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ConwayMuddy

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Been mig welding for work so I figured I'd start a thread here. We are supplied with Tillman 1350 gauntlet type gloves and I'm tired of them. After about a week they loosen up and my left hand ends up burned to shit. We weld through rust, oil, paint, road salt, bird shit, zero metal prep cos ain't nobody got time fo dat. The spatter flies.

so what's a better option to check out for gloves?

feel free to post up other welding stuff you like, helmets, consumables, p.p.e., whatever.
 
Been mig welding for work so I figured I'd start a thread here. We are supplied with Tillman 1350 gauntlet type gloves and I'm tired of them. After about a week they loosen up and my left hand ends up burned to shit. We weld through rust, oil, paint, road salt, bird shit, zero metal prep cos ain't nobody got time fo dat. The spatter flies.

so what's a better option to check out for gloves?

feel free to post up other welding stuff you like, helmets, consumables, p.p.e., whatever.

Those are the gloves we are supplied with when we TIG weld, and they develop holes/split at the seams within a week lol. I can't imagine using them to MIG with.

For MIG (flux core really), we are supplied with something similar to the Tillman 1080. They aren't very comfortable IMO, but I can usually get about a month out of a pair, if they don't smell like a jock strap from all the sweat before then.

I'm personally still on a search for a good, semi-light pair to use here at the house, where I am only welding once every couple of weeks or so.
 
We like the Tillman 35L for light mig work. As mentioned, the ones you're getting are tig gloves.

Also, I'll tell you what I tell my guys and what my first welding instructor said:

"These ain't oven mitts."
 
jamscal said:
We like the Tillman 35L for light mig work. As mentioned, the ones you're getting are tig gloves.

Also, I'll tell you what I tell my guys and what my first welding instructor said:

"These ain't oven mitts."

The upper leather part of the gloves seem to make a wonderful funnel for spatter. We have various miller 3xx's running as fast and hot as they can. Best part is we weld from 13 gauge up to about 1/8th inch steel. Stuff stays hot for a good while, so I know what you mean when you say they arent oven mitts. Had a glove start to deform from heat running long beads.
 
1350s are only good for light mig in short bursts, they are better for tig.
I assume that since you are welding dirty that you are burning flux core or outershield?
I use Tillman 750,850 or 855s for stick and mig, they fit me good and last quite a while.
Any leather glove will shrink up if you put enough heat into it for long enough.
For long runs I either wear an old foundry glove on my off hand or a sleeve over my glove and jacket sleeve that I made by cutting a piece out of an old welding blanket, doubled over and stapled. It slides nicely on the steel for those long runs and helps with hot spots in the glove.

🍺
 
1350s are only good for light mig in short bursts, they are better for tig.
I assume that since you are welding dirty that you are burning flux core or outershield?
I use Tillman 750,850 or 855s for stick and mig, they fit me good and last quite a while.
Any leather glove will shrink up if you put enough heat into it for long enough.
For long runs I either wear an old foundry glove on my off hand or a sleeve over my glove and jacket sleeve that I made by cutting a piece out of an old welding blanket, doubled over and stapled. It slides nicely on the steel for those long runs and helps with hot spots in the glove.

🍺

I have a couple pairs of the Tilman 750 for MIG that I like. They aren't the strongest ever, but the price is decent, they hold up alright, and are soft and dexterous.

And yes, welding super hot will deform anything. If i were welding really hot all the time I'd probably be using my Tig Finger XL on my pointer and index or one of the other variants that are sold now. They work really well, and like you did it's not hard to make your own that works for your specific situation.
 
I have a couple pairs of the Tilman 750 for MIG that I like. They aren't the strongest ever, but the price is decent, they hold up alright, and are soft and dexterous.

And yes, welding super hot will deform anything. If i were welding really hot all the time I'd probably be using my Tig Finger XL on my pointer and index or one of the other variants that are sold now. They work really well, and like you did it's not hard to make your own that works for your specific situation.

Yeah . I prefer the 850s but use the 750s if I cant get them at the time.
I usually burn them up before they develop holes or stitching comes apart.
I have a tendency to burn up the back of the glove and gauntlet from using my left arm for propping then I cant get my hand in them anymore :rolleyes:

:beer:
 
Got any recommendations for an auto darkening helmet? I've never owned one and have been using the same beat up flip helmet for years. I'm thinking my welds might improve if I could actually see something.

I'll be using it for occasional mig welding, and expect to buy a tig setup in a year or so. The under $40 no-name helmets on Amazon seem like a bad idea, but I can't really justify a $400+ Speedglas either. Something in the $100-$175 range seems reasonable.
 
Blue I use the miller auto dark. I love it.
battery life is awesome. All the features that you’ll ever want and the replacement consumables will be on the shelf at your local welding store.
 
Got any recommendations for an auto darkening helmet? I've never owned one and have been using the same beat up flip helmet for years. I'm thinking my welds might improve if I could actually see something.

I'll be using it for occasional mig welding, and expect to buy a tig setup in a year or so. The under $40 no-name helmets on Amazon seem like a bad idea, but I can't really justify a $400+ Speedglas either. Something in the $100-$175 range seems reasonable.

Yes, stay away from the cheapies, they are not worth the money.
Take a look at the Welders supply websites , they will have a good selection of hoods in all price ranges.
You could put an Arc-one fixed shade auto cartridge in your current helmet for under $100. I run one in a Sarge's pancake with a 1.5 diopter, it works really well for me and if it dies or gets damaged, i just swap in a standard filter plate and get back to work.
 
P10crew said:
Blue I use the miller auto dark. I love it.
battery life is awesome. All the features that you’ll ever want and the replacement consumables will be on the shelf at your local welding store.

partner has a miller, display died after about a year. I'll look Tuesday to see what I have. Multiple options for whatever you're doing, I just leave it on mig if I have to use the plasma.

The friend that taught me to weld picked up a Hobart, he does tig for a living. Apparently it wont always shade at the same speed, or will unexpectedly stop while hes welding. Hes tried messing with settings and functions and said nothing helps.
 
I have pretty much given up on gloves for mig welding. I don't weld all day every day, but I do weld often.

Just teach yourself to not touch the hot metal.:grinpimp:


For an auto darkening helmet, I really wanted to buy a Miller digital elite, but couldn't swing the price when I needed a new helmet in a hurry. I ended up with the Vulcan helmet from HF. Very impressive for the money. The lense is blue instead of green. I like it. Normal price is $149 but it is usually on sale for $120

You don't have to manually turn it on. It is always ready to go.
 
I've been rocking Miller 263335 gloves for a while...they're by far the most comfortable/flexible I've used but probably aren't heavy enough for the usage you're doing.

Also have the Miller Digital Infinity hood...it is definitely on the heavy side, but otherwise nice.
 
I bought a weldpro helmet a couple of weeks ago. $100, and it meets my needs, large screen and not terribly heavy. Look identical to the Lincoln helmet that is about twice the price. Gloves, i use straight leather gloves that protect from splatter. I dont like the cuffs.
 
I use the same gloves for mig and stick. Glad this thread came up..gave me some options to look into. But on the question of hoods, i have a save phace auto darkening hood. and it fucking sucks for the price

the problem i run into a alot is my auto darkening hood darkens because of strobe lights

doesnt happen in every instance but ts real real annoying dealing with it flashing on and off before i strike my arc
 
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I had a Miller Elite for years and loved it. Even sprung for the fancy head gear/ratchet thingy they sell for it. But like all things it died after many years. I thought I'd try something different and bought a Optrel Vega view 2.5. Holly fuck, it's 100x better than the miller. Hit a little button on the side and it wont darken for grinding. Before it darkens, it's only a shade 2.5, which I really like and you can see colors. First set of batteries lasted over three years.

Slightly above the OP's price range but, CyberWeld has them for $260, worth a look.
 
I don't weld all day every day but I have been using the same set of thick stick welding gloves for everything for years, cheap store brand ones from the local welding shop.

As far as helmets go I moved from my single shade Fibremetal to a bottom dollar Jackson auto-darkening a few years ago and man it was better but I needed a work light right on me or I was using it like my old helmet. I treated myself to an Esab Sentinel A50 last year and it's the best helmet I've put on my head. Everything on the head gear is adjustable, and the lense has more settings than I really need or know what to do with including memory for different processes. It was expensive but it was worth it to me with how shit my eyesight is.
 
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I treated myself to an Esab Sentinel A50 last year and it's the best helmet I've put on my head. Everything on the head gear is adjustable, and the lense has more settings than I really need or know what to do with including memory for different processes. It was expensive but it was worth it to me with how shit my eyesight is.[/QUOTE]

I've been looking at the Esabs, they look like a really nice hood, next time one of my Lincolns die I will try the Esab

:beer:
 
Lincoln/Viking 3350 hood with the 4C lens. Love the hood, enough to buy two... one for home and one for work. I used a Miller Performance for years, then tried the Elite, hated them both (headgear is a joke IMO).
 
Thanks for the suggestions. That Lincoln 3350 looks like a pretty good setup for the price. The Optrel looks nice too. I'm okay with bumping up the budget a bit, especially for something with a 4C or similar color lens.

After trying and failing to weld with my current setup over the weekend, I need to pull the trigger on one of them soon. I just can't see a damn thing. My off-brand mig and lack of talent (mostly that) isn't helping either.
 
After years of a Miller Digital Elite, I upgraded to a Miller Digital Infinity. I really like the size of the lens and the ClearLight™ shading - particularly for TIG.

A friend picked up the Miller Welding Goggles and I have to admit that they're pretty slick. They really let you get up close into tight spaces (like suspension or cage work) without bumping your helmet on things. The goggles are separate from the lower mask, so you can take it off for even more flexibility. They came out with a new version with more shades and their X-Mode™.

Check out CyberWeld.com for decent prices on welding supplies if you haven't already.

miller-weld-mask-267370-35.jpg
 
I have a couple pairs of the Tilman 750 for MIG that I like. They aren't the strongest ever, but the price is decent, they hold up alright, and are soft and dexterous.

And yes, welding super hot will deform anything. If i were welding really hot all the time I'd probably be using my Tig Finger XL on my pointer and index or one of the other variants that are sold now. They work really well, and like you did it's not hard to make your own that works for your specific situation.

I was going to recommend he try jodys new toy https://weldmongerstore.com/collecti...ts/mig-knuckle

Shield your gloves from the heat and they dont die so fast
 
If you want to make your welding gloves last, use a different pair of gloves to grind with. Grinding and cutoff wheels kills gloves faster than anything. I always have two pairs of gloves in rotation. When I can count all my fingers sticking out of my cutting/grinding/burning gloves, I take my welding gloves, and break out a new pair to use as welding gloves.

This only works if you're not using gigantic oven mittens for welding gloves.
 
I have an Optrel Helmet and Speedglass. I like the Optrel over the Speedglass or other helemts in the shop. Will be looking at upgrading again to one of their newer units. The panoramic or Crystal view helmets look pretty nice. Jason has the Esab helmet and likes it quit a bit as well.

Not that it improve's my welding ability, just the more I can the better it seems.
 


I like that. I always forget to put in ear plugs when I weld and there's nothing like doing the worm under something trying to shake slag out of your ear.
 
I like that. I always forget to put in ear plugs when I weld and there's nothing like doing the worm under something trying to shake slag out of your ear.

hearing the sizzle is the worst. i just wear a welders cap and put the bill over my ear.


i can see that goggle mask having its place, but couldn't imagine it being my go to, definitely not for fit up.
 
A guy I work with bought one of those miller goggle things when he was welding cages all day long. figuring it would help out in tight spots. He used it a couple of times and put it away never to be seen again. Not sure of the problem but he didn't think much of it.
 
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