Thread: Welding Helmets

Are you serious !

As China said "are you serious"
If you worked for me the first time I caught you I'd give you a verbal warning on the spot followed by a written warning as soon as I could get it typed up.
Then I'd keep an eye on you and sack you immediately the second time I caught you.

Last time I looked Workcover could issue you with a $2000 (or maybe even $5000) on the spot fine

Originally Posted by waz

- "When tacking you must use a welding helmet"???

.

Yes you must use a welding helmet. I think that you are missunderstanding what this helmet is for, to protect your eyes. It has not happen to me and by what was discussed on a recent welding course you would not want to be flashed and feel like the back of your eyes had been sunburnt.

Hopefully what Waz meant is what I sometimes do, that is to put your other hand in front of the area to be tacked and do it "blind"? Ones hand so close to the job shields the head area quite well.

OK for a quick tack only.

Originally Posted by Tankstand

Ones hand so close to the job shields the head area quite well.

You know what shields it even better?

A welding helmet.

haha, i've never seen this being enforced in places i've worked at and at tafes i've been to. It may have been mentioned that a welding helmet should be used, though 99% off the time i've noticed most people go without and no one says a thing.

I once got told by a supervisor at an old place I worked at to use a welding helmet and then a few hours later I see him tacking without one. go figure...

I usually just close my eyes and look down, sometimes blocking it with my hand

p.s i'm glad I don't work for you ian.

on work experience last year, they supplied me with a $10 helmet which was great for welding runs but usless for tacking. so when i tacked i just turned around. should of worn the helmet but as soon as another worker lended me their auto helmet i never struck an arc without it on. needless to say i had a red face for the first couple days... learnt my lesson.

Depends on the process- I will do it with MIG but definitely not with stick or TIG, but I always close my eyes.

Of course if you do it too much you will get the cumulative effects of the arc radiation, and a nasty surface burn will result. If you are using a good auto helmet you can have the best of both worlds, without having to lift the helmet at all.

There are risks, but they can be managed. NEVER look directly or indirectly at a welding arc with the naked eye. It will burn holes in your retina faster than you can blink, and you will forever have an extra 'blind spot'. Your eyes must be covered with something BEFORE the arc is struck.

My viewpoint is strictly one of common sense. It has nothing to do with the increasingly false concern for employee safety generated by the threat of Worksafe (or whoever) fines or premium increases.

However, does a welder have to save time by tacking without a helmet because the job has been underquoted and the expectation is to finish a 10 hour job in 5? Is it faster to hold two pieces of metal together with one hand, hold the MIG torch in the other, because insufficient jigs or clamps have been provided? Is a trade assistant provided solely to place the helmet on the welder's head because the welder's hands are otherwise engaged?

I find it ironic that an employer will bitch about welders tacking without a helmet but will indulge other dangerous 'shortcuts' because they are not Worksafe's flavour of the month.

For instance, heavy lifting has not been outlawed by Worksafe for fabricators (or anyone else). There are machines which can be used to lift heavy objects, but of course these slow down production.

So far:

Time off from work for back injuries, including surgery: 5 months.
Time off from work for tacking without a helmet: zero.

Having an employer and a government that understands the dibilitating effects of heavy lifting: priceless! (....but don't hold your breath)

Originally Posted by Com_VC

snip

p.s i'm glad I don't work for you ian.

let me put it like this ...
20 years ago we were still using asbestos cement pipes -- making sure employees didn't use demolition saws on them was a constant worry
I've had an employee effectively sever their hand with an angle grinder
I've spent a day in the coronor's court after a passerby was killed on one of my sites
I've had too many employees go to hospital with severe back injuries -- BTW the immediate application of ice can't be beat as a way to minimise the injury

I no longer walk past an unsafe act

I'd be worried about the UV exposure to your skin/face/hands or anything else uncovered. You may not seen any sunburn effects immediately but constant exposure over time surely can't be good for you?

Well, the old ad for Bell safety helmets still rings true. "If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet. If you value your head, wear a Bell".
In this case someone places little value on their sight and they will eventually loose some, if not most, of their eye-sight. Every weldflash causes some damage and that damage cannot repair itself. Eventually you will end up with a blind-spot in the centre of your vision. When you have to look "out of the corner of your eye" to see anything then life will be most dificult and not in the least rewarding.
Please wear a quality faceshield.
Thanks,
Dennis.