See Better While MIG Welding

I see many items on the Internet that suggest seeing well while MIG welding is difficult for many, not just for me. Many aids are available. Most are LED lights that fasten to the MIG gun or to a helmet. This Instructable will describe a passive assist that reflects light from the welding arc back onto the weld joint so it is much easier to follow.

NOTE: Seeing while welding becomes more difficult when the screen surfaces on your welding helmet gather particles from smoke while welding. Regularly clean all surfaces through which you view your work while welding. The front clear lens needs to be replaced periodically because it permanently fogs and changes color.

• Thinwall steel tubing
• 16 gauge sheet metal
• Common aluminum foil from your kitchen

This is a weld I did with this device. It was easy to see the joint. I could see what I was doing, even though there was very little ambient light. It is a better weld than I usually get. The steel is one inch square tubing with 1/8 inch walls. I left a gap between the two pieces of about 0.020 inch, but that is only a guess.

In the past I have tried mounting a shop light above the weld joint, but that did nothing to improve my ability to see the weld joint. I have tried marking both sides of the joint with soapstone, but that also did nothing helpful.

A first step toward seeing better when MIG welding is regularly to clean the surfaces of all lenses in your helmet. Even a little smoke residue makes big reductions in what can be seen. Also, experiment with the shade setting on your adjustable helmet. I went one shade darker and could actually see better.

I looked for suitable thinwall tubing among my supply of steel scraps. This tube is nominally about 3/4 inch. The actual internal diameter is a few thousandths of an inch larger than my MIG nozzle’s external diameter.

The length of the tube is approximately identical to the part of the MIG nozzle that is not tapered. I cut mine to 1 1/4 inch. Then I put it into a vise and slit it lengthwise. I placed the slit so it will be easy to remove the weld seam from the tubing’s manufacture. I made a second parallel cut to leave a gap 3/16 inch wide. Then I squeezed the tubing in a vise to make a tube with a smaller diameter with an open slit in it. When finished squeezing, the tubing fits fairly closely over the MIG nozzle.

In addition to the tube reduced in diameter to fit the MIG nozzle, a piece of rectangular sheet steel about 16 gauge is needed. I have not experimented with an optimal size, but I guessed and made mine 2 x 2 3/8 inches.

I want to weld the rectangle to the tube, but I want it to be fitted. The tube will be about 45 degrees to the rectangle, so I placed the rectangle in a vise at about 45 degrees. I used the end of a half-round file to file a bit of a half-round void on one of the 2 inch sides. I focused on the end of the file because its diameter more closely matches the diameter of the tubing.

I clamped the piece of tubing into a vise at an angle that is very similar to the angle on my MIG gun. I have already removed paint for a better weld. I laid the steel rectangle on top of the vise. I welded enough where the two pieces join to make a strong joint at the angle I want.

This photo shows the assist that I made in place by sliding it onto the MIG nozzle. It fits quite well and can be rotated as needed to fit different welding situations. I could lock the assist device into place by placing a radiator hose clamp onto the metal tubing and tightening the clamp.

Additionally, I used the shinier side of common aluminum foil from any kitchen to provide a very reflective surface. Simply cut or tear a piece of foil a little larger than the steel rectangle. Fold its edges around the steel rectangle. When needed, replace a piece of aluminum foil no longer useful with a fresh piece.

In use, the MIG gun is held level so the surface with the aluminum foil is parallel to the surface with the joint to be welded.

While LED assists for better viewing of a weld joint may be very good, I have no experience with them. They do require maintenance in the form of fresh batteries, and they can cost up to $40 or more. My viewing assist is entirely passive, using light from the welding arc without any batteries or LEDs to need replacement, or switches to stop working, or battery compartments with corroded terminals to be cleaned.

This passive assist could be made with a hinged adjustment for situations where a different angle of the MIG gun might be necessary relative to the weld joint. Or, more than one passive assist could be made, each with its own angle.

Since posting this I have done a little more MIG welding. I decided to make more options for viewing while welding and made a hole 5/8 inch in diameter that allows me to look through my assist just ahead of the arc. To avoid light loss on the weld joint I bent the outer thirds of the rectangular piece to make a curve that would keep light directed on the weld joint.

To install a new piece of aluminum foil I press it to fit the contour of the rectangular piece, fold excess around the rectangular piece to secure it, and gently puncture the aluminum foil where the hole is. Then I press the punctured foil through the hole and fold it over to secure it. Now I can view the weld from the side or front of the rectangular piece, or look down through the hole.

See the second photo. I needed to do a little welding outdoors on a large meat smoker. Flux core wire was a better choice than MIG with gas shielding. I made an assist to fit the flux core nozzle for my Miller welder. The process was the same, except I needed to add a piece of 3/16 inch rod to reach between where I needed the rectangular piece and the split tube on the shorter flux core nozzle.

Originally, I covered the rectangular piece with aluminum foil, but the sparks and the large amount of smoke from flux core welding coated the aluminum foil with holes and with beige powder from the flux. (I am using Radnor 0.030 flux core wire from Airgas. [It was the best flux core experience I have ever had. I like it.]) I decided the beige powder is a sufficient light reflector. Rather than fight against it, I will use it as my reflective surface. Periodically, I will go over the reflective surface with a metal file to remove BB’s from welding.

Once I thought my assist was physically in the way of a clamp or something, and I removed it. Suddenly, I could not see the weld joint at all while welding. While it is difficult to see everything because of all of the smoke, my assist is a big help. Last evening I did not have the option of a fan to blow away the smoke, but I would try for a fan in the future, even if only a small fan near the weld weld joint.

I made a rectangular piece that reflects light from the arc both ahead and behind the nozzle. It is offset to one side so I can see the weld joint without looking at an unusual angle. (I used a step bit to make a hole almost big enough for the thinwall tubing to pass through it, but not quite. I tacked the tubing to the rectangular piece so I could adjust the fit of the tubing on the nozzle, if I need to do so.) I have not added aluminum foil for more reflection. I did polish the metal with a flap disc on a grinder. I can see where I am welding quite well now without the aluminum foil.

Light is subject to the inverse square law. I want the light reflected back to the weld joint to be as bright as reasonably possible. I slide my assist down the MIG nozzle until it is even with the lower end of the nozzle. That seems to help illumination without blocking my angle of view. This configuration works best where the gun can point straight down at the weld joint.

When welding a fillet slide the assist up on the nozzle away from the arc as needed. View the weld joint from in front of the weld. The angled sides of the joint will help reflect light, too, for good visibility, even though the reflecting assist has been moved away from the arc just a little.

I do not weld all day long, but do weld some little thing several days a week. I continue to be amazed how much better this passive device enables me to see what I am welding. Still, it is not for everything I weld. When my device is in the way and angles of parts in the joint already reflect light back onto the joint, I remove it. Sometimes I turn it a quarter or a half of a turn, Experiment with it and your experiences will suggest how best to use it.