[Holder350]

Hey oldred, where are you in the great state of Tennessee? Your the first person I'v seen on here from TN.

[Kevin45]

I decided to Stick this thread for awhile. WHY? Because I can No really...there is some good advice here as to what and what not to do when an accident like this happens and I think it should be at the top for others to see for a little while at least.

Kevin

[Holder350]

Good idea, if I'da know about this earlyer I would have never welded with out that helmet

[oldred]

Originally Posted by Holder350

Hey oldred, where are you in the great state of Tennessee? Your the first person I'v seen on here from TN.

Near Knoxville in the Powell area.

[Holder350]

just thought everyone might like to see what I sacrificed so much for.

now don't be too hard, this is the first time I'v tried any metal fab.

The reason that is is above the Floorboard is that there is no room to mount it below without interfering with the drive-shaft

So i fabed up this little doohickey, not great but it'll work!

still needs final sanding and spot puddying (if thats a real word)

Wich I'm gonna get my wife to help with - she seems to like sanding?

[Rambo_The_Dog]

Flash burns are painful and scary - why is it that after thousands of years of evolution and learning that the best lessons are always the hardest?

Of course the real fun comes when you get to go to the eye doctor to have them drill some metal/rust out of your eye(s)

I always wear a full face shield now - whenever I'm grinding plus some goggles or safety glasses as I've only had to do that 2x in the last 45 years and don't want to repeat that pleasure

[SuthnCustoms]

This a GREAT thread,i think oldred covered most of it well.
One thing i didnt see and maybe there because i didnt read word for word every response is SAFETY glasses.
Most think it has no UV protection at all but it DOES to a certain extent.
It helps prevent weld flash as long as you are wearing ANSI Z87.1.
These have a polycarbonate in them to make them impact resistent and block a certain extend of UV rays,here is a good web page that is used to print out for safety training in industries all over,including pre training for certain shutdowns,outages and refuel/maintenance schedules in nuclear power plants and is used daily in our apprenticeship programs training.
VERY good read for anyone...


http://www.eyesafety.4ursafety.com/terms.html#uvlight

For those of you who like to just close those little tiny thin eyelids and tack?..pay special close attention to this part....
UV causes tumors of the eyelid. These squamous cell carcinomas are common and serious. A malignant melonoma will be fatal in most cases.

Another thing to think about safety and welding and any serious type of fabrication etc while in your home or garage or yard,your homeowners insurance will NOT cover you because they will consider you having a biz,or working industrial in a non commercial zone,also if your medical insurance can PROVE you were working unsafely?..they will also not cover your injuries.We all know too well how insurance companies work..they WILL get legaly out of paying anything if they can find a legal glinch,ive seen it over and over ,so always use safety no matter where you are at for the most part your own safety.

I also hear guys say"i wasnt looking at the weld so my eyes arent getting flash!!"
Wether your looking at it or not,if the light gets to you on the side,underneath..etc..it IS burning your eyes
One more thing i can think of,when buying the filter lense for your sheild,NEVER buy those "cool looking" mirrored type,gold or chrome looking,the slightest scratch on them that isnt even visible to the eye will make it useless,ive been there and done that and was out of work for 4 days because of a serious burn from TIG welding with it.
And if you need reading glasses regularly DO NOT wear them behind your sheild welding..it magnifies ,get the cheater lense made for it,they are designed to be put inside your shield and they are ANSI Z87.1,which means they have the polycarbonate in it to help block UV rays..those reading glasses do NOT,any plain glass only blocks 30% of UV rays,70% of the UV rays are penetrating.
Just remember,UV(Ultra Violet) rays are a source of radiation........

John

[Wadeamca]

In addition to having the gloves and face shield for my protection, I made a sign for the outside of my shop that warns others "Knock Hard - Welding In Progress!!" so they know to not enter at that time.

The only problem is that my dogs can't read.

[Rrumbler]

Well, this is sort of a "beat the dead horse" posting, but I just felt compelled to add my own experiences to this discussion.

I got my first welding injury when I was fifteen: a clown in metal shop turned around in the welding booth with the stinger in his hand, pushed the curtain back with it, and struck an arc on the booth frame about a foot in front of my eyes as I was walking past. OW!! The Doc dug the slag out of me, and I was blind for about a week. Many more have come and gone in the ensuing years, as well as other stuff that causes eye pains. Nowadays, if I see a new Ophthalmologist (the eye Doc is an annual ritual, now), most of them are somewhat dismayed at the amount of scarring in my eyes; and I have had to wear glasses for the last forty years, as a result of earlier incidents.

What I am trying to get across is: you younger guys, take better care than you might now do; you are NOT made of cast iron. Don't be afraid to take on something, but take care to do it in the safest manner possible. The older folks like me, be thankful if you have a modicum of decent vision; you've most likely learned the hard lessons, and earned the scars.

Same thing goes for your hearing. You can't get any of it back, vision, or hearing, if it goes away.

[oldred]

Rrumbler, You are not "beating a dead horse" sir you are speaking words of wisdom and to all those "Supermen" out there - you better listen while you still can!

[malc]

Here´s a "Superman", from the pages of "The American Hot Rod" by Dean Batchelor.

[oldred]

Interesting but I sure would hate to have such an honor bestowed upon me!

[Rrumbler]

Wow!! I remember reading something about Frank Sheitlin when I was a pup; if I recall, it was that story about his being blind and able to do work like that that drove me to "practice" that myself. I used to put a blindfold on and take my bike apart and put it back together; in later years, I did the same thing with my guns, and other stuff, once in a while. It's not a bad skill to have; I often worked by feel, rather than trying to twist myself up into some spot just so I could see what I was working on. Sometimes, the outcome was not what I wanted, though, and I might eventually end up having to screw myself into a spot, or dismantle something to fix it.

The last line of that writeup struck a chord with me, too; Harper Dry Lake is out in the California desert northwest of Barstow. In 1968/69, I worked in and around Barstow, and spent one of the darkest nights working that I can remember, out on Harper Lake; it was no longer a true dry lake, but had been turned into a rather extensive alfalfa ranching region - must have been several thousand acres of the green stuff growing out there. We were working out there trying to get the power to the wells and ranches back on during an electrical storm, and the electrical disturbance got so intense that it literally killed the batteries and alternators on our trucks, and all of the batteries in our flashlights. We had a couple of linemen up in the air on a boom, and had to rig some friction stopper knots on the handline to get them down - all in dark so deep that you couldn't see your fingers in front of your eyes, except when there was a flash of lightning; talk about feeling blind! We used cigarette lighters for enough light to check our knots, and to give us targets to go for in moving around. After we got everybod back on the ground safely, one of the guys took the lighters, and set off walking (our radios were dead, too) to get help; they finally got back to us after daylight, and then had go back and get a bunch of new batteries and alternators for our trucks.

[roger1]

What about the auto darkening helmets from Harbor Freight?

Would you trust your eyes to the McDonalds of tool stores?

I have a Lincoln Mig and use it very seldom. I have one the the Harbor Freight helmets and it seems to work fine.

[oldred]

Safety don't seem to be an issue with the HF hoods but the quality of the other parts such as the head gear and shell may be a bit suspect.