[TheForge] Automatic welding lens

[Woolley]

Greetings,

Just thought I would engage anyone on the fence about buying an 
automatic welding lens.  I thought I would never have much use for one 
until a couple of stair railing jobs ago it dawned on me that it might 
be more than useful for welding/tacking pickets to bottom/top rails 
without having to lower and raise my shield everytime I moved my 
electrode 4 inches. ( I had been using 6010 to tack, then finish with 
either the same rod or 7018 since I don't have a decent MIG machine)  I 
probably should be using my 110 volt MIG for this but can't seem to get 
in the groove of turning to it for this application. Anyway, having the 
automatic lens has greatly eased the process of making these simple 
railings.  The fact that I can start and stay with 7018 is a blessing. 
(Since I don't have to mess with my shield, the rod end never fully 
cools in between stops and starts, thus making the problem of restarting 
this rod cold without sticking all but solved)  I like the appearance 
and control I am used to with this rod.  I looked at most of what was 
currently available in a  mid to high quality lens before I chose a 
Jackson NexGen which came with their Shadow shield (sorry I just can't 
call it a helmet), which  spec wise is pretty much state of the art, 
American made, available on line for $275 total.  I was looking into a 
Jackson EQC Master which was $240 but decided to go the extra mile to 
gain a larger viewing area (lens size).  For what it's worth, I thought 
for a long time that it would be a frivolous purchase, or a luxury to 
have one, but from just a couple weeks of  use I can tell that it is 
going to be a valuable tool for me to have in the shop.

Regards,
Bill Woolley