My first welding helmet was 13 shade. It came with the welder. Couldn't see anything. Might as well just shut my eyes and guessed. So I purchased a 9-13 auto helmet and set it on 9. Might as well just shut my eyes and guessed, but I did almost everything with it. Had it for over 14 years. Cussed it everytime I put it on. A few months ago, having had enough, I got a new Lincoln model (Viking 3350) with 6-13 shading. Now I can actually see! It may be just some anomaly with my eyes, but now its fixed and I am very happy with it. I learned something new.. you can get slide-in magnifying lenses for it too. WOW! Problem solved.
I was wrong on my welder part number, its a 175 plus like Joe mentioned. Great machine. Set on low voltage, you can weld the thinnest of sheet metal and with it set on high, I can do trailer hitch assemblies, tables, heavy stuff with ease.
So far, not only have I done all my metal tables, jigs, fixtures, assemblies of all kinds, but on the truck I have replaced every piece of sheet metal offered by the vendors and a few that aren't. The key is practice, checking out forums that specialize in welding, like weldingweb.com, and listening intently to others who have more experience.
Think about what you gain by learning this new talent. Not only do you fix your current problem, but the wheels start to turn on what else you can do. Next thing you know, your friends, family, etc are noticing and, well, it goes from there. One important note.. don't even THINK about using flux wire and doing without Argon/C02. You are heading down a road that will give you terrible results only to find after so much misery that gas mix is the way to go. Has to do with unreasonable and crazy weld splatter and inconsistency. Just what I have learned. Hope this helps.
