At 58 years old, I have the no line type of multifocals with transition shading. I use a 2.0 magnifier in a traditional small lens hood. I used it for GTAW, GMAW/FCAW and SMAW. If I am observing some one else, I use a tradional hood with the large lens and no magnifer.

 

Hi, I have the Miller Digital Elite helmet and the cheater magnifying lenses cover about 2/3 of the screen, so I can see over the top of the magnified area if I need to. I also wear my bi focals while welding under my hood, so between my glasses and the cheater lens I can see good enough, wearing my glasses under the hood increases the mag level of the cheater lens. Bear in mind that for me the higher the mag I go, the closer to the work my head has to be to stay in the focal range. At least this is workable for me.

 

Can someone please tell me where you get the magnifying lenses for helmets? I have the continuous tri-focal type lenses and sometimes struggle like heck to see the rod and seam.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAG-LENS-CHEATE...-HELMET-2-50-MAG-212242-/360189998338?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53dcff3502

 

I wear 3 way lenses and they SUCK!!
For doing overhead I will actually turn my glasses upside down..

Best thing is to have them against your face as close as you can get and focus from there..
I don't use magnifiers but I really do feel your pain..


THIS SUCKS!!
You guys with good eyes...

Keep them that away..:dizzy:


...zap!

 

One source is "Airgas.com" A sample part number is HUT3000675. Also do a search for "welding lens" to get a more complete listing of offerings. Look at welding lens - passive. There are corrective lenses offered in polycarbonate and glass. The dimensions of the lens is 2 inches by 4.5 inches.

Lauran

 

i wear the variable focus lenses but they suck for reading. i got a pair of glasses made with a reading-only lens with a focus length of 10", which is what i measured typical puddle-to-eye distance.. i weld in those and see much better than with my regular glasses.. lift the hood and fall on my ahssss..

 

Thanks for the product leads. I appreciate it.

 

Prescription safety glasses are available that can be worn under the welding hood. Get the prescription in whatever power you need to see at welding distance, not far away for driving.

 

I use glasses that has my reading prescription in the top and bottom 1/3 of the lens. Works well for me and makes overhead work much easier.

 

Here what i found -> vision correction

 

idid some measuring and found that i ted to weld with my eyes about 9 " from the puddle. so i got some reading glasses made with a 9" focal length. works pretty good..sometimes i weld with no glasses , sometimes read that way too....

 

Prescription safety glasses are available that can be worn under the welding hood. Get the prescription in whatever power you need to see at welding distance, not far away for driving.

Exactly. This is what we tell welding students:

You can't weld if you can't see. Forget bifocals or anything but a single prescription (bifocal parting lines drop across the view of horizontal stringers when welding) designed for welding distances. Ensure your optometrist KNOWS THIS by giving him/her/it a visual demonstration by holding your hand in front of your face at the desired distance.

After you get a clear lens, single-vision prescription, weld for long enough for your eyes to adjust, and make sure some of that is overhead. Some people need cheater lenses, or need them for overhead only. The time to get dialed in on prescription, cheaters, and helmet lens tint is necessary.

Cheaters etc fit better in small lens helmets like the Fibre-Metal Pipeliner, which has ample depth for a clear lens in front and back, a cheater, and the tinted lens. (Pipeliners are very comfortable, and you can trim the bottom edge for precise fit/throat clearance by using a cutting wheel. We use an old section of portaband blade as a straightedge to draw a smooth line.)

When you get your prescription order extra glasses online for about forty bucks a pair. Always order the same frames so you have spare parts. Weldors and mechanics destroy glasses, so have a spare or three for jobsite backup.

 

I also wear tri-focals. The lowest part is for close up. Sometimes I need to see close-up with out tilting my head. I took an old glasses frame and had a full lens installed the same as the lower reading part of my tri-focals.

 

Welding is only part of your work . . . there's also setup, grinding, etc. I wear a pair of single-focus safety glasses focused at about 24 inches. That's the distance for general bench work. I then have a 1.5 cheater in the helmet that changes my focal length to about 12 inches for welding. I also keep a headset magnifier handy for close-up bench work.

YMMV,

 

Being new to welding I am having this probleem too. I wear the trifocals. Ive noticed that its hard at times to see the work, espicaly if your head isnt in, just the right area. I waer my glasses under my hood and the fab guy at work told me I may need to get a cheeter lense in my hood.

Than you for posting this question, and all the great ideas. Welding is just a hobby for me but this will make it better for me.

 

These might do the trick: http://www.superfocus.com/

 

I have a headband magnifier I use for fine electronic assembly work.
It is basically has a x2 correction lenses built in, but it also has additional flip down lenses that increase the overall magnification factor to much more than that.
Something like this...

Never tried it with a welding cheater lens, but it may be possible to fit one cheater behind another cheater to increase the magnification to much more than one lens can provide.

Maybe a x2 and a x3 together will give you a similar result to an x6 ???

I have no idea if it would work, but worth a try I suppose.