auto dimming welding masks

[David A]

I've acquired a gasless mig welder, I'm only likely to use it once in a blue moon and first plans are to build a spit for the fire pit but illness to get some steel bar for that. Anyway I want to get an auto dimming mask as my worst habit used to be moving the torch about 2" away from where I wanted it when I flipped the mask down.

So are the £30 jobbies on flea bay any good ie safe or are the £60 ones from machine mart a better idea?

P.s. where's the cheapest place to get some steel bar to build a spit roast from?

[shtu]

Parweld do some good low-cost ones.

Metal? Just find the local steel stockholders.

[steveo3002]

mine was about 40 odd off ebay and its nice enough , check the size of the glass as some are smaller than others

costco list one for £43 and they dont sell poop

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/product/uk_catalog/co...

[pingu393]

I have one of the fleabay cheapos (£26 IIRC). It worked fine until the lens stopped working. It failed safe (went black). It was an 8-13 and I think I burned it out when I went for MAX-2 (130A). Anyway, spare lenses are unobtainable unless you want to buy 100 off alibaba.

Perhaps a more expensive mask will have replaceable lenses. I'll be checking out the Costco one - I didn't see it instore last week, but I wasn't looking.

[Fishtigua]

Speedglas helmets have an inner and outer clear plastic screen that can be bought for pence and changed as needed. All the spares are pretty cheap but the helmets are around £80/100 and upwards, so not a cheapie purchase. You get what you pay for.

http://www.weldspares.com/catalogues/

[David A]

steveo3002 said:

mine was about 40 odd off ebay and its nice enough , check the size of the glass as some are smaller than others

costco list one for £43 and they dont sell poop

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/product/uk_catalog/co...

This looks pretty decent, thanks. Re the lens - given its from costco if it blows I suspect they would be amenable to refund/replace more than most.

Right now need some stuff to weld !!

[steveo3002]

yeah costco are decent with returns...try it and return if its not good enough

regarding new lenses ebay has em for a tenner , probably the same as whats in any low end mask?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Solar-Auto-Darkening-Wel...

Edited by steveo3002 on Sunday 30th December 22:58

[Crafty_]

I've got a "Scorpion Huntsman" a friend got for me a couple of years ago, still going strong.

You can get some now that have a protective front screen, so you can use them for grinding too, saves keep on swapping to a face mask.

[pingu393]

steveo3002 said:

mine was about 40 odd off ebay and its nice enough , check the size of the glass as some are smaller than others

costco list one for £43 and they dont sell poop

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/product/uk_catalog/co...

It's £43 inc VAT, with adjustable dimming - bargain .

[DrDeAtH]

Used these guys before....

www.welduk.com

[The Black Flash]

I've had a parweld for 3 or 4 years and it's fine so far.
As for metal, as said, local stockholder, failing that, plenty on ebay but postage will sting.

[Steve126]

I've had a Parweld mask for about 5 or 6 years, never had any trouble with it and it's had a hard life. I'd happily buy another if I ever manage to kill this one.

[David A]

pingu393 said:

It's £43 inc VAT, with adjustable dimming - bargain .

Yep have ordered one of these, waiting for it to be delivered.

Re. Steel suppliers, anyone know these folks: http://www.pyramidsteel.com/ they're up the road so could save on postage costs but just wondering how they compare on price (I've no benchmark really to compare prices against!)

[Crafty_]

I don't see any prices on their site ?

[David A]

Crafty_ said:

I don't see any prices on their site ?

Yeah, thats why I was wondering if anyone had used them before so I'd know if they were generally keen on pricing or not !

[Crafty_]

Ah, sorry I thought you were asking people to compare to elsewhere.

I go to the metal merchant on a Saturday morning with cash, works wonders

[David A]

Crafty_ said:

Ah, sorry I thought you were asking people to compare to elsewhere.

I go to the metal merchant on a Saturday morning with cash, works wonders

You anywhere near Farnborough

If I posted up a list of a few bits would you be able to tell me what you think I should be paying? Won't be much at all as I only want to make spit for the BBQ/FirePit

[Crafty_]

Close, at the bottom of the M3

Yeah post em and I'll try and see if it compares.

[David A]

Crafty_ said:

Close, at the bottom of the M3

Yeah post em and I'll try and see if it compares.

Ta, I've not designed it yet but I've seen this site and they have prices:
http://www.metals4u.co.uk/Mild-Steel-Box-Section/4... and http://www.metals4u.co.uk/Mild-Steel-Sheet/55/prod...

25mm x 25mm x 2mm Mild Steel Box
3 Metres £14.19
6 Metres £18.92

and delivery £6 (free over £75)

also ebay for example:
25m*25mm*2.5mm RHS
Price:£6.90 plue £10 for p&p

Just wondering if I went into the local place with cash - would I expect better or worse than these prices? Not a clue about the right price for this stuff so any guidance is much appreciated.

Thanks

[thinfourth2]

http://www.shop4steel.com/result.asp?Group=EH&...

I use this site as a good guide on steel price but your local "steel stockholder" (proper name) might be friendly towards cash sales