Needless to say, one should always use a welding helmet when welding. I was goofing around with my dad's old MIG welder and thought "Oh, these sunglasses will be fine for a quick job". I had welding goggles, even but it was inconvenient to grab them.
Dummah.
I ended up with flash burn and had to go to the ER for what was essentially a bad case of sun blindness. Welding kicks out lots of UV, folks... don't mess around with it. I was lucky and suffered no permanent damage. To my eyes, that is. Mentally... well, we won't go there.
I bought a nice full face auto-darkening large viewport solar powered helmet. I still have it. It works great... just set it outside for a little while and it charges the battery, and the charge lasts for weeks.
I also picked up a Hobart Handler 140 (made by Miller) MIG welder, refurbished, for about $400. That thing is AWESOME.
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Dummah.
I ended up with flash burn and had to go to the ER for what was essentially a bad case of sun blindness. Welding kicks out lots of UV, folks... don't mess around with it. I was lucky and suffered no permanent damage. To my eyes, that is. Mentally... well, we won't go there.
I bought a nice full face auto-darkening large viewport solar powered helmet. I still have it. It works great... just set it outside for a little while and it charges the battery, and the charge lasts for weeks.
I also picked up a Hobart Handler 140 (made by Miller) MIG welder, refurbished, for about $400. That thing is AWESOME.
