How to Fit a Welding Helmet

Putting on a MIG welding helmet is different than putting on most other headgear, but not by much. The main issues are comfort and safety. You want the hood to fit snug, but not so much that it hurts. And you also want it to fit so that you can see out the window without compromising anything else. Once you have accomplished a comfortable, safe fit for your welding helmet, the task of striking an arc can be done with more efficiency.

Instructions

1

Put on your under-helmet protection, if you plan to. Many welders wear a headpiece of non-flammable material under their welding helmets so that sparks cannot get to their heads. These are available at welding supply stores both in town or on the Internet. The welding helmet will fit on over this protective piece, so it must be worn first. If you do not plan on wearing one of those items, then simply skip to step two.

2

Put the welding hood on and adjust the head strap. Once the hood is on, the size can be adjusted by turning the dial in the very back of the head strap either left or right. Turning it clockwise will tighten the hood, and turning it counter-clockwise will loosen it, or make it bigger. The goal is to get it just tight enough so that when you lift the face mask, it stays on your head and does not shift with the rest of the hood. Ideally, it should fit a bit tighter than a comfortable ball cap.

3

Adjust the hood pivot tension. On either side of the welding hood, there are knobs that are similar to the one found in back. They make it harder or easier to lift the hood up by putting tension on the connection. Again, clockwise tightens the tension, while counter-clockwise loosens it. A good mix of all the knobs is when the face mask comes up easy enough that the hood stays on your hood, but is tight enough so that it stays in the raised position when you take your hands away. It is good that the hood stays up on its own so that you can inspect your work with both hands, or move around the work space without completely taking it off. Keeping the pivot a little stiff will also prevent the mask from slipping while welding, causing the window to drop too low to see out of.