Eye / Face protection

[Captthundarr]

Hi all. It has amazed me the number of photos posted here of folks operating lathes, mills, handheld grinders, drills, ect. that do not have eye / face protection. OSHA approved safety glasses are relatively inexpensive protection for you peepers. Raise your hand if you've ever gotten some sort of crap in your eye(s) while in the shop, working under the car or sawing bucks for a pattern for example. Good quality safety glasses and face shields can be found at most hardware and home supply stores.

[Frankie7799]

That was one of the first things Sparky made sure of when I started helping him on his car that I had proper eye protection when operating his tools. Plus he handed me a brand new pair of gloves right off the bat. He has face shields hung in a couple of spots near machines that you definitely should have that added protection ( drill press, cutoff saw etc. )

[Captthundarr]

to Frankies point of the face sheilds. Safety glasses won't always protect you. in the photo , the wire from a wirewheel could have come up from under the glasses. I have had a near miss in my plant where liquid came in over the top of the glasses.

Enlarge the photo. You can see that the wire penetrated the lower eyelid and punctured the eye.

[Glen]

This needs to be moved to the shop safety forum.

[Captthundarr]

Um, Glen, it is in the shop safety page.

[Captthundarr]

Another thing I've noticed in shops here and there. Folks will mostly wear a welding helmut when welding but no shades when using a plasma cutter. At least some shade is better than none.

[Peter Jack]

That was one of the first things Sparky made sure of when I started helping him on his car that I had proper eye protection when operating his tools. Plus he handed me a brand new pair of gloves right off the bat. He has face shields hung in a couple of spots near machines that you definitely should have that added protection ( drill press, cutoff saw etc. )

The gloves are a great idea, but be sure you ditch them before you start to use any rotating machinery such as drills, mills or lathes. Getting caught can cause serious injury.

Pete

[michael lueders]

Having had some serious eye injuries my self..including getting metal dug out and a ruptured retina..Eyes are important. Worth every penny, a pair of safety glasses.

[1leg]

Not a bad idea to wear a dust mask when grinding.

[Dean Los Angeles]

Wear a full face shield when grinding/wire wheel. I also saw a guy do the same thing. Nice that you left it stuck in your face long enough to get a picture.
Always stand off to the side of a grinding/wire wheel. You never know how much damage the last guy did, or the wheel could be defective and explode.

[tauruck]

I'm a two time loser on the eye protection. First one was when I was given dental equipment by a family member. The drill turned out to be a great mini die grinder. The funny thing is that believe it or not I saw the shrapnel coming. I got the worst headache ever along with the pain in the eye. I've been around the injury scene more than most but this was terrible. It took me three days of thinking that it would go away. When I eventually got to the eye specialist I told him the "thing" was at four 'o' clock in my left eye and went on to brag how good my sight was because I saw it in the mirror. He laughed and said what I saw was actually the rust.
         On the second one I was wearing glasses but it might have hit me under the eye and bounced off the glasses and in. I never wasted a minute this time and the missus drove me directly to the medical centre. When the guy got the foreign object out he put it on a piece of white paper. It looked like a hair so the wife says but it's so small, how could it hurt so bad?. He said it was one of the bigger ones he'd removed in a while. I dumped all the protective glasses and bought a pair of motocross goggles. Problem solved.

[Captthundarr]

Mike,  die grinding is the worst.  I've seen folks blow the filings off with nothing more than a a squint on their face. Another thing that drives me nuts is "car" programs that show the "expert" grinding, ect. without prtection

[tauruck]

Nothing hurts like getting a piece of metal in the eye. They say familiarity breeds contempt. Lots of bad practises on TV shows. If you don't respect tools they will make you respect them. PM sent.

[runt13]

eye protection is so important in many things we do in life.

true story...
while practicing for archery season 3 years ago, the release I was using broke. at 75lbs of draw, my hand went flying back at that exact force, as my thumbnail raked my open eye, I peeled my cornea back like a flap of skin. it was the most pain, shock, pain, and trauma I ever experienced. dropped me and took weeks to get my eyesight back.

you will most likely never see me without a set of wraparound safety glasses on, or resting on my head, I go nowhere without them!

[redhotracing]

I totally agree, guys... I can't count the number of times I went to do a "short" job, only to have shrapnel, dust, debris, etc.
caught in my eye... I do my best to wear at least safety glasses, but I think goggles are better for some jobs. Face shields,
while better than nothing, seem to just direct debris off their surfaces and into my eyes...  1leg has it right with masks, as
well... Grinding and welding "buggars" make for no fun. Nice entry, Frank...