POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

pavyan said:
Of course, Chinese - they are capable of anything :)
Branded auto-darkening helmets are 10 times more expensive. It is worth buying one if you weld professionally; for amateur fun, a Chinese one will be enough (although I am generally against buying Chinese crap).

When I looked at my helmet in detail for the same reason (end of life), I was also very surprised that it could not be dismantled - after a few years (about five or six), the cells will run out, that's for sure. What then? The helmet is for trash, right? It is cheap, so you buy a new one - the circus is spinning and making (yellow) money.

But all you have to do is force(care)fully open the filter cassette and replace the cells, also carefully and sensibly - the helmet works for another 5 or 6 years.

In my case, I screwed the cassette together with small sheet metal screws and sealed it with black electrical PVC tape around the gap that was created when opening the filter. I don't remember, but I think I've replaced the cells twice.
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Buying my first cheap helmet was the worst decision I've made in outfitting myself for welding. But at the time (25yrs ago) there weren't many affordable options that were known to be good.

Work bought me a helemt a few years ago and I was initially a little miffed as I felt they cheaped out.

This guy.



I was blown away in the difference between this and what I had been using. I could see color as well as having the ability to go as low as I wanted with the glass settings.


I like it so much I bought its big brother for home. Prices have gone up by $60 since I got mine, but you can catch sales sometimes.


 
The quality of the equipment has generally advanced, and it is difficult to compare similar products from 20 years ago with today's products.
I am happy with my helmet, even though it is Chinese and is also almost 20 years old (it is not adapted for grinding, but that does not bother me).

The only thing missing in it are four photosensors, i.e. two above the upper edge of the filter, two below its lower edge - then one of the photodiodes always "sees" the welding arc and the filter darkens.
My older type of helmet has only two photodiodes, at the top.
This sometimes causes a lack of darkening when welding in difficult, narrow or deep places; two photodiodes are not enough then.

But... I looked at the description of the new S26400 helmet (Amazon), for $222 - it says: Country of Origin: ‎China :) ( :( !!! )

So: SELLSTROM equipment used to be made in the USA*, today it is made in China.

This is a sign of our times, unfortunately - that is, autocutting off the branch on which we all sitting. And abundant, carefree watering of the Chinese, increasingly powerful tree.

*Quote: "Founded in 1923 and based in Illinois, Sellstrom is one of the oldest American brands of safety products".
 
pavyan said:
"Founded in 1923 and based in Illinois, Sellstrom is one of the oldest American brands of safety products".
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Not anymore by the sounds of it, they., along with many others, appear to have sold out to lower cost, lower quality products from china with a dubious life expectancy.
 
pontiac428 said:
Sounds like you missed the stand-to brief at guard mount-the 17 year old with the shotgun was obviously not going to stand down until you issued the correct passphrase to his challenge
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Password? We don’t need no stinking password!

As you probably can believe, everyone knew who I was. One Sunday when I had weekend duty I happened to be on the Quarterdeck when a call came in and this is what the Petty Officer of the Watch said “Quarterdeck Santa Barbara. Mr. C_______;” then there was s pause and he hung up. I asked what that was all about and he said: “He asked who was the CDO and I told him you; he then said never mind and hung up.” I figured it was someone that wanted their weekend Liberty extended and knew I while I was fair I was aldlso pretty strict - there had been a number of times that I would get this request around 8pm and I would find out that if they should have left 4 hours earlier in order to be back on time. I only had to explain that had they called earlier I most likely would’ve granted their request.
 
Vacuum seal might be overkill, but it will definitely keep debris AND rust at bay!
A neat solution, really.
 
piper184 said:
If we start seeing thumbs, eye-balls or stomach contents, I'm unsubscribing!

Venison steaks and pork chops on the other hand.....YUM!
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LOL the story is...I had purchased an inexpensive Walmart vacuum sealer. Barely used the thing when it malfunctioned, refused to work when I had a counter full of fresh caught salmon. In a fit of RAGE I went shopping for the mother of all vacuum sealers hence this machine. lol
 
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