On Thursday, December 26, 2013 10:42:28 AM UTC-5, KC wrote:
On 12/26/2013 10:29 AM, wrote:

On Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:11:53 AM UTC-5, KC wrote:



Yeah, that's where they told me to start. Jess and I have a bud across

town who is a welder by trade, said to call him as soon as I get a

machine and he will head over to start the lessons I already have a

couple projects in the works.



Get some scrap metal and practice! Since my first project was (and still is) some auto body work, I went by a friends body shop and got some body panels that were pulled from wrecks. Cut a chunk out, weld it back in, repeat. Tough to do at first without blowing holes through it. Figured out later that thicker metal is easier to weld, you just have to worry about getting enough penetration instead of too much.



Get a decent quality welding helmet. Gotta protect those eyes.





That is an issue. They got me a number 5 lens on goggles but I can still

see through them indoors and that concernes me.



I was looking at a couple of the auto tint helmets at Harbor Freight and

it says they change in 1/25000 of a second... that scares me too.



Any input from you all on helmets and what is a "decent quality" welding

helmet... If you got a minute, maybe show me a link to one you would use

(if you were on a tight budget like me...? Thanks.

Personally, I'd stay away from the Harbor Freight helmets. Their stuff tends to be very cheaply made, and while I'd consider buying something there that I would only use a couple of times, if it's something that I want to keep and use for a long time (like my eyes) I buy the best I can.

A decent helmet would be somthing like this:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...1185_200591185

Name brand with some reputation of queality. A Lincoln would be good, too. You can spend a lot more for professional stuff (for people using them 8 hours a day!), but for occasional hobby use these are good.

Don't worry about the switching time. Even 1/12,000 of a second is fine, again, for hobby use. If you were welding for hours on end, you'd want faster or a permanent tint lense.

That's my advice. Check with your pro welder buddy. I think he'll steer you away from HF, too.