I'm watching welding how-to videos on the Internet. Should I be wearing a welder's helmet?

Wear the helmet. I father arc welded something without a helmet because it was a real quick job. He was in agony that night. Never do it without the helmet. And you watch the arc to lay down a smooth bead.

Dear god yes wear it!

Just to clarify, are you asking if you should wear the helmet while you watch the videos? or while you’re welding?

Yes, please do wear the proper protective gear while welding. When they say to watch the arc, you are watching to make sure that the diode isn’t too far away or too close to what you are welding.

No, just slip one over the TV set. Or hide behind the couch.

You don’t use (can’t use) a welder’s helmet while watching the video. You won’t see the video. Your monitor screen cannot “normally” reproduce the intense flash of a welding arc. That is, “while it is operating normally” it cannot. (If you were to cause it to create an equivalent flash, it would be damaged beyond repair.)

While welding, do wear a helmet with appropriate shielding glass (they come in various “number-graded” shades), as well as welding gloves, long-sleeved shirt in a natural fabric (no polyester, which can melt and more easily burn than cotton), long pants and shoes, preferably shoes with rounded toes. The depressions created on the tops of shoes such as moccasins and some loafers can trap hot slag and sparks that will damage the shoe, although the leather will provide adequate protection to your foot. It’s also usually advisable to wear a head cover under the helmet, because some sparks fly upward, and can burn your hair and scalp. (If you’re going to be doing this a lot, or for a career, then you’ll want to invest in a set of “leathers”, meaning a leather jacket and leggings which you will wear in any kind of weather, no matter how hot, because welding sparks and slags burn hotter.)

As at least one other has noted, “watching the arc” is what you wear the helmet for: it’s so that you can gauge its length, intensity, spatter, etc. and determine how to adjust the machine, your travel speed, the weld puddle, etc.

To watch the video? No, the dangerous light from welding does not get reproduced while watching a video.

Thank you @dappled_leaves

GA

The welding arc contains a lot of UV – it will give you sunburn on exposed skin and corneas. The video will not give off any UV.

Watching the arc unprotected is like looking at the sun. Gotta protect your peepers! You only get two per lifetime!

And the 2nd one is not really a spare.