Guest Welding Hood

If you have a welder, you will have new friends who need you to weld things for them. They need to protect their eyes while you are welding and are often curious about what you are doing. But, you probably have only one welding hood. This Instructable tells how to make a hood from corrugated cardboard for your friends to use.

Step 1: Layout for Cutting

I used the side of an old cardboard box that was at least 16 inches by 16 inches. The dimensions and other details are legible from the photo. The pie-shaped pieces with the wavy lines will be removed and discarded.

Step 2: Make the Cuts

The yellow lines show the cuts to be made. The black thing is my lockback knife.

Step 3: Break the Cardboard for Folding

I placed a framing square over the fold lines where the sides or wings begin. I held it down firmly and used my other hand to crease the cardboard. Do this on all four sides of the 6 x 8 inch front section.

Step 4: Crease the Tabs

Crease the four tabs also. They will be used in gluing the hood together.

Step 5: Glue the Sides Together Using the Tabs

Pull the four sides up and glue them by folding over the tabs. Make the joints as tight as possible. Check them with a bright bulb to be certain no light gets through the joints. You may use hot glue or carpenter's glue. The hot glue hardens faster than the carpenter's glue dries. I used some packaging tape to hold the tabs down. You may need to use larger C clamps.

Step 6: How It Appears When the Joints Are Finished

You will have a box with slanted sides. These are known as hopper joints, like the hopper on a grain mill.

Step 7: Trim the Excess

Trim the pointy corners with a scissors or a knife.

Step 8: Install the Lens

Go to a local welding shop and buy a #10 shaded lens for a welding hood. The smallest size (2 x 4 1/2) works fine. If the shading is little stronger than #10, that is fine. Do not go with a much weaker lens, as for gas welding. A lens is only a couple of dollars. Align the lens 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the top fold in the cardboard and mark its outline with a pen. Cut out a hole in the cardboard for the lens.

Step 9: Make Two Cardboard Overlays to Hold the Lens

Make two cardboard frames to overlay on the lens. The opening in them should be a little smaller than the actual size of the lens. Glue one on the inside of the hood, and one on the outside of the hood. These will hold the lens in place and seal it so no light gets around the lens.

Step 10: Make a Wooden Handle

This handle is made from ordinary 2 x 2 stock. I used a spokeshave to round the bottom portion of the handle. The flat where it attaches to the front of the hood is cut at an angle so the handle angles out away from the user's chest rather than straight down. Glue the handle to the front of the hood. There will also be a screw from the inside of the hood.

The yellow arrow points to a 1/4 inch hole for hanging the hood on a finish nail in the wall.

Step 11: Add Reinforcement and a Screw

Cut a piece of Masonite or thin plywood to reinforce the mounting of the handle. Place it on the inside of the hood and glue it to the cardboard. Drill a hole and run a screw through the Masoninte and the hood into the handle.

Step 12: Hang It on the Wall for Storage

Here you see the finished hood hung on my workshop wall. When someone needs something welded, they really appreciate being able to watch with this extra hood.

An optional final step would be to mask the lens and paint the hood a dull black inside and out. The hood serves well without the paint, too.

Although only cardboard, this hood is more than rugged enough for its intended use.

Comments

[astral_mage]

nice idea tho can buy the the same shield 4 abut 10 buck tho. plus im a ex welder. i had so much retaina ( the rods at back of the eyes) burn out. that a yr or so a go i went an bought a auto darkening helmet.

[cjs1298]

This seems like a good idea. My uncle has a small gasless MIG welder and only one helmet, now can actually get a good first welding lesson from him and not turn around and clench my eyes shut during each weld.

[Phil B]

Thanks. It will be good for watching, although the very small arc from a wire feed welder, gas or no gas shielding, makes the joint area very difficult to see, even for the person welding.

[bigbodysmallbrain]

i would be very wary of using this for a couple reasons 1. sparks from welders are known to jump ~40 feet and if any thing flammable is around it will catch on fire, 2. the arc can and will sunburn you withing 5 seconds from across the shop. 3.all safe "as by ANSI standards" should meet ANSI Z87+ standards, which ensure that helmets and lenses have passed independent testing to show they can survive high velocity impact from flying objects, provide 100% ultraviolet and infrared filtering . 4. a acceptable welding hood is around 30 bucks which is worth it for friends/customers safety. maybe i am just a sticker because all this stuff happened to me at one point or another .

[Phil B]

Thank you for the information. I have not used this a great deal, but it has worked well the few times someone brought some small job to weld and wanted to watch.

[cool2000]

can you use something else for the lens like paper?

[Phil B]

While enough paper might block the light to prevent eye damage, the purpose of a hood for guests is so they can watch and see what happens during welding. Paper would be too opaque for that.

[bowmaster]

Awesome idea!!! I would add a small cardboard shield over the hand to prevent sunburn. Other then that it's prefect. I might put a head strap on it and wear it to weld.

[ctm53]

cool i will probably do this, but cardboard and sparks!! what if your friend gets too close and it catches on fire!!


It would be funny though...

[Phil B]

People who bring something for me to weld and wish to watch stand far enough away that sparks do not come near to them. My clothing is in more danger of catching fire. Thanks for looking and for commenting.

[Phil B]

I would probably give friends gloves before I would add a cardboard shield for the hands. This is for the person who wants to watch for the duration of only one or two welds. No one will be using this all day. The danger of sunburn is pretty small. Thanks for looking and for commenting.

[Phil B]

Thank you for your comment.  This is merely for people who need something welded and want to watch.  I could offer gloves to protect against UV ray exposure on the hands, but they usually stand several feet away from the arc, anyway, so their exposure is reduced already.  Because it is for guests, they really would have no need of a headband.  I have another hood with a headband that I wear when I am welding something.

[walkthewalk]

I ended up buying some gas goggles and switching out the 3 shade for a 10. I figured my guest would be far enough away not to get splattered.

[walkthewalk]

I take it back. Don't use goggles. My buddy was sunburned on his face when he was watching me-- even though he was 4-5 feet away.

[Phil B]

I have sometimes done a little welding while wearing short sleeves, but have read that a person should keep his arms covered. Burning of the skin from the rays of the arc light are the reason.

[Bryan Smith]

Very Clever!!! Looks similar to the ones offered with the cheap welders from adds in the old do-it-yourself magazines.

[Phil B]

Thanks. It is a "good enough" solution. It does not get a lot of use, but is good enough for those times it is needed.

[rocknrollskwurl]

i am going to make this... i want to teach my dad to weld, but he cant learn from paper! he has to see

[Phil B]

Thanks. Let me know how it works out for you.

[skunkbait]

Another great ible! We only have one helmet, but frequently have 2 or 3 of us involved in the project. I'm going to point this one out to my kids so they can make a couple of spares.