Comments on: Cheap-Ass Tools: A 6′ x 6′ Welding Blanket

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 18:47:11 +0000

I have a piece of asbestos cloth I use. Yeah yeah it is really bad for your health or so I’ve heard. Then again so is burning up I guess. I have a leather apron that seems to work fairly well too for stopping welding sparks. I remember reading about some chemical that treats cloth to make if flame retardant. Supposeldy welders use it on their clothing or something. It might be worthwhile to look into if someone needs the feature.

By: Chuck Cage

Chuck Cage — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 18:39:28 +0000

I use this in the same way I use a longsleeve cotton shirt for “protection” during a quick weld; it’s not going to stop the slag, but it does give the slag a chance to burn out some of its energy before it comes in contact with anything else.

re: plywood — Heck, yeah! We keep a 4′ x 4′ sheet (burn marks and all) in the shop just for that. But sometimes I can’t cram it in a place I want to protect.

I think the biggest difference between this cheap-o “welding blanket” and most of the other fabric solutions you might improvise is that it’s slightly less likely to catch fire. (But just slightly.)

By: bruce

bruce — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:59:46 +0000

The expensive welding blankets sold from the welding supply houses only protect to a certain extent. I guess the one from harbor freight would be better than nothing for around the house use. I would think it would be good for grinding sparks. The ones I’ve used on construction projects are about 3/8″ thick and you have to keep an eye on the because they will burn through, especially if used on the floor. It’s always a good idea to keep some water availible to put on any hot slag that lays on the blanket.

like mentioned above plywood works well and cardboard will work in a pinch especially if you wet the cardboard. On the floor plywood works best unless you are laying on it because the slag will roll on the plywood and of course stop when it gets under you. LOL!

By: Roscoe

Roscoe — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 16:04:43 +0000

1/4″ plywood anyone?

By: nrChris

nrChris — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 14:01:04 +0000

We are getting a Harbor Freight store in Rhode Island, I can’t wait for it to open. Maybe I’ll use one of those blankets to resurface the workbench for my bench grinder–at the ten dollar price point, it would certainly be worth doing.

By: eschoendorff

eschoendorff — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 13:59:28 +0000

I have one of those welding blankets, but I haven’t used it yet. I have heard form others that spatter will go right through them, though. Just beware!