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PostPosted: January 26, 2018, 10:34 pm 
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Location: No. Nevada
I've been tacking up my frame before final TIG welding.
A local guy wants to do the final welding for me ($$$).
He insist that I am risking serious eye damage as in order to see what I am doing I have to turn the filter down "Way too far".
Optometrist stated "Well yes, you do have cataracts, but they are not bad enough to do anything about yet".
Hmmm, maybe true from his side of the table. :?
No way I can afford cataract surgery at this time, so either I may continue tacking up my chassis or I need to STOP.
Hoping some of the real welders here can advise?

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PostPosted: January 26, 2018, 10:45 pm 
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Have you tried magnifying lenses (cheaters) in your welding helmet? That made a HUGE difference for me. https://www.amazon.com/Welding-Helmet-M ... r+lens+2.0

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PostPosted: January 26, 2018, 10:48 pm 
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I don't think the cheaters are going to affect the amount of light I have to let through the helmet lens in order to see what I am working with?
They do affect focus but that is not my main issue.

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PostPosted: January 26, 2018, 10:57 pm 
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Gotcha. Yeah, probably not what you're looking for then.

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PostPosted: January 26, 2018, 11:37 pm 
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That's a tough one. I've never stayed at a HolidayInn, so take this with a grain of salt.
My experience is that a good helmet makes all the difference. I have a basic auto darkening that works perfectly well for MIG; but I found it to be cutting out intermittently when using my TIG. So I upgraded to a Lincoln, with 4 sensors, and a rating to be usable below 5 A, and I couldn't be happier with it. It works extremely well, and I find that I have a better/clearer view of the puddle. No idea how that would affect your cataracts, but I would try a good helmet first, before I'd spend money on a professional welder.

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PostPosted: January 27, 2018, 1:08 am 
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Richard, you might try putting a lot more light on the work area, and give the "cheaters" a try. The Fresnel lense types aren't very expensive, and when I first started to need glasses was when things weren't well lit, so the combination of the two might do the trick!

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PostPosted: January 27, 2018, 2:42 am 
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Here's some info. I'm not sure what causes cataracts. Any welding helmet should provide complete protection from UV and infrared without even darkening. Having a strong work light up close to the work helped me, I use a Harbor freight 150 watt halogen a 2-3 feet away from what I'm working on.

This has a chart of recommended shades numbers. Maybe you know this already...
https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/article-library/selecting-the-right-welding-helmet-for-you

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PostPosted: January 27, 2018, 4:14 am 
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:BH: Cataracts are a sign or age, seems everyone I know has had the operation, but I have to wait as optometrist want you at 20/50 before they will recommend surgery. :ack:

Got a magnifying glass and read the tint range on the helmet.
Lowest setting is 8, I am at about 8.5 welding fairly thin CroMo so not really as ultra-light as my guy was claiming. He uses almost 11.
He made it sound like I was using virtually no shade at all.
From the linked text, "Sensitivity control is useful when welding at low amperages, especially TIG, when the arc isn't as bright as other welding processes".
Chart starts at 9 but I think I will be OK with 8.5, not doing this all day every day.

Poked around the web searching for more clues.
Then did some more practice using the hints.
When I can turn the work to the top for good access and visibility I am not too embarrassed.
Have to keep my weld segments short, no more than an inch and a half.
Side of vertical is more of an issue, overhead - FORGET IT! :oops:

I already have some portable LED lights that work well to illuminate the work, until they lose their charge.
I am going to try to buy a piece of leather or heavy wool felt to attach to the helmet in order to block glare from the rear. Helps me a lot.
A pair of 2.5 glasses also helps but I have to get my face closer to the work. (Prescription calls for 2 and 3)
The suggestion of a line of punch marks that would "Lite up like runway lights" to help me stay on the weld line only sort of worked.
A shallow bevel seems to help as it does leave a bright line to follow.
Probably not as helpful if the tube has a bright finish.

So I'm going to weld in a diagonal brace to fight the fraction of twist I have.
I also have to force myself to find time to do this in daylight, with the roll-up door open, on days when the wind is not too bad. Giving up on night welding.
Then do small segments well away from each other and check flatness often.
So long as it does not start going all potato-chip when I weld off the table I think I will be OK.
I already know the top side is not as good as the bottom, not too worried as body mount tabs will take care of the minor discrepancies there.

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PostPosted: January 27, 2018, 7:50 am 
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I had both cataracts operated last year. My understanding is that the main factor is age and the progressive clouding of a fluid that is supposed to be transparent and is not. I am not sure that arcing or excess light would cause cataract. Albeit it would damage the eye elsewhere (like watching a solar eclipse as an illustration). As usual I can tell you what I do to weld (any welding) that seems to work for me. I do not trust autodarkening helmets. I have a helmet in which the lens opens and closes with a jaw activated mechanism and I can wear 2.5 glasses underneath it. It takes a while to get used to this helmet.
But the + is that you can operate the darkest lens safely and yet see your work as in normal daylight.

Not an infomercial, just what I use for what it is worth...
http://www.accustrike.com/accu.htm


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PostPosted: January 27, 2018, 9:01 am 
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Your local "Guy" is using the old "fear" tactic to get you to give him the job.
For everyone out there, know that CLEAR glass (or plastic safety glasses) filters out about 80-90 percent of the harmful uv radiation. The tint is mostly for the visible light. You only really need enough tint to be able to see the weld puddle clearly without feeling blinded by the brightness after you stop welding.

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PostPosted: January 27, 2018, 9:25 pm 
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My wife works for a clinic that does a cataract surgery ever 15 minutes or so, 5 days a week. She's the nice lady who spends 15 minutes talking to you about "do you have any questions" and "here, sign this form" and "we checked your insurance" prior to the 3 minute surgery.

I've never heard that my welding is a problem. Unless I'm grinding my bad welds overhead w/o a full face mask, then I hear about it. "Cataracts are the result of a natural progression..."

At age 56 I too am starting to wear a pair of cheaters under my helmet.

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PostPosted: January 27, 2018, 10:50 pm 
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geek49203 wrote:
My wife works for a clinic that does a cataract surgery ever 15 minutes or so, 5 days a week. She's the nice lady who spends 15 minutes talking to you about "do you have any questions" and "here, sign this form" and "we checked your insurance" prior to the 3 minute surgery.

I've never heard that my welding is a problem. Unless I'm grinding my bad welds overhead w/o a full face mask, then I hear about it. "Cataracts are the result of a natural progression..."

At age 56 I too am starting to wear a pair of cheaters under my helmet.


You are right in suggesting that welding has little to do with cataracts. However one should not dismiss entirely the effect of welding on the eyes if proper or insufficient protection is not provided. Welding, especially arc welding involves a risk that could be explained as follows:
Corneal damage from a corneal flash burn ... may cause pain, changes in vision, or loss of vision.

Corneal burn in welding is the result of inadequate protection against UVs. Most welders will never suffer long from the effects of corneal burns. Usually the pain, irritation, red eyes disappear within two days. Careless welders however may suffer longer term and more serious effects. The bottom line is that we should treat arc welding with some respect.

On cataract surgery, I had two last year, it is indeed minor surgery as you said. However in both cases my surgery involved a total of three hours in a hospital, albeit less than 15 minutes each time under the knife (laser).


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PostPosted: January 28, 2018, 7:30 pm 
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phil wrote:
You are right in suggesting that welding has little to do with cataracts. However one should not dismiss entirely the effect of welding on the eyes if proper or insufficient protection is not provided. Welding, especially arc welding involves a risk that could be explained as follows:
Corneal damage from a corneal flash burn ... may cause pain, changes in vision, or loss of vision.


So I have a picture of my hand, all red, except for the spot where my wedding ring resides. Looks like it spent a day in Cancun at the beach -- totally sunburned. What did I do? I welded w/o gloves. Not a lot, just a bunch of spot/tack welds. But the next day it was deep sunburn red.

If if did that to the relatively thick skin on the back of my hand, I am pretty sure that I'd sunburn my eyes a lot worse.

Oh, and those "Scratch" marks are the result of my finger touching the cut-off wheel... TWICE...

Attachment:
welding burn hand.jpg


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