Weld Safely With Safety Glasses
Whether you’re preparing for another day as a full-time welder or trying to tack together a few pieces of metal for a DIY project, welding glasses are a critical part of your safety equipment. Find out why you need safety glasses to protect your eyes and where you can go to buy an affordable pair for all of your welding tasks.
How Safety Glasses Protect Your Eyes
A welding helmet protects your face from the bulk of flying materials, sparks and hot slag. A helmet alone, unfortunately, won’t always keep you safe. Helmet manufacturers recommend wearing a pair of approved safety glasses underneath your mask as an additional layer of protection. This prevents debris from coming in contact with your eyes while your mask is up or if it happens to fly up under your mask.
Some welders also choose to wear sunglasses under their helmets. If your welding lens is a low shade, extra shading can help protect your eyes. Be sure your welding safety glasses are properly designed to shade the powerful UV light coming from a welder. Picking up sunglasses that don’t block UV light or relying on a welding lens that isn’t the proper shade can cause severe eye injuries.
Essential Welding Safety Gear
A welding hood and safety glasses are an important place to start, but they’re by no means all the safety gear you need in order to handle a welder responsibly. Review this basic list of safety gear to see if you’re ready to weld away. Always check with your welder owner’s manual or with your employer to ensure you’re welding with the required gear:
- Flame-resistant jacket
- Leather welding apron and sleeves
- Respirator
- Boots
- Spats
- Welding gloves
These items protect your entire body from flying debris and intense heat. While thick leather gloves, boots and a jacket may be effective, there are welding-specific options available that balance flexibility and safety as you work. Welding gloves in particular offer better features than traditional leather work gloves. Most welder’s gloves are matched to specific welding types. Pick up a pair of TIG, stick or MIG welders gloves to keep your hands free to safely operate your equipment.
FAQs
Do Welding Glasses Need To Be Shaded?
If you’re wearing a welding helmet, a lens between shades 10 and 13 should be efficient in protecting your eyes. Some welders choose to wear shaded safety glasses underneath their helmets. Be sure to wear welding-rated glasses if you’re attempting to weld in close quarters without a helmet. Even light welding requires at least shade 5 lenses to protect your eyes.
What Are the Dangers of Welding Without Safety Glasses?
The most serious and immediate dangers are caused by welding with insufficiently shaded lenses. This can burn your cornea and cause permanent loss of vision. Welding with a suitable helmet but without safety glasses can increase the risk of flying debris coming in contact with your eyes and causing serious injury.
Why Isn’t a Welding Helmet Enough Protection?
Random sparks, metal shards and other debris can fly across the room when welding. Your welding helmet protects you from most of these issues, but there are gaps along the edges of your helmet. For full eye protection, wear an ANSI-rated pair of safety glasses or goggles.
Do Welders Go Blind Over Time?
While eye injuries are a concern for welders, it’s possible to avoid going blind even after a full career of welding. Proper protective gear is crucial to retaining your eyesight. Always review safety procedures and wear your full welding protective gear setup before operating a welder.
Can Safety Glasses Fit Under a Welding Mask?
Welding helmets are specifically designed to wear glasses under them. These adjustable protective items are more than capable of accommodating safety glasses underneath them. In light welding situations, consider using welding glasses instead of a full helmet and safety glasses. This setup may also be more suitable for welding in small spaces.
