Welding Helmets For Motorcycle Frame Repair: 2 Important Facts

An intact metal frame is essential for safety as you cruise around in your motorcycle. This is why broken components of the frame need to be welded back without further delay.

If you choose to do this on your own, you'll need to protect your eyes from the potentially damaging effects of exposure to the weld arc. Remember the two facts discussed below as you plan the DIY welding activity.

Your Motorcycle Helmet Is Not A Suitable Substitute

You probably chose not to hire a professional welder in order to cut down on expenditure. However, using your motorcycle helmet instead of renting out a welding helmet is a cost-cutting strategy that you should not consider.

Welding helmets are made with a special feature referred to as an auto-darkening filter. This feature is incorporated into the glass/lens portion of the helmet. The filter is made up of light sensors that are activated by the glaring light generated by the welding arc. Once activated, the lens of the helmet automatically begins to have a darker shade. In some helmets, the shade gets darker as the intensity of light from the arc increases.

The standard motorcycle helmet is not designed with an auto-darkening filter. As such, your helmet won't do much to protect your eyes from the glare of the welding arc.

A Variable Shade Helmet Might Be Worth The Extra Cost

Auto-darkening welding helmets are of two main types, depending on the type of shade provided by their filters. The filters used in a fixed shade helmet will provide a constant dark shade regardless of the intensity of light given off from the welding arc. Those used in a variable shade helmet will increase the darkness of the shade as the intensity of light increases, as alluded to above.

It's likely that the cost of leasing a variable shade helmet will be lower than the cost of hiring one that comes with a fixed shade. The extra cost of a variable shade welding helmet is justified if you plan on using different welding techniques during the repair activity or if the broken pieces of the frame that need to be welded back are of not of the same thickness.

In both case, you're likely to use electricity at different amperes during the welding process. This translates to different levels of light intensity from the welding arc.

A fixed shade helmet might be cheaper, but it won't offer adequate protection when the intensity of light from the arc is too high for the specific dark shade that the helmet provides.


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