Beyond the welding machine itself, there are different soldering accessories for the welder, from the essentials – such as the welding mask – to the highly specialized, such as the T sockets for slotted tables.
Before buying welding equipment, it is convenient to read this article to know in advance which accessories for the welder will be necessary according to the tasks to be performed.
List of accessories for the welder
Universal accessories
Some welder accessories are useful no matter what type of weld you are facing; in this category, we have the welding table and face and eye protection.
Unless the welding equipment we buy is intended exclusively for fieldwork, we will need a good welding table to support and hold the pieces.
There are different types of welding table: smooth, screened, tiltable, slotted (to place sockets or T-nuts according to DIN 508), etc. The important thing is that the work surface is metallic, that it allows installing at least one vice, and that it has a free area where to install the earth clamp of the welding equipment (if electric welding is to be carried out).
Personal protection
Almost all welding processes — except for tin soldering for electronic components and plumbing — are carried out using some type of electric arc or flame at a very high temperature; This causes a very bright light to be produced which is harmful to the eyes.
To prevent permanent damage to vision, it is essential to have an element of visual protection; for this, there are goggles and welding masks (or masks). According to the level of exposure to ultraviolet rays, you should choose one or the other.
You also need to protect the rest of the body; This will require gloves and aprons.
Welding goggles
They are used mainly for autogenous or oxyacetylene welding, where the fusion of materials is achieved through the combustion of gases.
As the combustion reaches very high temperatures, a plasma is generated that emits ultraviolet rays, which are very harmful to the eyes. Welding goggles filter this region of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing only the light intensity necessary to see the work.
For jobs where gases are generated, such as MIG-MAG, TIG, and other welding, it is advisable to use a face shield or mask.
Welding masks
Of all the accessories for the welder, it is perhaps the best known and most widely used. There are countless models and price ranges: from the most basic masks —with a plastic cover and a dark glass, with a wooden handle— to the most sophisticated —with a gas filter and photosensitive glass—, the mask protects not only the eyes. but the entire area of the face.
The most important part is the glass: it must properly filter the ultraviolet light, and attenuate the intensity of the remaining light sufficiently to be able to see the weld puddle without suffering from glare or overexposure.
A quick check on the effectiveness of the glass is to try to see the sun through it. If the light is strong, the mask will not protect properly.
Gas filter
If you are working with a welding technique that generates vapors or gases (as most techniques produce it), it will be convenient to have a gas filter that allows you to breathe normally without the risk of contracting diseases.
Many of these masks allow you to put on or under the mask, thereby keeping both hands free for the task. There are models with a connection for compressed air, which also require a filter bank to prevent oil particles or dust from reaching the welder’s lungs.
Gloves
As important as the welding helmet is the glove. This protects us mainly against any hot slag that can splash, and against the heat produced by the torch or the electrode. It is also comfortable to use gloves when one is using Accu-Cut.
Aprons
It is also important to protect the front of the body from splashes; the apron makes it possible to do so and, at the same time, offers front pockets where to temporarily store any tools necessary for the operation after or before welding.
Welding Plug-in Tools
Lime
The file is another accessory for the welder that cannot be missing from the work table. It allows grinding and manual adjustment of measurements, removing burrs, cutting edges, and many other operations.
There are flat, half-round, round, triangular, bastard, medium, fine files, and many others. In general, it will be enough to have a bastard file, a medium and a fine one, plus a half-round file.
Hammer
The hammer allows the removal of slag in manual arc welds. If you have a ball hammer, it is also possible to emboss the edge of the sheets to a certain extent in the stage before welding.
