Tool Reviews

Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) works only when it captures welding fumes before they pass through your breathing zone. The hood does not need to be directly over the weld, but…

Welding fume extraction is easiest to get wrong when a small shop buys by motor size instead of capture performance. A loud, high-CFM collector across the room may remove less…

How to Break In Leather Welding Gloves Safely New leather welding gloves are often stiff, especially around the fingers, thumb, and cuff. That stiffness can make it harder to feed…

TIG welding demands more from gloves than MIG or stick welding. You need enough protection from heat, sparks, and ultraviolet exposure while still feeling the torch, filler rod, and workpiece.…

Plasma cutting produces a bright arc, intense ultraviolet and infrared radiation, and a large amount of visible glare. A regular clear face shield is not enough, and a welding hood…

A welding respirator has to do two jobs at once: protect your lungs from welding fumes and fit under, around, or inside a welding helmet without breaking the helmet’s seal…

Safety glasses should stay on under a welding helmet. They protect your eyes while the helmet is raised, reduce exposure to grinding dust and metal chips, and provide a second…

Why Low-Light Conditions Matter A dark welding shop makes helmet selection more demanding. You need enough light to position the torch, find the joint, and inspect the bead, but the…

Plasma cutting is loud enough to damage hearing, especially in a metal shop with hard walls, a steel table, compressed air, and several machines running at once. The cutter itself…

Helmet fogging is usually a ventilation problem, not a lens problem. Warm, damp air from your breath rises inside the hood, then condenses on the cooler filter or cover lens.…