot. Once I got my first electric lens, I never went back to a fixed lens unless I needed to use a sock hood or it was raining heavily. I was a journeyman shipfitter since 76 , certified structural and crane boom repair welder before I retired.
Love the videos man. Just starting out doing stick. Have autodarking and this makes me want to try a fixed. I was a bit nervous about trying them and this cleared a lot of things up for me.
hey austin good videos but ive been welding since i got out of high school in 1975 and been always told that you should never use anything less than a #10 when ever you do any kind of electric arc welding that means mig tig or stick. are you sure your not messing up your eyes.? im 62 now and still dont need glasses. been using a#11 shade whether auto dark or fixed gold coated or even old school green glass love your channel bud and keep that shield down and your making money
I’m currently in a welding program at my local community college, and the textbook, if I can remember correctly, states to run between a 9-13 shade. But my teacher personally recommended nothing less than a 10
Only need 3 lenses in your career. The wens lens if your doing process pipe or mirror welding, and the tradesman and single 240 for anything else. I’ve had all three for 5 years and I will never go back. Great video. Sorry I’m a little late
I've ran stick @ up to 145 amps and mig @ 240ish with Lincoln viking passive hood shade 10. Always comfortable, Eyes never hurt , and no redness fer over 29 years now
I always wanted a variable shade lens to throw in my pipeliner, can’t wait to try it! I use Wens lens shade 10 for Tig and Arc-One HD shade 11 for everything else🤘🏼
I really like the old school Lincoln super visibility lens in the blueish paper sleeve. Shade 9. Super clear you can see literally everything going on in the puddle and around it. I used it welding in power plants on all processes. I used a miller elite before and a guy let me try his lense and I never went back.
I watched this video and purchased one of the wens lenses and I run 1/16 dual shield and 7/32 dual shield wire and I got a shade 13 because I run 400-600 amps and I love it it is amazing I also do A LOT of gouging at 600+ amps and it’s the best lens I have ever used thank you
I run a fixed shade 11 silver doesn’t mess with my eyes but at the same time under a roof or in the field I can see the outlines so I don’t run off track really recommend I’m gonna try a gold one soon
I use a Jackson Shade 11 in my Pancake hood, mainly I'm welding outside so it helps me see alot of detail on the puddle and where I'm at in regards to the weld that needs to be done. I also like that Gold shade lens that comes with the Pipeliner hood. It very detailed as well and makes the puddle reddish orange, only if it came in auto darkening would be awesum.
Phillips glass lens works for me. I love gold lenses, but they never last. The gold flakes off the plastic gold lenses and the gold rubs off the gold glass lenses. I have used the Phillips super magenta and their blue filter too, and I like both of them. I really like the super magenta. However, I find the standard Phillips glass to be my go to lens. My opinion auto shades are only good when you are in a tight spot and you cannot flip your hood, otherwise a good glass lens cannot be beat.
Structural Ironworker local 378. I weld flux core NR 232 so it's really bright and hot. I use an 11 shade auto lens. My puddle looks orange or amber through my auto lens. Was hoping to get a different color auto lens, maybe a green. Just figure it would be a little softer on the eyes and look cool. Been trying to get my dual shield flux core cert lately and it actually seems brighter than 232 flux core. Maybe I'll go for a shade 12.
Have always used 2 clear lens in the front. People think I'm stupid for doing it. Good to know others welders do this too. Love my Wens Lens Cool Blue. 😁
I’ve got the wens electric ice and I like it. I will say the camera doesn’t show the clarity well but you get a good idea of the color. It’s the clearest lens I’ve ever used. My only complaint is when you’re tig welding, if you dip the tungsten, it’s hard to notice if you’re not paying attention and you’ll wonder why why the puddle isn’t doing what you want it to. But for stick on pipe it’s my favorite. I’m ready for this auto cool blue lens
I weld 18-20 ga sheet up to 3/16" and I am happy with my Antra X60-6. Setting 9 for mig 10 for tig. I almost always require an external light while working indoors.
The brighter the ambient light, the lighter the shade you need due to your Iris constricting reducing the amount of light entering your eyes. High frequency has nothing to do with brightness as you can watch with no lens... but not for long as uv and infrared is admitted. Hope this helps. Like the tip on glasses under pancake.... keep up the good work...
I GOT INTO WELDING IN DALLAS,TEXAS IN 1980 AT A TRADE SCHOOL.WE ALL STARTED OUT WITH SHADE 10 IN STICK WELDING,E-6011AND 7018 1/8 .I ALSO GOT INTO GMAW(MIG)AND GTAW(TIG)WELDING ON ALUMINUM AND STAINLESS.BUT SHADE 10 GOT ME THREW THE COARSE.
I use a a shade 10 stick welding no problems there but have trouble seeing outside the puddle mig welding. Been using a shade 9 for mig and still difficult, looks like a green blob when welding. I try to stick weld when i can. Both are auto darkening. Both are low cost hoods. I like a yellow or red lens . Mine are green and blue. Great video.
Generally I like a shade 12, but I have 9-12 and a couple auto darkening helmets, and run at 12-13, only time I drop to 9 or 10 is ooutside with too much light getting Into back side of helmet, uunfortunately most of what I do is sheet metal on cars, whether panel replacement, or fixing rust. 1 thing I notice on auto-darkening, is if I use a 1/20,000 second response time, doing hundreds of tack spot welds, it will burn my eyes, but a 1/25,000 wont burn my eyes? I always adjust to fastest response time. For your video, the ice blue looked awesome, but a little skeptical on using a #8 lense
Same thing I was thinking with the shade 8, I normally go with a shade 11 because I'm young and still want my eyes to last a long time so I was hearing about using a shade 8 and was skeptical.
This is a good idea. I really need to look into those filter Lenses. I think that would allow me to enjoy looking though the HD lenses a little more. Thanks for sharing this. Where do you get the filter lenses?
Austin my welding back ground is like a carbon copy of mine.I had a bag teacher named mr.Roberts ya know all we had was the 50 lb. Boxes of 1/8 inch 6011 which is my opinion made for rust and old farm equipment. BUT I LIKE THE WAY YOU LOVE TO STRIKE AN ARC IN 03 I WAS TUNED LIKE A PRIZE FIGHTER MY SPECIALTY WAS FITTING PIPE AND ROOT BEADS.But I got addicted to pain killers and burned talent instead rods I'm catching up with the products and equipment its come a million mile.
You really changed my mind on fixed lens vrs auto I ordered both the wens lens can’t wait to try em out thanks for the help you’ve really help me come along way in my fitting and welding
I'm nota pipeline welder just a mechanic and I have a hard time with regular hoods because off my fat head. Just bought a pancake hood got it trimmed down to fit my Mellon and this was a great video on picking a lense. Definitely going to but an assortment of them
A little bit of welding I use shade 10 like for small detail work that is in dark areas if I’m Welding all day I use a shade 11 so my eyes don’t hurt at night I use a shad 8 for cutting torches
Have you tried the Miller auto lens? I've use Shade 10 I like it. I thinks it's a little darker which for me I like. I also have blue eyes which I've also been told are more sensitive. I also have a singles #10 model 240. It's much lighter also a shade 10 much much lighter than the miller. For me the older real glass shade 10 fixed static lens has the clearest view than any other. I like it best for Stainless TIG welding.
My cousin who is an optometrist told me your actually better off using the lightest shade you can stand because your eyes strain less trying to define the puddle
The 4c is an amazing lens, it's what I've been using on my pancake for almost ½ a yr now but I have to say they're a bit pricey. The armor guard lenses are pretty darn good and usually around 40 here in Texas
Aye no damn doubt about that 4c lens they made,I got a Lincoln helmet of one and I can honestly say the light blue arc helps light up so much more stuff around your plates or pipes.
I do a lot of pipe and structural fabrication and I use a Lincoln Electric 3350 hood, but I am looking. I want a good pancake hood with a good lens because I work in the heat all year. Thank you for your video
Hi, Austin Ross, thanks for this very informative video! I'm still at the community college, on structural welding. I'm on 3G 1/2" plates and I use 11 dark shade. But I would like to try those auto darkening lenses I liked the bright orange Len's but blue is my favorite color 😁😉😋 but seriously I think I'm going to try that 🍊 lens and also buy that auto darkening lense with extra clears. And about learning new things....your so right, because of my other instructor I tried different amperage and different degrees in angle I was able to lay better stringers and in the right place. Have a great weekend Austin! Keep em coming!!🤓👩🏭✌️👌🤙👏👏👏👏oh I forget, I also want to be a pipe welder. God bless.😉😋😀😁
To avoid scratching my regular glass dark lenses when changing out the clear lenses. I'll get some electrical tape and make a boarder around the lens. And trim any excess with a razor blade. It works for me.
I weld on tankers for chemical and fuel/oil. Plumbing 6" and below and barrel Work/structural. Tig and Mig aluminum 5356 and SS (GTAW AND GMAW) so i upgraged to a miller Infinity hood from the miller classic series ive had for 5 years. Really nice HD and 3-13 auto dark shade. Worth the price. But thinking about doing pipeline and getting a pancake. Really nice and i formative vids my man.
