Welding gear?

[thirdstreettito]

I'm starting a welding class and I want to buy all the gear beforehand. What all do I need? Thanks guys

So far my list is:

1. Boots
2. Welding Jacket (Leather??)
3. Good Auto-darkening mask
4. Welding gloves (Leather??)
5. Denim Jeans??

[crushermechanic]

that list will get you started. buy as good a helment as you can. your eyes will thank you. i weld daily and use a optrel satellite helmet and i highly recomend it.

[dwcsr]

Personally I would not go with leather jacket. I've got one and don't use it. They're heavy, hot and very uncomfortable, You can by a light weigth jacket made of INDURA flame retardant cotton materials. Never wear nylon, polyester, rayon or other non cotton clothes while welding. They stick to you when you catch on fire, and you will. Cotton doesn't stick to your skin.

I agree with get the best helmet you can afford. I use a jackson EQC autodark its about 8 years old and still working fine. Get a wide enough helmet so you can use a 3m 6000 series pancake style respirator under it. Your lungs will thank you later in life.

I would buy locally so you can try on the helmet with a welders cap on. The head gear is almost as important as the lens. If it doesn't fit right its no got to weld with. You may pay more but you get the advice of professionals.

[red69ss]

when I took a class at my local college they gave us a list of needed equipment, if your going to be tig welding you'll need light wieght leather gloves. me personally I wouldn't get the leathers unless I was doing it for a living, if I'm going to be doing a lot of welding I put on a cotton long sleeve shirt. Most the time I weld in short sleeves and bare handed when mig welding out in my shop. as far as an auto darkening helmet goes you deffinently don't want to cheap out on that since you only get one set of eyes, but this is not a necessity a good one will likely be 5 times the cost of a standard welding helmet which gets the job done. good luck if you have a good instructor you will learn a lot of valuable info and techniques.

[thirdstreettito]

Thanks guys, more advice appreciated. The class is the best class in the state of Florida. He also has a brand new facility, built in January. Its the size of the food section of a Walmart Supercenter. And the class is only 14-22 students.

[Schralper]

nice helmet
gloves, well for stick, HD mig & gas leather gloves are key
but for general mig/tig I use my older moto gloves.
buy a few pair. they look cooler & generally cost less.
though you can buy mechanix wear or some version there of.
makes it WAY easier when you need to reposition stuff.
leather jacket? think I'd go w/ one of the newer style flame retardant shirts.
I use an ol jacket or just my long sleeve dickies for outta position.

[68CEE10]

welders cap and ear plugs if you're welding on your back or your side. Since you're in a classroom environment you might not need them. But, later down the road you may.

[donut]

Cap and earplugs definitely (more than likely you will be using a grinder). Safety glasses if they're not supplied. Extra clear lenses (make a big difference dirty to clean)
Decent hood (auto darkening nice, but not critical) Personally I like Jackson, Fibre-Metal, Huntsman.
Long sleeve shirt (cotton as mentioned)
No to the leathers, they're hot, heavy, and expensive. The only times I used mine were arc gouging or stick welding stainless overhead.

You may need something for a neck cover, depending on the type of welding. heli-arc rays can burn exposed skin quick.

[apples]

Here you go: Welding safety

[GRX]

Never keep a disposable lighter on you when welding.

[brans72]

why is that GRX?

[brans72]

not to steal the thread but anyone know about firepower welders? If so I could use little help. Shoot me a pm Brandon

[GRX]

Originally Posted by brans72

why is that GRX?

Hot spark + plastic = FIREBALL

Saw one blow up in a co-worker's pants pocket one day. Burned his leg pretty good. At another job we were sitting around at break time. The guy next to me pulled out his Bic to light a cig & noticed a big burn in the side. The Foreman saw it too & sent him home for the day - without pay.

[mongoose]

a good helmet.. i have a miller.. love it.. but it's not rated to do over head.. I've never had to do overhead yet, so keep that in mind when you're picking yours...

I wear hoodie instead of a leather jacket.. again.. no overhead

jeans are always nice... shorts if you're allowed.. usually not though

boots... I never did mine up.. ever, always nice to be able to slip your boot off when a spark gets down there..

good pair of safety glasses.

I had a few pairs of gloves.. a nice tig pair for small jobs and setting things up, but if you're doing long beads etc or stick.. it can get real hot so you'll want a heavier pair as well.

that's really it.. except for tools like a tip cleaner, and a chipping hammer etc.. It really depends on what you're doing exactly, sometime the school wants you to have specific items.. I mean i welded a long time before i went to school.. and it was going to cost me like 500 bucks for stuff that you really don't need in real life.. like a full leather jacket and cotton coveralls.. really? I'd check with your school to see if they want you to have anything, to save you from buying things twice.