If you are using an auto dim mask make sure what filter rating it has. Most I have seen which aren't adjustable are 11 and the setting for a mig should be 9 or 10. Can't remember what unit of measure is, but googling variable welding helmet will tell you what you should have.

Here in Oz we get bundled with Asia Pacific so our stuff tends to use this regions grading system.

Regards

Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!

About seeing the weld area better. Many over 50 yrs of age need glasses for reading or close work. An item that worked for me, & also spared likely damage to good glasses, was a magnifier lense. They come in 1.25 to about 2.5 or more magnification. This was used with a standard Welding mask... On the issue of pushing or pulling the weld, I was referring to std gas cover Mig welding, which may have confused the issue some, as Charlie is using Flux core.

Paul

In addition to Paul's observation, I have found that since I'm WAY past 50, my eyes don't adjust to light changes as quickly as they used to.  I start out in the light, lower the hood, am in the dark, strike an arc, light again but can't see where I'm welding, finally see the target, lose the arc, in the dark again, etc.  Frustrating.  Thought an auto darkening hood would help, but it's no better.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Glad you cleared that up about the auto-dark helmet, Now what do we do, my granddaughter can't weld yet.

Gary Ryan San Antonio.TX.

I have found that a gold tinted lens works better when mig welding. Another trick for us that are over 50 is to mark the area you want to weld with your soap stone. That shows up much better.

Ol'ford nutCentral Iowa

56 Vic w/292 & 4 spd.

All good advice, I'll try them all. Its a real pain not being able to stick two pieces of metal togather! Especially for a car nut. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Me too, i loose the line i,m supposed to be welding and i have magnifer lens in helmet, guess the yrs start to tell.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

Pushing the arc in Mig welding may help with keeping on the joint, because you are not blocking the travel path with your hand & gun. Also, if I recall correctly, my instructor indicated that it also directs the heat forward which can help with heavier materials. All of these methods requires some practice of course... And for information, he also indicated that while Mig is the prefered method for most welding these days, it was invented & perfected for production reasons (over stick electrode) not necessarily because it gives better welds...

Paul

Here it is. On to the next project.






Lawrenceville, GA

Practice makes perfet Charlie! so get off the computer and back to welding!

When I started welding as a teenager, a pipe welder informed me to try to keep the molten puddle in a nice round circle while moving on. I found it very helpful information and ended up doing my share of welding over the years, from structural to steam pipe in power plants etc, although never certified the contrators and plants knew if i welded it it would look ok and pass. I still do some welding for shops around here, just last week an equipment dealer had me weld a thumb on an new excavator because they didn't want to do it themselves and have it look bad.

On the lense thing, I always used #9 for mig and 10 or 11 for stick, now I do need the magnifying lenses or I am welding off the line like the others as we age.

Oh! Table looks great, put some material on there and back to practicing!

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?