welding helmet

[ohiobanshee]

Looking to buy a new auto darkening helmet.What do you use,pros and cons. eric

[rubberneck]

I have a jackson nexgen autodarkening lense in one of their halo-x helmets. I love it. here is an ebay auction for one just like mine.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/JACKSON-NEXGEN-WELDING...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

The only down side to it was that it seemed kind of heavy to me. That is why I ended up buying the halo-x helmet as it is an extralight helmet. The lenses are interchangeable so it slid right in.

 

It is now available wit the nexgen lens in the halo-x helmet so you dont have to move it around. when i bought mine I could only find them in the heavier helmet. here is a link to their site with all the part #s you can get plain black or fancy whatever you want.

 

http://www.jacksonsafety.com/linkdetails.cfm?groupid=3013586

 

I have been really happy with it. It has a 3 in 1 feature that will let you use if for cutting grinding or welding with the push of a button. It has sensitivity, delay , and darkness adjustability. Plus it has a sensor at all 4 corners so it doesn't flash on and off if your arc gets hidden behind a corner in the middle of a bead.. I really like that feature. A bit spendy but well worth it. IMHO

[Twistedtrik]

I am a welding instructor at the college here and use 2 hoods. I either use my Speedglass or my Miller Elite. Do yourself a favor and spend the money on a good hood. Don't skimp on this, your eyes will thank you later.

[rubberneck]

When i was in the market, i had a hard time deciding between the jackson, the speedglas, and the optrel. I ended up going with the jackson because i got to use one and liked it.. Im no pro, or instructor, but i definitely agree, the nice helmet was worth the money.

[rubberneck]

Not to get too far off subject, but twistedtrik, I have been seriously thinking about picking up a miller dynasty 350dx. Do you have much seat time with one? Is it worth the money to go to the inverter machine over the old synchrowave? Have done a little tig work in the past only on steel and stainless, but need to learn how to do aluminum. I dont have high freq now, so need to upgrade equipment. thanks Phil

[Twistedtrik]

Any Miller machine is worth it. Miller is all we use. It is a much better machine than the Syncrowave. Not that the waves are bad.

[racer]

I want a Speedglass so bad I can taste it.

[FireHead]

I want a Speedglass so bad I can taste it.

That's what I have. I used to have one of the Uvex/Optrel hoods, but the screen developed some weird lines in it so I returned it. :geek:

[Twistedtrik]

My Speedglass is honestly my favorite. It has been put through hell and back and still works perfectly. I have had it for about 5 yrs. without a single issue.

[jmd0346]

Jackson makes a nice auto but its pricey. If you have a Jackson hat you can buy a auto insert for much cheaper.

 

 

I use a "old school" Jackson non auto. I personaly dont like the autos. If youre good you dont need it. LOL I own a steel fabrication shop so I have some practice.

[racer]

I currently run a manual setup too, love it.

[huskyohilux]

I currently run a manual setup too, love it.

 

The 3M Speedglass is a great helmet, but when welding laying down on the side, the construction that goes around your head tends to bend. Other than that it's an easy helmet that weighs less then a lot of others and the glass allows a bright vision between the autodarkenings

[Bansh-eman]

the auto darkening shields are nice, but even that .001 sec time it takes to darken over 20-30 years for the guys that weld for a living, it jacks your eye up. for guys that arnt welding all the time its fine, but i have family members that are weleder and even with the new technology the energy from an arc welder is still enough to damage your eyes over a long period of time

[Smokin' Joe]

I'm a professional fabricator myself. i run a manual jackson, mainly cause a nice one would still get tore up just as fast... auto's are nice for tigwork, but most of my job stuff is heavy construction... 1/4 is thin for our shop. i do mostly mig and arc, (tig i do at home for side work). i like the precision line from lincoln for heli arc and lincoln and hobart for mig/arc and carbon arc/plasma

[jmd0346]

I'm a professional fabricator myself. i run a manual jackson, mainly cause a nice one would still get tore up just as fast... auto's are nice for tigwork, but most of my job stuff is heavy construction... 1/4 is thin for our shop. i do mostly mig and arc, (tig i do at home for side work). i like the precision line from lincoln for heli arc and lincoln and hobart for mig/arc and carbon arc/plasma

 

 

 

 

What do you guys fab? I build steel stairs, handrails, ladders, gates, Structural steel etc for commercial buildings.

 

 

I have a few stick welders, three migs, a tig/heliarc, plasma cutter, oxy/acetylene torch setup. Several other fab tools. Uni-hydro iron worker, band saws, chop saws etc.