Direct Lighting for Welding

[Rods56]

Question: I read that it is best to use direct lighting when MIG welding...question is this. I have a hard time seeing once my autodark kicks in, so my question is Will using a set of 500 watt halogen lights to light the weld area be of benefit? Just wondering...

Thanks in advance.

Rods56

[matteh99]

Is the shade of your helmet adjustable? That can make a huge difference. Also making sure the shade is clean. After stick welding with my helmet for a bit I could barely see when tig welding.
47 years as an air craft mechanic means you aren't young. There was a discussion here a while ago about helmets that have spaces for magnifiers so you can see better.

[SICFabrications]

ive never heard of anyone using direct lighting for welding purposes... of course, ambient light has its effects on the ability to see the weld. its why there are various shades of filters to help compensate for ambient light as well as to compensate for the amperage, types of metal and process used... for example, when i am mig welding aluminum, i like a shade 12, or 1/8 stick, i use a shade 9. 1/4 inch stick rods, im using a shade 14... this is all in high noon daylight... as the ambient light decreases, so should your shade in the hood... hope that helped

[Rods56]

Thanks for the info...guess I will have to quit working so I can weld at "high-noon"...just kidding! I do have an adjustable helmet so I will try that first...then if that won't do it...I will train a mutt to see for me! Man...if I had all that stuff you have, my wife would have put me in a nut house long ago!

Rods56

---------- Post added at 07:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:57 AM ----------

Young??? Wow...folk's that know me think that I am 45 yrs. old! They say things like "Man, this guy drives a lowrider 56' Chevy" or "hey, when he gets on that Goldwing he rides like its a bicycle...or "When he pounds that Super Beetle, the wheels really do churn"...so I guess being "66" and being a little wild is great. The secret to youth of the mind, is to do the things that you enjoy...not wish you had done them! I have gotten rid of all my toys except for the 56'...and replaced them with 'new toys' in the form of tools!

Rods56

[Bluesman]

What I do is pull the trigger to start an arc and when the auto-dark kicks in I stop but still hold my hand in the same spot till the auto dark turns off and then I can make 100% sure I'm where I need to be and start welding then. Little time consuming on the front end but it saves me a lot of "grinding" time later.

[ISKI]

I seem to always get stuck welding outside at night. I like the 500 Watt halogens since they attact 50% of the local bugs. If I weld without a strong light the local bugs kamakazzi into the weld pool. Some nights my welds have more fried bugs then filler rod

[poodle]

That's cool to watch the bugs fry, it's when they want to get under my hood and look to that I don't like them.

[Rods56]

So...you can use this thing as a bug zapper? Well alrighty...but do you really use the halogens? I am at least going to try them...

Thanks,
Rods56

[odleo]

I have halogens lights to provide extra light when I have had to try welding at night. Just my 2 cents. I still have a lot to learn and anything that helps me see the better I will try.

[ISKI]

My first good auto darkening welding helmet (huntsman) used different removable filters to give some protection all the time. With this setup I use the 500W halogen so that I can see properly. I know now that I really should have set the darkness to lighter and used the ambient light. At night I always use at least one 500W lamp as I have two dual lamp tripods. I got started doing this years ago as all I had was a dark glass lens. The light lets you get an idea of where to start your welding. With auto dark every time you move your head angle it will flash on and off when your not welding which is a pain.