welding question: no welding mask required? (2023 Update)

[Animal]

They just hold a bit of card etc in the way. I wouldn't be at all confident doing a weld without being able to see it.

[Rod Speed]

But that doesn't produce cataracts.

Warmed by blood actually. Cooled by sweat.

But there is no flame with traditional blacksmithing.

[John Walliker]

The lens of the eye is sensitive to being heated. This is one reason why there are power density limits for microwave radiation. Yes, there are plenty of UV flame and explosion detectors in military and industrial applications.

John

[Rod Speed]

Nope, he had nothing, just screwed up his eyes.

He could see fine. I'll post a link to it if it shows up again.

[Andy Burns]

BackYardScientist bought one to f*ck about with ...

[Jeff Layman]

Fascinating, and rather worrying. Too many loonies around for that sort of thing to be available to the general public at <£5K.

I'm surprised that they don't add a visible light low-powered laser to the beam so that you can see where it's pointed before it's turned on (or even when it's in use - such as when he cut down the small tree and the beam set fire to something a few metres behind).

[SteveW]

Yes. My eldest son is at university and has a part time job in LaserZone. Their guns use infra-red lasers for the actual shots and visible (green I think) lasers to let the shooter know where the shot went.