Beginner questions on brazing equiptment - Part 4, Lenses
 

Lenses

1. What shade lens do you use for brazing steel frame?
2. What color lens works best for you?

Look forward to reading this discussion and feel free to answer questions if you need any clarification.
Dan

I use a #3 or #4 green lens for brass and blue Didymium glassblower's glasses for silver.

Thanks again John, and sorry for being a novice - but when you say brass and silver, you're referring to the filler rods?

I have been in the hunt for new glasses as the #5 lens is just too dark. This last frame I didn't use any eye protection at all and it was so nice to see things clearly! The blue lens referred to has a "number" for darkness? Does it give a less dark view than the standard #5 dark lens?

#5 is way too dark for brazing. I used to use a B3 series glassblowing lens from Wale Apparatus https://www.waleapparatus.com/category/wale-wear when I was fillet brazing. They are a bit pricey, but it makes it easier to see the difference between molten flux and molten brass.

I switched to TIG welding, but I still braze in bridges and braze ons. I usually just use a pair of dark sunglasses for those tasks.

#5 is too dark for anything. I use it for gas welding, but even then seeing is tricky. I use a combo #3/ace for everything. Unfortunately, I think that combo isn't available since the last batch failed. I might just order some ACE glasses for silver, the shaded glasses are too dark for my tastes, and I would rather be able to see better for silver. My understanding is that didymium by itself isn't adequate for brass.

Good to see those differences on the workpiece, nice plug - thanks

I'm using currently Phillips 202s glass blowing eye ware currently, partially because they make them in magnifiers and also because they mimic the dydimium glasses I got in 1979 and got use to. I like their ability to change the flux flare and see through it better. Andy