Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi all, im gunna start practicing to weld today, ive got a new mask but old school type. Ive got a purple lense and a clear lense. I need to put them into the slot in the mask but dunno which one goes on the outside on which on the inside. Can someone please answer this really stupid question please...

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/281559-learning-to-weld/
Share on other sites

If its got the flip up lense then the dark one goes on the outside(flip up part) and the clear one on the inside but you should have a clear one on the front of the dark glass to protect it as well.

yeah as people said, purple to the outside if it is a flip up one. this is so when you aren't welding you can flip the front lense up and see what you are doing.

if it isn't a flip up one and is just one that you hold in front of your face then the clear would go on the outside to stop the purple lense getting damaged

there is a very small chance of that. would really depend on the brand of helmet. does the helmet have a slot to put a lense in behind the flip part? most i have seen do. and auto helmets are somewhat different. the permanent tint helmets are like putting on a pair of really dark lenses. they don't vary the amount of light that comes through to cater for different light conditions. it is always dark looking through them.

maybe post up some pics of the helmet and the lenses. or try fitting them and see how they sit. if the purple lense goes on and it doesn't look like the clear lense will fit on in front of it then that will be a pretty simple solution.

Thanks for the replys, after some research i found out the clear goes on the outside to protect the tint lense from being damaged by scratches and splatter. Sort of makes sence when i thought about it.

So i started mig welding yesterday, alot bloody harder then what i thought!!! Gota get some more scrap steel to practise on.

Thanks for the replys, after some research i found out the clear goes on the outside to protect the tint lense from being damaged by scratches and splatter. Sort of makes sence when i thought about it.

So i started mig welding yesterday, alot bloody harder then what i thought!!! Gota get some more scrap steel to practise on.

don't know how your welding but i give you a tip...with a mig u never pull back you go forwards makeing a C as you push the mig wire into the job

Edited by mr-r33

if you think welding with a mig is hard, try arc welding, LOL. i can weld with a mig ok, but arc/stick welding i suck at big time. but i think it may have had a little bit to do with the actual welder and power supply, but mostly that i suck at it, LOL.

  • 2 weeks later...

i miss metal fab - damn career change

really satisfying spending 2 days cutting out pieces of metal and weding them into something really massive.

the big tip of using is a mig is that the gas coming out helps form the weld, use it to push welds along and and into the join

setting the machine is the hard part, once that is right its just like highlighting - some people do the "c" some do constant loops, some do smooth non stop consecutive runs - penetration is the key

good luck with the welding, if you are like me you will love it.

Mig welding is easy once you know what your looking at.

I found it easier to learn on thicker pieces of steel as it wouldnt blow through if it got too hot. As said, penetration is the key, especially if your going to grind it off.

My tafe teacher always said to us as a 1st year apprentice.."if you think it looks good, then its probably not hot enough or your going to quick" On thin sheet metal a mig weld rarely looks nice.

  • 3 weeks later...

^ i wouldnt say they are best. they're good, but are most natably better when doing lots of little tacks. for normal welding, and even doing a few tacks, normal $12 screens are fine. i use a normal $12 BOC special all day, every day. i've used those full auto masks, and even the grand daddy $2,000 one with all the air venting/circulation. my preference for use is the same order i mentioned them in. i rkn those cheap shitheaps of the best thing out, very simple, light, cheap to replace when you smash them as i do (i'm both accident prone and an angry c*nt). the auto masks are good, but i find them a bit uncomfortable at times, and occasionally you have issues with the battery dying mid-weld. which leads to angry throwing of screen, and replacement (why cheap ones rule). the big daddy 2k one is a dead set c*nt. very heavy, and the hose down the back tugs on it if you try to lean the wrong way, left me with a really sore neck after an hour or so welding. not to mention the waste band only just fit me (i'm a big fat angry c*nt) and a couple of times i farted, and because that fan thing is around your waist, with the intake on your lower back, it sucked the smell straight in and blew it all over my face. ahhhh dick!

clear lense on the outside of the dark lense, to pretect it. if you flip it up to grind things, put a clear lense on both sides of the dark lense.

MIG welding, preperation is the key! machine settings are priority, cleanliness of the steel less, but still worth doing. depending on what material you have, fresh steel will usually have a layer of mill scale on it, alot of people dont bother with it, but it does make a fair difference to grind this back before you weld. as you weld over mill scale, it will sort of pop and crackle, and make the weld a bit shitty. for some reason most people ignore cleanliness of the steel unless they are TIGing Alu.

as for settings, you really need someone to be there and tell you what to do. as a starting point, run a weld using a slowish speed and try and keep your angles and speed consistent. if its really convex, your volts are too low or your amps (wire speed) is too high. if its really concave, volts too high, amps too low. you want it fairly flat, slightly convex, with good washing on either side (NOT undercut) google both and look at the difference.

listen! when its going right, you will hear a sort of crackling sound. imagine throwing a steak on a hot bbq, its a bit like that sizzling sound

other things to look for, depends on which brand/type of wire you use. i generally look for a nice bright silver colour of the weld itself, and a very fine layer a spatter that doesnt really stick to the parent metal, its like a fine layer of very heavy dust almost. dont worry about these too much though, get the shape of the weld right first.

Arc welding is actually a lot easier when you get some practice, because you can see the arc and steel melt. with the MIG, you can have your settings 'right' and have a beautiful smooth weld, thats even, but hasnt actually bitten in to the parent metal, its more or less sitting on top

Edited by VB-

the only problem i have with mig welding is the feed speed.. i like stick/tig because the pace is set by hand.. not by the wire feeder.. and my welds always look birdshitty because i start with the speed to high or not hot enough.. smart thing to do would be to find the same type of steel and practice first, but its always different.

hate the old school helmets, i like the ones you just hold in your hand and cover your face when needed... for me its easier as i have a small head (i have to wear boys hats) and the helmets are always too big.. and with the hand held, i rarely, if ever forget to hold it up... like the flip down lenses, its easy to forget they are up and start welding.

  • 2 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • From there, it is really just test and assemble. Plug the adapter cables from the unit into the back of the screen, then the other side to the car harness. Don't forget all the other plugs too! Run the cables behind the unit and screw it back into place (4 screws) and you should now have 3 cables to run from the top screen to the android unit. I ran them along the DS of the other AV units in the gap between their backets and the console, and used some corrugated tubing on the sharp edges of the bracket so the wires were safe. Plug the centre console and lower screen in temporarily and turn the car to ACC, the AV should fire up as normal. Hold the back button for 3 sec and Android should appear on the top screen. You need to set the input to Aux for audio (more on that later). I put the unit under the AC duct in the centre console, with the wifi antenna on top of the AC duct near the shifter, the bluetooth antenna on the AC duct under the centre console The GPS unit on top of the DS to AC duct; they all seem to work OK there are are out of the way. Neat cable routing is a pain. For the drive recorder I mounted it near the rear view mirror and run the cable in the headlining, across the a pillar and then down the inside of the a pillar seal to the DS lower dash. From there it goes across and to one USB input for the unit. The second USB input is attached to the ECUtec OBD dongle and the 3rd goes to the USB bulkhead connected I added in the centre console. This is how the centre console looks "tidied" up Note I didn't install the provided speaker, didn't use the 2.5mm IPod in line or the piggyback loom for the Ipod or change any DIP switches; they seem to only be required if you need to use the Ipod input rather than the AUX input. That's it, install done, I'll follow up with a separate post on how the unit works, but in summary it retains all factory functions and inputs (so I still use my phone to the car for calls), reverse still works like factory etc.
    • Place the new daughterboard in the case and mount it using the 3 small black rivets provided, and reconnect the 3 factory ribbon cables to the new board Then, use the 3 piggyback cables from the daughterboard into the factory board on top (there are stand offs in the case to keep them apart. and remember to reconnect the antenna and rear cover fan wires. 1 screw to hold the motherboard in place. Before closing the case, make a hole in the sticker covering a hole in the case and run the cable for the android unit into the plug there. The video forgot this step, so did I, so will you probably. Then redo the 4 screws on back, 2 each top and bottom, 3 each side and put the 2 brackets back on.....all ready to go and not that tricky really.      
    • Onto the android unit. You need to remove the top screen because there is a daughterboard to put inside the case. Each side vent pops out from clips; start at the bottom and carefully remove upwards (use a trim remover tool to avoid breaking anything). Then the lower screen and controls come out, 4 screws, a couple of clips (including 3 flimsy ones at the top) and 3 plugs on the rear. Then the upper screen, 4 screws and a bunch of plugs and she is out. From there, remove the mounting brackets (2 screws each), 4 screws on the rear, 2 screws top and bottom and 3 screws holding in the small plates on each side. When you remove the back cover (tight fit), watch out for the power cable for the fan, I removed it so I could put the back aside. The mainboard is held in by 1 screw in the middle, 1 aerial at the top and 3 ribbon cables. If you've ever done any laptop stuff the ribbon cables are OK to work with, just pop up the retainer and they slide out. If you are not familiar just grab a 12 year old from an iphone factory, they will know how it works The case should now look like this:
    • Switching the console was tricky. First there were 6 screws to remove, and also the little adapter loom and its screws had to come out. Also don't forget to remove the 2 screws holding the central locking receiver. Then there are 4 clips on either side....these were very tight in this case and needed careful persuading with a long flat screw driver....some force required but not enough to break them...this was probably the fiddliest part of the whole job. In my case I needed both the wiring loom and the central locking receiver module to swap across to the new one. That was it for the console, so "assembly is the reverse of disassembly"
    • But first....while I was there, I also swapped across the centre console box for the other style where the AV inputs don't intrude into the (very limited !) space.  Part# was 96926-4GA0A, 284H3-4GA0B, 284H3-4GA0A. (I've already swapped the top 12v socket for a USB bulkhead in this pic, it fit the hole without modification:) Comparison of the 2: Basically to do the console you need to remove the DS and PS side console trim (they slide up and back, held in by clips only) Then remove the back half of the console top trim with the cupholders, pops up, all clips again but be careful at the front as it is pretty flimsy. Then slide the shifter boot down, remove the spring clip, loose it forever somewhere in the car the pull the shift knob off. Remove the tiny plastic piece on DS near "P" and use something thin and long (most screwdrivers won't fit) to push down the interlock and put the shifter down in D for space. There is one screw at the front, then the shifter surround and ashtray lift up. There are 3 or 4 plugs underneath and it is off. Next is the rear cover of the centre console; you need to open the console lid, pop off the trim covering the lid hinge and undo the 2rd screw from the driver's side (the rest all need to come out later so you can do them all now and remove the lid) Then the rear cover unclips (6 clips), start at the top with a trim tool pulling backwards. Once it is off there are 2 screws facing rearwards to remove (need a short phillips for these) and you are done with the rear of the console. There are 4 plugs at the A/V box to unclip Then there are 2 screws at the front of the console, and 2 clips (pull up and back) and the console will come out.
×
×
  • Create New...