Didymium safety glasses

[jimbob]

anyone out there using Didymium safety glasses to forge weld with?
if so how do you like them ?...

[Frosty]

I have a pair I picked up about 12 years ago thinking they'd work for smithing. They're intended to filter out the light from the sodium yellow part of the spectrum. This is a very common frequency for glass blowers. I discovered they're of minimal use for smithing, VERY minimal. You get a little bit of benefit filtering glare from borax and that's about it.

Mike Porter is currently researching for his next couple books and color filtering for welding, cutting and smithing is either a chapter or a book in the works.

Didymium glasses aren't worth the expense for smithing in my experience. A good pair of tinted glasses work better. Gold lenses around #4-5 are even better, they maintain the natural color while filtering out excess glare and eliminating IR.

UV radiation from a forge is so negligible you can disregard it unless you're operating way above 3,000f.

On the other hand didymium glasses don't hurt if you have the disposable income.

Of course that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Frosty

[jimbob]

thanks thats what I needed to know. I won't waste my money on them.

[Glenn]

Didyminum Glasses discussion - click here.

The local welding supply store can supply you with many different styles of welding glasses that are approved for welding and have IR and UV protection. Look for a shade # 2 or 3.