TIG & welding helmet suggestions

[ecorl]

I am looking to purchase a TIG (including aluminum and SS capabilities) and looking for advice/recommendations. I have been doing MIG for many years but Im ready to step up. Also, recommendations for a good auto darkening helmet too. My $30 eastwood isn't working very well.
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[DanStokes]

If I were you (and of course I am NOT) I'd slide down to my local welding vendor and have them tell me all about what they have. Most (at least around here) have several brands (Miller, Lincoln, ESAB, etc.) and will be thrilled to show you the advantages of either/or. At work we had a big Miller and it kicked butt but those are megabux. John (Milner) found a pretty big Miller used at a reasonable price so that's another way to go. But if your first stop is at the welding supply you'll have some idea of which features are important to you so you'll know what you're looking at in the used market.

I like my Eastwood 175 MIG but I don't know anything about their TIG machines. I'm pretty sure all their stuff is Asian but that might get it done for you depending on your need for duty cycles, etc.

On the helmet - again, I'd talk to the welding supply. I got rid of my HF helmet mostly because the suspension sucked and went to our supplier where I got a Jackson (IIRC) that works great. I also have a HF for folks that want to look over my shoulder - good enough for that.

TIG gloves are another thing. They need to be more supple and arc gloves suck when TIGging. They make special TIG gloves and they're worth it.

Dan

[Loren]

I have a helmet from Summit, was under $100 -I forget exactly- can't do AC on aluminum, if you have any trouble getting an arc going the auto-darken freaks out and may give you a face full of blinding light just when you're focused on the work and have the amps up. The first time that happened it took about three days for my vision to recover (although frankly I'm not sure it ever really did all-the-way) and I was pissed. The second time it was during experimentation and I was ready for it. Summit offered to take it back but I decided the real damage there was not no hundred-bucks rather it was something I'd never get paid for, and just kept it for DC use. For aluminum I go back to my ol' manual-darken (flip it down with your hand or a head nod) I bought used in '90.

If I bought another auto-darken I would not go "cheap-o", I'd get something at the welding shop where they know what they're selling...however I will probably never use one welding AC again.

I have a third helmet from Home Depot that hangs on the wall where I've worked with a company on their welding sometimes (Mark Twain's quote "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig" comes to mind here). I leave it there just so their guy feels like I'm watching him. It's not auto-darken, has a huge field of vision and is probably my favorite helmet. The graphics aren't even that stupid. I don't know why I don't just bring it home or get another one like it.

[JamesMayberryIII]

I don't like the cheaper auto darkening helmets.. You need your eyes for your whole life... the eastwood/summit/hf are for the hobby shop not the shop that use it a ton..
I bought mine 6-8 years ago, it was 238.00 from a welding supply... well worth it.. as I need my eyes till I'm dust..

[Barry Donovan]

get cheap auto darken, kick it around.
there should be a dial on the side for any chore.
stainless mig weld is as bright as it gets, and needs air space for you to breathe.
that can see through a #13 setting.. bright as a damn dwarf star.

I see the pretty helmets out there.
its like painting pictures on toilet paper before you you use it.

the tig machines, same as mig. Spend what you want.
the only fanbois of brands I find are getting sponsored and paid.
real world is using harbor freight , ebay and tractor supply.

[SuperBuickGuy]

How much are your eyes worth? Speedglas and Miller are your choices.

I cringe every single time I read about someone buying a helmet from any of the chinese fronts (Harbor Freight, Eastwood, etc) - they don't work, their sensors are crap, and their tinting could be used in a casino as a roulette wheel because where and whether it darkens is utterly random. On top of that, they can make them cheap because they use very few cheap sensors - so you'll get lots of great retina-burning flashes when you move your head and cover the sensor. The more sensors, the better optics cost a lot of money - I don't care if you're a hobbiest or a pro - how much are your eyes worth? when you get spots in your eyes because of the flashes - you can comfort yourself with all the money you saved.

If you can't afford a decent helmet, don't weld.

clear enough? can you see me now?

[Loren]

clear enough? can you see me now?

[SuperBuickGuy]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1108097[/ATTACH]

you may wish to clean up for your next photo shoot

[Loren]

Hell no, isn't me. I just google'd "squint"..He looks 'way better that I do. Especially right now (it is after five...)

[SuperBuickGuy]

if it's on the internet, it must be true.

[Deaf Bob]

Y'all can laugh... I really don't care.. i and the kid both use nod flip helmets by Jackson about $75..
I had a flip big glass one.. Leaked.. We wondered why our eyes kept getting flash burnt..
Bought the mid $$ Jackson that was LIGHTER than anything before.. Negative was my ponytail might get caught in the tightening knob..
A better head gear solved that.. A simple nod or quick tap of the hand, boom..welding away!

Like Aaron says, the cheapos do not darken fast enough.. Have talked to guys who love their cheapos but are slightly arc burnt..
It accumulates! Each time is worse and worse..

Yes I have used a Speedglas and a HF one and one of Jackson's a friend bought.. I like the hood up when not welding so I can talk to the welder.. Hard to tell if a person is replying with those down.. I will admit the auto darkers are nice, necessary, no.. You can buy a decent helmet that is light and comfy for about $75. Cheaper ones while they work are heavy.. My original big glass one reccomended by the CC shop class was an adams apple chopper! Heavy.. At the end of a 3 hr lab class you were a zombie.. I then bought a flip glass one.. It leaked after a couple years. Each helmet gets more $$$...
Now instead of sharing, we have 2 each, 2 face shields with 2 different "glass" one is clear for grinding, the other is dark to replace the glasses we use on the plasma cutter.. While we work, there are 6 helmet sized things hanging by our work areas.. Then the old ones further down on a different post..

Are all those necessary? Probably not.. We are comfy with our own.. Starting on a thrash for the 4th of July show up in Forks WA, I took the glass out of the welding helmets, installed new clear savers and wiped them all clean.. The kid likes the neck leather flap on his, I don't.. He got a new one.. Needed it? Not really but it will be nicer.. I feel if you are comfy with your protection, you will likely wear it.. I NEED my EYES. More than the rest of you do! But still.. Nobody needs to be deaf nor blind

[anotheridiot]

we started with the alpha tig 200 from AHP. Got a refurbished unit for 680. They float on amazon for around 700 now. Got 200 amps out of a 30 amp 220 outlet, never hit any duty cycle, burns really really hot. Went to Mr Tig to get his upgrade package though. I still dont weld good with a pedal, so we kept the little trigger on the torch.

I found a helmet in England called the Big One. It was the biggest viewing glass out there, but battery life was low and head gear was light but the big window changed my life. Went with the Stryker Digital from USA Weld, same big ass glass, better head gear, just have to remember to turn it on all the time, but at least the battery is not wasting away for the weeks or months it goes unused.

So I know most big time fabricators say to go miller or lincoln, these inverter tigs are really enough to do big time work. No trouble welding new hinges up for the 36 with .250 steel.

I am sure some will consider these cheapo helmets, but I know what its like to burn my eyes from tigging when I tried the first time with an 11 shade on a "good" helmet. Eyes crust over, cant sleep, cant keep them moist enough with drops, pure hell. I have never felt that with these "cheap" helmets.

[Barry Donovan]

here is a 400 dollar helmet with many things to break.
"topside welding" helmet, like pretty welds, it gets a pretty helmet.

dark setting #14 seems self announced. I wonder if its bullshitting standards.
I don't like the hinge flip up part.. all else is pretty cool.

I'll share a photo of my real world one.
I buy cheap ones, less moving parts.
auto darken is awesome.
it is quite hideous...
needs a new clear protector.
I still love it.

all plastic nuts and screws are now metal in the helmet. Be sure the mig is not old school, those can become electrodes.

[Huskinhano]

I have a friend who built a 28 A on 32 rails with a flat head. He wants to built another hot rod. He has a MIG. he's the type that researches stuff to death before he buys. He bought a AHP TIG. Not sure exactly what model, but I think it's this one. It's pretty impressive TIG for the price and features, It gets pretty good reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/AHP-AlphaTIG-200-Amp-Stick-Welder/dp/B00EL8UQH4/186-0348785-6194723?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

[anotheridiot]

We (my son) learned to weld with an Alpha Tig. People laugh at me about it, but he has burnt .250 aluminum to a roll of dimes with that piece of crap machine. I tried to use the 120 conversion plug and it fried a board. Sent it back and got it fixed. Had a bigger job so I tried to adapt a water cooled torch by making a new power adapter and its not working consistently again.

Found a listing from a guy for a lincoln precision tig 275 on craigslist. ended up being The Roadster Shop, who got a deal from Miller and had to get the Lincolns out of the shop. Yeah, bit step, even though it was a deal at 2100, what a machine.

Moral of the story, dont take too much from people that knock the inverters. Low power consumption and they do work for the small use guys.

As far as helmets, life changed with the big wide window helmets out there. was getting The Big One from overseas, now eastwood and a few others have gotten into the 100.00 range. I learned to Tig badly on an antique arc welder with a dayton high frequency box. Even though I was using a 13 fixed helmet, every night I welded I ended up with dried cracked teary eyes from burns.

Moral of that story, better to save money on the welder and get a good helmet.