bifocals

[gagiii]

does anybody kmow if they make a bifocal or farsighted lense for welding helments?

[storts]

does anybody kmow if they make a bifocal or farsighted lense for welding helments?

They sure do in all different strenghts, I use 1.5 for real presion heli-arc work,,,,Jack

[gagiii]

were would be the best place to find one and will the work on the auto dimming hats?

[truckinmach1]

I could'nt find one to fit in my auto dark but i bought one for regular hat and just took some 3-M double-sided foam tape and stuck it right onto lens inside of hat using 1/4 inch strips around all 4 sides.

[James D. Clark]

If it's a Miller helmet you can order the lenses from a Miller dealer. Welding dealers also carry the add on magnifying lenses for other helmets-just make sure they will fit the holder in the helmet. Look in your helmet and if it has some brackets behind the lense then there should be a lense that will fit it. Find out what the magnification is that you need for reading glasses and order that number.

[TJButler]

You can typically find the mag lens at a welding supply store but I have purchased some online a weldingsupply.com Some helmets don't have clips inside to clip them in and in that case I have to use some velcro on the edges. I have also cut them in half lengthwise and made mag lens bifocals for my bifocals.

Does that make sense?

[gagiii]

gentlemen, I really appreciate the help and advice

[meincer]

Guys,

I thought I would add a little advice that helped me in this regard.

I used to stop by those displays with reading glasses and NONE of them worked for me so I gave up on those. I was using them without my glasses and I guess I have too much astigmatism or whatever....

Recently I got a new prescription and had it explained to me carefully. I realized that the bifocals correct for all of the nasty things inherent in your eyes when viewing straight on, then the close up vision is just a matter of additional diopter (in my case, and on my prescription, it is 2.25). Sure enough, if I went to the local Walmart and tried 2.25 lenses ON TOP OF my regular bifocals, lookig not down but out front..... I could see close up wonderfully!

I then got 2.25 cheater lenses for my Optrel Satellite and wow, I can see great looking straight out the helmet and don't need to change glasses when I take the helmet off.

Please forgive me if I have just carefully explained what everybody else knows!

[James D. Clark]

Meincer is exactly correct. Anybody that needs bifocals or trifocals to read or see close up needs a magnifying lense in their welding helmet. In order for corrective lenses to work you have to be looking through that part of the lense. If you want to read something you normally hold the reading material in front of you and down. You can read without tipping your head back. If you hold the material directly in front of you or you have to look a something you are working on like a welding job you have to tip your head back to look through the lower part of your glasses. Try that with a welding helmet on and it doesn't work. That's the reason for getting the cheater lense for the helmet. Everybody should have their eyes checked once a year. Your eyes are windows for the doctor to see other health conditions besides just seeing. Could save your vision or keep you living longer.

BTW-I have a pair of cheap drugstore reading glasses for using my computer. I don't have to tip my head back to look at the monitor. I know some people that keep several pair of them around where they do crafts, bench work, etc. so they don't have to carry a pair besides their regular prescription glasses. Nice if you have an old neck that doesn't like tipping the head back.

[Sandy]

I know some people that keep several pair of them around where they do crafts, bench work, etc. so they don't have to carry a pair besides their regular prescription glasses.

I keep a pair out in the shop. Friends come over to work on something-------------it's a wrestling match to see who gets them!! Dern bunch of old fogies anyway.

[gagiii]

gentlemen, i found that the 150 lense was just what I needed but it would not fit my Hobart helment. So I cut 3/8 inch off of each end of the magnifying lense on my bandsaw & about four drops of Gorrilla glue on the original lense has got me seeing things that I've never seen.
thanks again

[James D. Clark]

gentlemen, i found that the 150 lense was just what I needed but it would not fit my Hobart helment. So I cut 3/8 inch off of each end of the magnifying lense on my bandsaw & about four drops of Gorrilla glue on the original lense has got me seeing things that I've never seen.
thanks again

Right you are. I think those lenses are molded from polycarbonate and they can be cut and filed. Before I got one made for my Miller helmet I bought one at a welding supply that was too thick to fit. All I had to do was file the ends to thin it to fit my helmet.