WELDING MASK

  This is the mask. Strange color. There were no markings on it other than the date stamp of 1999. One neat thing about it is that in addition to the two industrial fittings in the cheeks, the nose has a fitting that can be unscrewed to install a military 40mm filter.
  Like most industrial masks, the frame is screwed together, unlike the military which are crimped permanently. The two frames are the same part.

  Here I have made some sight lines on the visor. Not easy when you can't see through it. (might make a good welding mask as is.)

  I have also taken off one filter housing and siliconed on some toy money or something. This is for better clearance in tight spots, and because I only have two of these filters, which are a unique size. Save one for later.

    Here is the other half of the formula. These welding googles cost about eight bucks and were the only thing that fit in some tight areas.  It used an inner clear lens and a flip up outer which allows you to line things up before striking an arc. But now the faceplate was breaking loose from the plastic rivets. Yoink!

Didn't realize it was so filthy until now.

   Here we are half way.

  First a plastic bag was wrapped around the visor and resin and cloth were laid on top. More plastic was laid on that to squeeze everything tight. No pics of that.
(actually, for the cloth I used Airbag material. not necessary. just an experiment. the first try was a failure. the weave was so tight the resin didn't absorb and it peeled apart like a banana. other cloth with little squares woven in worked okay, but didn't saturate as well as fibreglass.)

  Next cardboard was shaped to the size of the goggles and held with clamps. Top and bottom were glued on. The front is at an angle to to the visor, because that's how it sits on the face.

   For the rest of the mask normal fiberglass was used. After a few layers were laid on and dryed, it was put in a bucket of water which melted the cardboard, and it was scrubbed out. Then the inside corners were reinforced and everything was sanded.

  Then the faceplate hole was cut out with a cutoff wheel.

  Could of used a mask for this part.

   Several coats of primer were used and holes were drilled for tiny screws to hold the faceplate on. (almost missed the first one)

  Automotive putty was then applied to class up the joint.

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   It was painted gloss black at first but looked 'cheap'. So I found my can of wrinkle paint and applied several coats then put the visor in a pre-warmed toaster oven. It wrinkled up nicely, made it looked professional, and hid the lumps.

 Wrinkle paint takes some time to really dry however. It feels dry to the touch and yet can still be wet underneath for several days and tear off.

    Here it is.

  When I made the visor copy it was laid-up over the original, which gave it a slightly larger curve. This made it difficult to get into the frame. But some spray window cleaner helped it slip in.

  The faceplate was screwed on after a lip of silcone was added on the visor. The front lens is stock, but the rear clear plastic lens is siliconed in to make it airtight. It only has to withstand breathing vacuum.

  Before assembly the rear lens was given a coat of reflective film. This will protect me a little if I forget to lower the welding frame.

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   Ready for welding.....or a star wars convention.

  The front lens is a gold coated No.10. Costs a few bucks more but is supposed to be better for you, with less infra-red penetration.

  On the internet I see there are now plug in units that have the instant change lens that fit the small lens holder. Might try one later.

  I screwed up the sightline a bit. The mark I made was correct, but the lens opening is a little lower than that, so I can't look straight ahead without tilting back. But it's not made for looking around.

   I thought I had invented this idea, but a few weeks later I was in a second hand store and saw one on the wall by 3M. Same thing. The shield kit replaces the visor.

  Kind of pricey even second hand and without filters. Not much info on the web except this one small photo cropped from a webpage.

  Each half was several hundred dollars, but the shield is discontinued.

   And then I found this S.E.A. from Australia.

  This looks like my mask, except for the color. The cheek filters are also deleted and a military NBC filter is standard. ( Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical )
  A welding visor clips onto the frame and has a flip up lens. But it's at the same angle as the visor, not straight up and down like mine.

[ I've since seen about a half dozen brands of this mask on the web, different only by details and the garish color choosen. Some of them have airline adapters in the nose. I believe mine is an AOSafety OmniStar. ]

   Here's a newer version which has the large size welding glass. The frame has to overlap the edges of the visor plate to fit onto it. It also acceps a standard electronic lens assembly.

  This is probably what I'll do one day.

   I suppose the simplest way to make one of these gas/welding masks is to get an old russian gas mask with round eyes for 20 bucks and glue round welding lenses into it.
 Another way would be cut out a visor shape from a full-face welding mask and stick it onto the gasmask.