Autodarkening hood pleasure

dr sportster

Well-known Member
I finally gave in and bought an auto darkening hood . H-F on sale. I always thought flipping the window down was no big deal but I had to TIG weld a couple rod couplings to some bolt heads. The auto darkening was so much nicer for the scratch start of the TIG as I knew exactly where I was at before arc. Sometimes you should not fight advanced tools like auto darkening helmets. For TIG they are great. Much lees tungsten contamination -- there was none because I could see my tip.{ remember the late great T-Bone said if you blink you wasted your money anyway. ] Hey I didn't blink. Didn't get flashed either.
 

I wear tri-focal glasses. Couldn't seem to stay focused through the correct part of my glasses while dropping the welding helmet and usually ended up running a bead somewhere other than where I intended. I was ready to just give up welding altogether. Bought an auto-darkening helmet, and now I can weld again.
 
I don't weld a lot and never really thought I'd need one. Dad bought one from HF so I used it. It really does do a good job. Really nice when you do a lot of tacking or welding expanded metal which is short bursts.
Now I wonder how long the battery will hold up with very little use ? So far it's been a lot of years. Last year I did set it in a window for awhile as I think it has a solar charger built in ?
 
If you do enough welding to justify it, do yourself a favor and upgrade to a name brand helmet.

I got by with the HF, Northern Tool, China made helmets for years. Finally I dug an old Jackson out of storage. Took it to the weld supply, got new cover lenses, battery, and head strap.

Couldn't believe the difference! The fit, the "stay on your head when bending over" factor, just everything about it was better quality. And this thing is probably 20 years old, one of the first auto darken available.

Can only imagine what a top of the line would be like now!
 
i welded a lot when i had the fab shop. had the flip up jackson, then bought a jackson auto dark on. iirc it was a couple hunderd. nice helmet, but i got headaches from using it. for some reason i got eye strain from the auto darkening. went back to the old flip up ones. i use the lenses with the gold film, not the dark green ones. have mac and snap on autos here at the shop. i still use my old flip up. korse i still use a flip phone too!!
 
I wear tri-focals, also. I can't use goggles for acetylene welding, I have to use a full face shield. I order #5's on the 'Net 'cause local stores seem to only stock #3's.

I wouldn't be without an auto darkening helmet for stick or MIG, either one.
 
The old Jackson's were really good. I've got a 20+ year old Super V Jackson. It still works just fine, the headgear may need to be replaced soon.

I just bought the latest greatest Miller T94 auto dark hood because I needed a second one. (My helpers want to watch). If I had bought it just for the sake of upgrading I would be disappointed. I chose this one based solely on the window size, it was the only one that was not smaller than my old one. It does have some nice new features, but I will never use most of them.
 
Have a couple of older helmets with the fixed shade lenses. A friend gave me a self darkening lense for the small lense size. No battery or anything .don't know what makes it work but it does. I would like to find out where he got it because I need one for the larger size, about 4 x 5 inch size. Anybody know where to buy these lenses? Thanks Tommy
 

I have a Jackson I got it sometime in the mid 90's we are talking about a $3/400 helmet... It wares well but never the helmet it should be... I was about to give up on welding a tool truck stopped by I told the gal let me try the helmet she had if I liked it I would buy it... It put the Jackson to same :!: I could not get my money out fast enoufh to pay her :)

My best bud brought a top of the line miller a few years ago its the real deal... Fact you can not beat a good helmet...
 
I couldn't weld without one. Literally. I tried. A lot. I have such poor coordination that my hand holding the electrode holder would move TWO FEET in the time it took me to lower a fixed shade helmet. I literally wasn't anywhere near the metal with the electrode, stabbing into thin air, or my leg, trying to strike an arc.

Never could figure out how the pros got the helmet set up so they could just nod their head and get it to flip down. If it was loose enough to flip down, it would not stay up. If it was tight enough to stay up, I'd give myself whiplash or throw the helmet on the floor slinging my head around trying to get it to flip down.

Harbor Freight's welding helmets was a Godsend for me. Finally figured out how to weld. Never been flashed. About once a year they have a sale where the helmets are priced the lowest, so I always have a new one in stock when the old one gets too cloudy and scratched to see through. They last about two years for me.
 

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