hi everyone. I am still in welding school, I am really enjoying it and cannot wait to be a welder, my problem is my eyeglasses. i have found goggles that say you can fit them with prescritions lenses, my questions what do you tell your eye guy what you need? do the lenses in the goggles have a technical name or is it just "dark green glass" ? any answers would be appreciated.
What kind of welding do you plan on doing? I could assume by the goggles comment that you are refering to some form of oxy-gas welding. If I am right then I think a shade 3 to a shade 5 would do it but that also depends on what you like.
I don't think you would want to incorporate the filter into the corrective lens. A lot of us use "cheaters", for all intents reading lenses in a frame that fits behind the filter. Ask the welding supply guy if they have some sort of frame or at least instructions to show the optometrist. The optometrist may be aware of what's needed, if not the school may know of an optometrist that is aware of the problems specific to welders. bill
I wear prescription glasses also and will agree that a dark face shield is the most convenient, at least for me. They are availabe in shades up to #5. Usually there is other work going on around me, so with a shield I can simply flip it up out of the way and do not need to remove my safety glasses. I also found it convenient to have a clear shield with a cut down dark shield on the upper inside. That way I can look through the lower portion when I'm grinding and look through the upper part when I am burning or welding. (Don't use this method for arc welding. You will burn your face and the dark shield is not dark enough for arc welding)
If you want to try that, cut the dark shield wider than you think you need and try it. If you need to, trim it down some more but I found that the tendency is to cut the dark shield too narrow. Once cut, it is hard to add.
At our shop, we use the full face shields also (for oxy/fuel cutting and brazing), arc welding requires a darker lens as the other replies have indicated already. They come in #3 and #5 shades. John Wright
Another thought...My welding shield is one of those automatic darkening types and it defaults to a light shade perfect for cutting/brazing and darkens to a dark shade when you strike an arc with an arc welder.
At our shop, we use the full face shields also (for oxy/fuel cutting and brazing), arc welding requires a darker lens as the other replies have indicated already. They come in #3 and #5 shades.
Forum
