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 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
ik this is a year old but what lense did you use because thats exactly what im looking for and the ones iove bought so far have all been to dark to see. 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 👊🏼
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.
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. 🤷🏿♂️
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.
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
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.
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.
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'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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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🤘🏼
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nice demonstration Ross 👍🏻👍🏻. Im wondering if the Wens lens has a (sensitive coating) that if it gets scratched? It would be (render useless) and have to be thrown out? I been using the standard gold coated lenses for about 20+ years now and they have that sinsitive coating 🧐 The manufacturer recommended to discard if scratched! Got to protect those eyes!
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
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
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.
@@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
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
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.
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!!
Having trouble seeing the puddle while Mig welding with a Yeswelder helmet set on 10. I have Macular Degeneration and It's black around the arc with no puddle visible. I'm trying to complete a couple of projects on my Hot-Rod that are non-structural. Any help you can give would be appreciated.
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 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.
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
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
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. 😁
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.
Hey Ross, I am a hobby welder who bought a miller 220. I weld 16 gauge mild steel square tube for fun projects around the house. One issue I have is I feel like I cannot see the "path" on the miller auto set for 16 Gauge, .23 wire and shade 9 on my cheapie 50 dollar auto hood. I can sometimes lower the wire feed speed which makes a brighter arc that illuminates the area around the puddle sometimes too bright! Should I go all out on a helmet? Or buy one of these pipeliners and get the autodarkening 2x4 lens. I spent a small fortune on this hobby and and getting tired of trying to mentally follow a path/line I can barely see or lowing the mig speed only to have blowouts because its too hot. I often wonder if using thicker wire, or something else I am missing. Thank you Ross or anyone else for a comment.
You might try a lighter shade of lens, like an 8 or a different color of shade 9 You may even try to take some soap stone and make a line along where you want to weld. It may show up better.
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.
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.
I usually use a shade 10 or 9 but I want to start learning how to tug weld a root by looking through the gap but I know you have to use a standard lane or else you will get flashed. Would you recommend a wens lens for this? I know you said you use a shade 8 ? What would you recommend for backfeeding a root looking through the gap?
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 a pipe liners cloud carbon fiber chopped top I have a tefauae lense shade 12 I weld aluminum all day long any recommendations on any other lense? You should do a updated lense video too!
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
What hood would you recommend that is comfortable and doesn't overheat quickly? I'm new to this and I don't want to get a bad one I like the one on your wall with the bib but I can't find it anywhere
I have a harbor freight titanium flux 125 and the titanium helmet. I cant see the joint that i am trying to get the weld into. What are the tricks? Ive tried the lower settings to no avail.
I have light blue eyes and am super sensitive to light. And the older I get the more sensitive I get. I tend to do any of my welding in my shop which has poor lighting so I run an auto darkening hood.
Buenos dias yo soy de la patagonia chilena y vivo en punta arenas e trabajado de soldador pur 39 años es el mejor trabajo quisiera saber donde conseguir una mascara de soldar pantake ..tienen alguna dirección donde conseguirla
I doubt you need em yet but what about cheater lens? Do these lens come in different strengths for folks with bad vision to begin with? Also you mentioned contacts ... I've always heard that it's a real bad idea to wear them anywheres near an arc since they can actually fuse to your eyeball, helmet or not. I'm not a welder by trade but thinking about trying my hand at fixing a couple things around the house.
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.
If your cheap like me I use the hobart shade 10 gold glass lense in my sugar scoop awesome passive lense for and awesome price I pick them up for 8 bucks at any northern tools or tractor supply.
@@Thrxxx I think they are expensive because of the cost of production. I heard they use a filter plate sandwiched between two plates of glass. Wens and Opticool make these sandwich lenses, I'd be curious to try one or a Phillips Alloweld but I'm pretty comfortable right now with my $20 Phillips gold
Welding 1".065 pipes into .120 manifolds @145A ~200\day Radnor lite60 auto set to 10 Started with a harbor freight auto no flash burn after covering the backside of my hood (not hoods falt but the wight gloss painted walls) but experienced noticable loss of night sight (more difficult to see in the woods at night w/o flashlights ) that was getting worse till I made the change.
I have a automatic Wens Lens, think it's called the blink blue or something like that. I don't know if they're still available, but I love mine and it's kind of between the electric ice and original blue. I have both of those also as well as an American Optical that's older than me and I'm 40.
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
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
I tried using shade 11 and couldn't see a thing only black so I tried shade 10 and also couldn't see a thing only a little so I'm gonna try a shade 8 I think I used it in school for oxyacetylene welding
I use the Lincoln 4c in the viking series hoods shade 8 and I love it in the shop and for fabrication but I'm looking to try some of these in a pancake for welding pipe
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?
Thinking about a shade 8 makes my eyes hurt
Even a 10 hurts mine
I think shade 11 is best all around on steel for me. Aluminum Tig however shade 13 seems to be most comfortable
I agree ouch
Gold 9 lens basically shade 8
I go shade 12 green
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!
What he said... Here's to the men of steel!
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
ik this is a year old but what lense did you use because thats exactly what im looking for and the ones iove bought so far have all been to dark to see. 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.
10:45 for the lens footage
Thanks, this dude talks mass shit.
MVP
Cheers
You sir deserve an upvote to the top IDGAF about his opinions, show me tangible facts
I’d go blind with that shade 8, I hurt my eyes with shade 9 before so I only use shade 10 or 11
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 👊🏼
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.
“Take care of your eyes!” - 20 seconds earlier - “I use a shade 8”. Whatever works for you man, but I have no idea how anyone could weld with an 8
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!
When throwing the bead an 8 is good to see ur root going in
He does a ton of downhill. The puddle is on the opposite site so it's nowhere near as bright.
@@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. 🤷🏿♂️
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.
Fun to watch your videos, Austin. You do yourself and your trade proud. Thank you!
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
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.
Where can I buy a shade 11 lense im currently in highschool and I have shade 10 but I’m tryna got a shade darker
@@osbaldohernandez9174 the Lincoln one on the video is adjustable. Its decent. I have it.
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.
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.
You're like me,long time welder with glasses .If I can see it,I can weld it!
thank. you. austin. 17 years old getting into welding, just got a pipeline industrial honeywell helmet and am looking for lenses, this helped so much!
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.
Way to go Austin you're always up you're always thinking and added to our industry and taking care of our 798 work and represent it well! good job
I use an auto darkening with 8-12 most of the time. If I use a fixed lens I prefer a gold lens
Have you tried shade 14 fixed lens, is it too dark to see well?
I like the gold lens too and I got an auto darkening one. .
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
The Wens Ultra blue seems to be the one I want to try, Im using a standard shade 9 for now, would you try the Wens lenses in the same shade as well ?
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.
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
8 is supposed to be for torch and plasma, I weld with 12!
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.
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
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.
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🤘🏼
Blinded By The Light what lense ????
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.
Interesting Perspective.
35 plus year
Structural Fluxcore Welder .
#12 until age 50.
#11 from then on.
Those single digit shades blow my mind !
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.
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.
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.
Nice demonstration Ross 👍🏻👍🏻. Im wondering if the Wens lens has a (sensitive coating) that if it gets scratched? It would be (render useless) and have to be thrown out? I been using the standard gold coated lenses for about 20+ years now and they have that sinsitive coating 🧐 The manufacturer recommended to discard if scratched! Got to protect those eyes!
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 run a SEER auto darkening lens in a shade 12, love this lens because it's a clear color. The arc looks white it's awesome on the eyes
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
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.
I spit my coffee out when you said shade 8
I did the Jim Carey gag from dumb and dumber
I love my auto singles HD I had the fixed blue and let a welding partner have it I need to buy a new one. Great vid as always.
Shade 8 and 9 😳😳😳 my eyes would burn out of my head after 12 hours I run a gold fix shade 11
Do you if they make them in the bigger 4x4 or 4 x5 lens
@@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
Glass shade 12! Plastics suck
😂
That was a dang good video Austin. Thank you for shedding some light. Would like to see reviews with lenses for Mig and Tig?
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
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.
For tack spot welds, I think it's better to adjust longer delay time (dark to light), so you won't flash frequently.
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!!
I'm considering trying a fixed. Would shade 9 be blackout until arc? Or can you see at least enough to strike an ark where ya want?
Having trouble seeing the puddle while Mig welding with a Yeswelder helmet set on 10. I have Macular Degeneration and It's black around the arc with no puddle visible. I'm trying to complete a couple of projects on my Hot-Rod that are non-structural. Any help you can give would be appreciated.
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
Caleb i might be late for this but did you get the ultra electric ice or cool blue wens lens. I also run 1/16 dual shield and got a 12 but want a 13
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.
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
Can you use these auto lens for putting in a tig root and looking through the gap?
My job provided me these magnification clear lens, I absolutely LOVE it!! It took a moment to get used to but it is SO helpful!!!
Thanks Austin, your tips are much appreciated.
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
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. 😁
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.
Did you have to file down your helmet to fit the 4c in?
Couldn't tell you the brand but I use a gold coated #10. Works best all around for me stick,mig al tig steel tig I'll drop down to #8
Me too, I love my fixed shade gold lens
Hey Ross, I am a hobby welder who bought a miller 220. I weld 16 gauge mild steel square tube for fun projects around the house. One issue I have is I feel like I cannot see the "path" on the miller auto set for 16 Gauge, .23 wire and shade 9 on my cheapie 50 dollar auto hood. I can sometimes lower the wire feed speed which makes a brighter arc that illuminates the area around the puddle sometimes too bright! Should I go all out on a helmet? Or buy one of these pipeliners and get the autodarkening 2x4 lens. I spent a small fortune on this hobby and and getting tired of trying to mentally follow a path/line I can barely see or lowing the mig speed only to have blowouts because its too hot. I often wonder if using thicker wire, or something else I am missing.
Thank you Ross or anyone else for a comment.
You might try a lighter shade of lens, like an 8 or a different color of shade 9
You may even try to take some soap stone and make a line along where you want to weld. It may show up better.
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.
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.
I usually use a shade 10 or 9 but I want to start learning how to tug weld a root by looking through the gap but I know you have to use a standard lane or else you will get flashed. Would you recommend a wens lens for this? I know you said you use a shade 8 ? What would you recommend for backfeeding a root looking through the gap?
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...
Thanks for this! I am shopping around
for a auto darkening, and this is just
what I needed to see! Thanks!
once u get a good set of auto darkening lenses, you wont go back to regular ones hah
I got a pipe liners cloud carbon fiber chopped top I have a tefauae lense shade 12 I weld aluminum all day long any recommendations on any other lense? You should do a updated lense video too!
Shade 9 wens has been my go to for 6 years. Interesting about the double lens. I think I’m gonna use that
Wens lens for me I think 10 shade may work well for mostly indoor work whats your take on it ?
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
Thank you Austin, for sharing your knowledge it is very usefull.
What hood would you recommend that is comfortable and doesn't overheat quickly?
I'm new to this and I don't want to get a bad one
I like the one on your wall with the bib but I can't find it anywhere
I have a harbor freight titanium flux 125 and the titanium helmet. I cant see the joint that i am trying to get the weld into. What are the tricks? Ive tried the lower settings to no avail.
using spray (27+volts) transfer mode on mig what would be the lowest shade level recomended?
Hey what's up quick question what's the lowest shade I can use for flux
I have light blue eyes and am super sensitive to light. And the older I get the more sensitive I get. I tend to do any of my welding in my shop which has poor lighting so I run an auto darkening hood.
I run a shade 10 and with x mode lvl 6. I tig,stick,mig and braze plate. Not certified but do them at work for different jobs."still in school"
Solid...video....learned allot......👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Any comparison on switching speed between the Lincoln 4c and the ArcOne s240hd?
#9 or #10 techniweld clear blue lense...thats what i use they are amaaaazing
Beau Godwin same here. I love mine
@@drummerguy676 yea i do to an there not over priced either so its a win win
yeah them seer your lenses,technicolor r the best I've used.they similar to the old cobalt blue from the 90s
There a great lens
Where did you get the leather slips from ?
Just getting started in the game. Great video, thanks for sharing!
Buenos dias yo soy de la patagonia chilena y vivo en punta arenas e trabajado de soldador pur 39 años es el mejor trabajo quisiera saber donde conseguir una mascara de soldar pantake ..tienen alguna dirección donde conseguirla
I doubt you need em yet but what about cheater lens? Do these lens come in different strengths for folks with bad vision to begin with? Also you mentioned contacts ... I've always heard that it's a real bad idea to wear them anywheres near an arc since they can actually fuse to your eyeball, helmet or not. I'm not a welder by trade but thinking about trying my hand at fixing a couple things around the house.
I will definitely be buying a wens lens today thanks Austin
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 used a shade 10 when I am stick and mig welding and a 9 when I Tig weld
I can tell you weld for a living. Your arc control is superb.
If your cheap like me I use the hobart shade 10 gold glass lense in my sugar scoop awesome passive lense for and awesome price I pick them up for 8 bucks at any northern tools or tractor supply.
Jesse Smith that’s what I use
Jesse Smith I use the same exact ones and what is it about these wens that are so expensive
@@Thrxxx
I think they are expensive because of the cost of production. I heard they use a filter plate sandwiched between two plates of glass. Wens and Opticool make these sandwich lenses, I'd be curious to try one or a Phillips Alloweld but I'm pretty comfortable right now with my $20 Phillips gold
Welding 1".065 pipes into .120 manifolds @145A ~200\day
Radnor lite60 auto set to 10
Started with a harbor freight auto no flash burn after covering the backside of my hood (not hoods falt but the wight gloss painted walls) but experienced noticable loss of night sight (more difficult to see in the woods at night w/o flashlights ) that was getting worse till I made the change.
Does WENS LENS Does the gold face the outside of the hood
Or does the gold face the inside of the hood
? Thanks guys
The gold part should face outside the welding hood
Thank you
Shade 10 gold coated passive lense, shade 12 for when I crank the amperage up, is all ive ever needed for pipework
Thank you for the video. I'm buying some clear lenses right now.
Hi Austin. I love your approach to this science @13:39 : ''Learn something new everyday! ''
I like those slips. Good idea.
I have a automatic Wens Lens, think it's called the blink blue or something like that. I don't know if they're still available, but I love mine and it's kind of between the electric ice and original blue. I have both of those also as well as an American Optical that's older than me and I'm 40.
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
I just got the ameriarc shade 10 auto darkening lens. I’ll use it and let you know what I think of it.
This is the first comparison of its type I've seen so far. Excellent stuff! Any idea how Jackson lenses compare?
I don’t. I’ve never used that brand of welding lens.
I use gold shade 12 most of the time my auto helmet is almost always at shade 13 with delay on slow. I will never compromise my eyes
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
@@davidhurst5915 interesting I had no idea
I just use 11 . Lower then that my eyes start to tear so I cry basically 😂
I just seen a video about Lincoln’s auto darkening with the battery’s and stuff
Even the arc shots gave me flash !
I tried using shade 11 and couldn't see a thing only black so I tried shade 10 and also couldn't see a thing only a little so I'm gonna try a shade 8 I think I used it in school for oxyacetylene welding
I use the Lincoln 4c in the viking series hoods shade 8 and I love it in the shop and for fabrication but I'm looking to try some of these in a pancake for welding pipe
I love my Singles HD Cool Blue #9 with a Cool Blue filter lens. You can see so much and it is very clear
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?
@@arosswelding AULEKTRO which is made by wens makes filters. I just ordered a lens off Ebay that came with 2 different colored filters.