Why I Never Wear Safety Goggles...

[Doug Miller]

..subtitled, Thank God For Faceshields.

This story starts, as do most stories of accidents, with a poor choice on my part: trying to make a miter cut with a chop saw on a piece that, in retrospect, was really too small to try to hold with my free hand. I should've used a clamp.

Apparently, it shifted a bit when the saw blade hit it, and the blade grabbed it out of my fingers and -- somehow -- threw it *toward* me. At about mouth level. Right into the faceshield, so hard that _it knocked it off my head_.

I'm basically unhurt: my left thumb has a minor bruise from the workpiece being wrenched out of my hand, I have superficial cuts on two knuckles from sharp edges on the wood, and another bruise on my left pec where the wood hit after bouncing off the faceshield. Still haven't found where it went after that...

Lessons:

1. Clamp small workpieces.
2. Wood sometimes can be ejected in unexpected directions.
3. Clamp small workpieces.
4. Respect the power of a kickback.
5. Clamp small workpieces.

And, last but not least... if you've been around this ng for any length of time, you've heard me say this before: You have other things on your face besides your eyes that are worth protecting! That's not the only reason I use a faceshield instead of goggles -- but it's the only one that's on my mind right now.

[Lew Hodgett]

-------------------------------- Number One Safety Rule:

SHIT CAN SMALL PIECES.

Lew

[Lee Michaels]

Good on ya. You wore a face shield. I bet the missus appreciated it. I have worn one for years. Which is attached to a hard hat. Some folks thing I am overdoing it, being over cautious, being a safety freak, etc., etc.

But that is OK. I started doing this when doing metalwork years ago and do it around almost any kind of power tool operation now. I have had enough things hit that mask and helmet to know it is a good idea. Nothing like a good thunk on the safety equipment to realize that you just protected yourself from the biggest danger in the shop. YOURSELF!!!

Another comment. The above remarks are another reason why you can never have too many clamps. I had a metal grinding job recently that just turned out to be too dangerous to pursue. I went to Harbor Freight and bought about

20 clamps. That job went well. And I have used the clamps on a number of woodworking jobs since, Clamps are universal, You need them.

[Robatoy]

You can walk on a wooden leg, eat with false teeth, but you can't see shit through a glass eye.

[J. Clarke]

Mine is attached to a hard hat and hearing protectors and a powered dust filter.

Yep. And in variety, don't have a clamp monoculture.

[Stuart]

Yup.

My daughter is a blacksmith. Two or three years ago I was over there and we were cleaning up some work ready for finishing, using angle grinders fitted with wire cup brushes. When a piece of wire from one of those hits your face it really stings so I was using a face shield.

I heard a yell from my daughter, who was just wearing safety spectacles and turned to see her with a piece of wire sticking out at right angles from her forehead. The only thing that stopped it going any further was the bone. It didn't bleed too much but I gather it really hurt.

I have an aversion to pain - and to blood if it's mine - so I always wear a face shield when doing anything where there is a risk of my face getting hit. I also wear a leather apron too, because those bits of wire will easily pass through ordinary clothing and stick in your belly.

The guy she works with is a nurse. He is currently working in mental health but did his time in A&E like everyone else. If you don't wear proper safety gear he will remind you of some of the things he has seen.

You really don't want to know!

[Steve B]

I have picked a lot of wires out of myself all over the place. Face, legs, stomach, chest. I should wear a face shield more often. Need to get some new ones, but they seem to get scratched up so fast.

Steve

[Lew Hodgett]

------------------------------- Compared to your your body?

Lew

[RonB]

Yep. I experienced my epiphany while standing in front of, what is often considered a pretty benign tool, my wood lathe.

I was roughing a 18" to 24" length of 2-1/2" square stock and had it pretty well rounded when "thunk". I didn't see the stock leave the lathe; or anything else except a vision flash and blur, and felt my head get jolted back sharply. When I regained my senses my hands still held the lathe tool in work position but the work-stock was resting across my arms where it landed after it hit my shield. Then I felt a little warm moisture running down my nose. The work-stock had hit my face shield so hard it deflected against my glasses and cut the bridge of my nose. The front of the head band also abraded my forehead slightly. The face shield panel was not broken but it had an eye-level scuff that required it to be replaced.

Apparently a weak spot in the dead end of the work-stock chipped out allowing it to be thrown out from the live end. It happened 4-5 years ago but I still get a chill when I think what could have happened if the shield had not been in place.

RonB

[Leon]

Just one of the reasons I don't use a miter saw in the shop any more. A face shield does not cover everything,;~) I have been hit in the arms and stomach and that too makes you stop and think about what you are doing. I find that holding small parts with your hand is a dangerious proposition. I typically will cut every thing on the TS or BS these days and will use a pencil erasor to hold the small parts.

[Lew Hodgett]

---------------------------------- A hand screw clamp to hold small pieces is your friend around a band saw.

There is no place for small pieces around a table saw unless you have a sled and clamps.

Lew

[Puckdropper]

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in news:4c97e64c$0$10436 $ [e-mail]:

Agreed. Had a small piece kick back and hit me in the dust mask a few weeks ago. (Last time I'm cutting such a small piece (2"x4") on that table saw.)

I've got smaller power saws for cutting the really small stuff. The HF Mini-chop saw has a clamp to hold the piece put and works pretty well. I've also got a mini table saw that'll handle pieces down to about 1/2" safely. (Keep a push block handy, that's way too close to the blade for your fingers!)

Puckdropper

[Larry Jaques]

Small parts can be held with brads, hotglue, double-sided tape, toggle clamps, and pencils. If I ever attack a blade with a small part in my hand, it's held very loosely. If the part catches, it goes into the blade -without- my finner, thankyouverymuch.

-- Some people hear voices. Some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever.

[Doug Miller]

Entire new shield, including headpiece, is about $15 at Lowe's or Home Depot. Replacement visors for same can be procured from Do-It-Best hardware stores for about half that.

[Puckdropper]

[e-mail] (Doug Miller) wrote in news:i793ld$nbg$ [e-mail]:

How are they about fog? That's my number 1 complaint about safety goggles when worn with my dust mask. (Do you wear a dust mask when working in the shop?)

Puckdropper

[Doug Miller]

I've never had a faceshield fog up *at all* when working indoors. The only times I've ever had a problem with fog-up were when I was working outdoors in cold temperatures (e.g. cutting up the tree that took down my power lines a few Decembers back).

I've worn prescription eyeglasses most of my life. I never have a problem with them fogging up either, when I use a faceshield. That used to be a common problem with safety goggles, before I discovered faceshields.

I wear a dust mask in the shop when running a sander, but rarely otherwise.

From my perspective, perhaps the greatest advantage to a faceshield is that it's *so* *easy* to use, so comfortable, so quick to put on, that there is NO excuse for not using it. Just no excuse at all. The one or two times I've been tempted to not use it "just this once" because "it's just one quick cut" I think about how I'm going to explain to SWMBO and kids how I came to be blind in one eye, or missing a few teeth, because I wasn't willing to take TEN SECONDS to put the faceshield on. That'd be a hard explanation to make.

That episode on the chop saw yesterday afternoon woulda HURT, Big Time, if not for the face shield.

[Puckdropper]

[e-mail] (Doug Miller) wrote in news:i7972e$296$ [e-mail]:

Sounds like it might be worth trying. As was pointed out, they're relatively cheap (but so are the goggles) and if they'll actually solve the fog problem, I'll be quite happy.

From what I've seen, it seems like the dust mask makes a large contribution to the likelyhood of the goggles fogging. Maybe the shield will be different.

Well, the goggles and muffs only take 10 seconds to put on as well. I get about 30-45 minutes of worktime before the goggles start fogging up.

Always good to find your equipment actually does its job, even if it breaks in the process.

Puckdropper

[Lee Michaels]

"Puckdropper" wrote

That is like the story on the news every now and then of a broken bicycle helmet. The helmet is in pieces, but it did its job. And the cost of replacing said safety equipment is always far less than the alternative.

[Steve B]

Dust masks are all over the board, from Kleenex with a rubber band to one with one way valves, to a really good one that seals off and has canisters. Most of the cheapies let air come up between my nose and face and fog my glasses/hood.

Others are just not worth the time for the few seconds you use them, but when you multiply that out, and are dying from emphysema or lung disorder it seems like it wasn't too much to ask. Perhaps if a person had a lot of stock piled up, and they were routing/planing/joining/cutting, it would make sense. Particularly when you are done, and see all the crud all over your face and think, "Gee Golly, I'm glad that didn't go into my lungs."

And then there's the approach of, "I'll just hold my breath and not breathe when it's dusty."

Darwin application comes in mail.

I have had incidents where nothing would have changed the incident or result, and then those where a minor adjustment or preventative measure would have made a very large difference in the outcome.

Who's to know? Do your best. Get good PPE. Use it. Be rational, not wearing a full HazMat suit to palm sand, and try to strike some sensible balance point.

And then you can do everything right and .............

I had to go three times to get metal slivers out of my corneas. EVERY time, I had ANSI approved safety glasses on. Go figger.

Steve

Heart surgery pending? Read up and prepare. Learn how to care for a friend.

[Lobby Dosser]

Happened on these the other day and don't know any more than the Claims: Dewalt DPG82-11C

Saw them at Amazon.