Question by bluddbludd308: leather vs. cotton welding jackets?
The main question I have, are leather welding jackets too hot for summer use in Louisiana. I don’t want to spend $ 100 dollars on one and not wear it. My cotton welding shirts catch fire too often. Would a miller combo welding jacket (cotton and leather mixed) be a good alternative? Miller also sells a leather shirt protector for this jacket.
Best answer:
Answer by craftsman 510
I bought a light welding jacket. made by tillman from a welding supply praxair. about 30$ .
What do you think? Answer below!
A cotton “Welding jacket” would be better. Or you could get a set of leather sleeves with a bib. The back is open and will keep you cool except your arms. I have worn them in areas that were in the 100 degrees temps and survived, you will sweat a lot but you don’t get burnt up by the spatter.
Small sparks and incidental spatter won’t be a problem for a sturdy cotton shirt, but big droplets might burn through. Cotton works fine if your are welding flat, horizontal. vertical or anything that is on the table, on the ground, or directly in front of you. In other words, where the big droplets will simply fall to the floor.
You only need leathers if you are having to reach up above your head while welding. Basically this means pipe welding or overhead welding. In other words, if you expect to have the large droplets falling directly ON you.
You can buy leather sleeves and leather shoulders. I’ve seen welders go shirtless in 100 degree heat with just their leathers on, though I would strongly advise against doing this. You’d get sparks in uncomfortable places, plus you’d get a serious welding burn due to the UV rays from the arc.
The cotton/leather are the best and worth the money. i’ve been getting about 2 years to a jacket and my day consists of 90% overhead pipeline welding in the Australian outback, so hot as F*#! in a dirty 6m deep trench. the cotton on the jacket is different to the shirts u buy as it is treated with a fire retardant. obviously if you stand directly under you weld and cop big hot rocks it will burn, but so will the leather ones, i know, i was an apprentice once. And to everyone who is going to comment on this all i can say is, remember back to your training days, work Smarter not Harder…..Later…