Well today started out pretty typical after a holiday, spent the 3rd. in the hospital getting loaded up with Demoral and slept most of the 4th. So I am getting back to normal and I went to pay on my newspaper subcription, anyway I get into my truck and fire it up then roll down my drivers window, POP what the??? it won't roll up, down nowhere but the motor runs. So anyway like I had alot of time to spend I went home and started taking it apart not knowing what to expect.
Well the motor turns and the big half gear is turning but the window is just sitting there doing nothing, so by now I am getting frosted and I still need to go to work tonight so I block up the window glass and take out the motor and regulator. Loosing some deal of blood when the big coil spring snaps back, I finally got it out. I see there is a stud that the spring anchors to has sheared from the back of the gear. Great...

So I check out the situation and figure I can fix this. Now this is so typical, I was setting up to weld on the gear and see, I have a real nice auto-darkening helmet so anyway I have it all set up on the table and I an real close and pull the trigger, nice crackling arc and... My stupid helmet did not darken
Man I hope I don't have flash burns.. they hurt.
Jim.

 

I know the feeling... I sure hope you don't have anything permanent

Feel better and hope the window will work

Michael

 

The metal teacher was teaching us how to arch weld and I was just getting ready to put my helmet down and start to drag the stick. Oh my god, the helmet was still up and the acrh started, the light was so bringt I couldn't see for minutes past it. My eyes never hurt but i just couldn't see. The school then went and got a auto darking helmet for the second semester class.
How long was the arch going when you were looking at it?

Coop

 

what kinda welder? stick welder in my personal experinces will flash burn u faster than a mig or tig welder, i been known 2 weld on derby cars in a hurry with a dark pair of sunglasses for short times, but lord when u get flash burns, lord the hurt

 

I would assume that he was talking about a mig, because he was talking about pulling the trigger. The light from mig isn't as bright as stick but when you look at it for awile it is just as bad.

Coop

 

Yes it is a Mig welder and I survived the night. Only felt like I went to the beach and laid in the sand face down with my eyes open.
My big AC/DC stick is a real killer 225 amp AC. Back in the 60's I found I had a cracked inner shield on my helmet and did some serious permnent damage way back then, almost blind and still cannot go out in the bright sunlight.
I am going to take the helmet back to Airco welding supply today and see what happens.
Funny how flash burns never hurt until you go to sleep and then try to open your eyes.
My supplier sells a bottle of eye drops to hold you over till you get to the doctor, need to get more.

BTW I hate overhead with a stick, can't get used to the sparks going down my arms.
Jim.

 

FWIW
I was talking to the ER doctor about flash burns and he said if you do not have the eye drops, that a emergency home treatment is to:
Cut a raw potatoe into thin slices and put them onto your eyes.
He said it is because of the potassium that is in the slices will relive the pain.
Now I am not looking foreward to the next time but it is good to know.
I ask then how about a bananna then I figured they will goo up your eyes.

And as I said, FWIW
Jim

 

wonder if that works when you scratch your eye.

Coop

 

Jim, glad to see you can still see enough to type. Feel better.

Michael

 

I used to work for a pipeline company as a welders helper. Alot of times we would have to work at night and down in a ditch welding with low hydrogen rod. When its dark and your welding with low hyd. it doesnt matter if you dont watch the weld, you are gonna get burnt. The best thing I found for burnt eyes is to take a small dab of vicks and rub on your eye lids before you go to bed. Then lay a warm rag over your eyes.

 

One thing to remember about Flash, its actaully a "Sun" burn to your EYE!
Bad news. I lewarnded early on working in various fab shops that even CLEAR saftey glasses helps when around welders without screens. Doctor told me once (got driven there because I chipped hot slag into my eye WOWZER! ), that getting a perifial view (noideahowtospellthatone) is the worst. In other words, you can get stung WORSE by sitting next to a guy and not even seeing his arc directly. I got so gun shy of Flash and hot slag to the eye I ended up wearing GOGGLES in the shop for a while.
?
The sand in the eyes feeling that Jim mentioed is typical.
Good luck with the window.

 

Anyone ever heard how this affects contact lens?
I know when working as an electrician that it is a real danger not as much with welding but with an arc.
There have been articles in the IBEW magezine about people who have been wearing contacs and have arced out a panel usually 440 volts 3 phase. I have literally vaporized a 3/8" Klien screwdriver with metel frags everywhere. The danger seems to be when the arc is generated there is an extreme amount of UV and electromagnetic energy generated at close range and it acts as a giant microwave. Doing so vaporizes the fluid between the lens and your eyeball and fuses the lens to your eye. It said when a few people tried to remove their lens, they actually peeled their corneas off their eyes. OUCH
But unlike welding, switchgear has an unlimited many many KV'a ( infinite) amount of amperage.
That image has always stuck in my mind.
Jim.

 

I can watch most kinds of welding without protection for a little while and my eyes will be fine but if I watch welding for more than about 10 minutes my eyes will really iritate me later on that day. I usually also weld with a 9 lense when most electric welding reqiures a 10 or 11 shade. I guess my eyes just arent very sensitive.