Icky Tool Moment
February 1st, 2009Don’t Read Before Eating
I have about had it with protective glasses.
It seems like every time I wear my polycarbonate specs, crap flies in under them and goes directly into my eyes. I don’t understand it. They are completely worthless, yet–as far as I know–just about every tool expert in the US recommends them.
Yesterday I thought I had an eyelash in my eye. I put up with it for hours. Then I got out my reading glasses (man, I miss being able to see), and guess what the problem was? A splinter. In my EYE.
Talk about freaking out.
I’m pretty sure it was a piece of the wire brush I used to clean the metal.
I figured I was on my way to the emergency room, but I decided to rinse my eye and give the splinter a poke, and PRAY. And the silly thing came out.
Am I the only one who gets bad results with glasses? I am really fed up. I think I’m going to give up on them and use the face shield from now on. It’s the only thing that works.
February 1st, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Keep an eye on that (no pun intended), infections can result from splinters. It could be a piece of the rust but even if it is the wire it is not clean. And from now on use the face guard and hope IT works.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:26 AM
I prefer to use the goggles (rather than the eyeglasses). As you found out, when working with metal (or wire-wheels), the fragments can be quite small and get under most eyeglasses. See:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=35710
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To handle the inevitable fogging, try marking up the inside of the goggles with white candle wax, and then soft-buf with a cloth until clear (old diving trick which actually works).
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Or you can try one of the goggles with an anti-fogging coating (I don’t know if it actually works…I haven’t tried one).
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97140
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Or lastly, if you want to go the “weird” route, you could buy an airsoft mask (makes you look like one of the “Mad Max” Bikers). My son has one of these, and even when he is “fighting a battle” in the middle of winter, the mask stays clear. This comes with the added benefit of scaring the neighbors…
http://www.sportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2414887
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BTW, I’m very glad a trip to the emergency room wasn’t required.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:31 AM
I’m not clear on what you’re describing. If you’re wearing those polycarbonate things that look just like ordinary glasses, it’s no wonder you’re having problems; those aren’t meant for protection of any kind. You need the kind with sides that completely enclose your eyes – the kind of goggles you wore in chemistry class. You can find them at any hardware store, but you’ll have to poke around and try out a variety if you want to wear them with regular glasses – not all of them work together well.
If you want to be super nerdly, you can then add a Lexan full-face shield to your wardrobe.
You might also consider hosing yourself down. I’ve wound up with plenty of crap falling into my eyes after building something; it’s gotten there from my unwashed forehead, or hands, or arms. No amount of protection is going to help if you insist on rubbing grime directly into your unprotected eyeballs.
February 1st, 2009 at 1:07 PM
Even when it comes to my short entries, people only read every third word, at best.
February 1st, 2009 at 1:08 PM
As I wrote here before…
FACE SHIELD
The plastic glasses with side shields are only suibtable to wear to keep spit out of your eyes while riding public transportation or talking to politicians.
February 1st, 2009 at 2:24 PM
You figured it out man. Faceshield.
I learned the hard way. Driving with one eye while crying to the eye doctor to have what felt like a boulder removed from eye with a magnet.
Face shields rock, I am a huge fan.
February 1st, 2009 at 2:35 PM
If you’re grinding, a face shield is the only way to go.
It can get cumbersome for some tasks though, and get in the way of fine detail work; so don’t write off safety glasses completely. I’m a fan of Wileys personally. Yeah they cost a ton (especially in comparison to the $4 home despot specials) but they work, and are comfortable.
February 1st, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Oh and the best thing about face shields? No more brushing your teeth with abrasive grit, or picking splinters out of your cheeks.
Actually wait no… the really best thing? No more paint stripper up your nose….
Or maybe…
February 1st, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Face shield, and a blowoff with the eyes closed. Six degrees is right. Happened to me. Off with the mask and stuff in my eyebrow fell in. Clinic doctor drilled out the sliver with a mini rotating spoon.
February 1st, 2009 at 3:33 PM
As long as you use something. If I had a nickle for every time I watched a chip bounce off of my lens while turning, I’d…have a whole lottsa’ nickles.
February 1st, 2009 at 8:24 PM
Face shield. Another thing I can’t be in my shop without is safety shoes. Wait until you drop a drill press vise on your foot. Did I mention the face shield?
February 1st, 2009 at 8:37 PM
“the really best thing? No more paint stripper up your nose….”
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How about no more wedges of grinder wheel flung into your face so hard they go right into you?
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Grinders are crazy; they look so safe, but they can maim you in all sorts of ways.
February 1st, 2009 at 8:55 PM
Wondering if the plastic has a static charge that acts like a magnet for debris.
February 1st, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Indeed! Grinders are the tool of the devil.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:05 PM
Heck yeah they can.
I was griding one day at work. The rest was loose and I was in a hurry working on flat rate. Sucked the piece I was grinding and my finger into the grinder. Somehow it just rolled my finger along and spit it out without a scratch. I should of lost a finger that day.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:41 AM
There’s a trick that “Surface Grinder” operators use when mounting a wheel. They listen to it “ring”. If it sound flat. it’s gonna fly apart at high RPMs.
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:44 PM
My favorite MRI question: Do you work with metal dust or chips.