Eye Protection for Forging

T Blade

T Blade

Joined
Aug 25, 2003
Messages
1,466
I've been wondering for a while about the question of UV and IR light eminating from our forges. When I first read one of Dr. Hrisoulas books, (can't remember which one) he recommends the use of dydimium glasses to protect against these harmful rays.

Do any of you use this type of eye protection? If so, what shade and color are you using? Do you use them in all stages of forging or just for welding? I think I just answered my second question,,,If you are going to wear them, you wear them, period. :D

I wear prescription glasses, and if I decide to get didymium I will definately get scrips.

Thanks for your replies :D
 
I just went to my regular optometrist (Lens Crafters) and had a set made up. At first the girl looked at me strange and said, "We don't have that. How about sun glasses." I asked to speak to the lens technician, and he was familiar with Didymium. A quick phone call to the central lab and there was no problem.They were a bit pricey, but my eyes are worth it. I had the focal distance made up for the distance from the anvil to my eyes when forging, which is about the same as how far I am from the forge when the billet is heating. And yes, I wear them all the time when forging. I can watch subtle differences between the edge temp and the blade side to avoid overheating the tip and edge.
Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
I have perscription didymium glasses for forging.
Stacy
Click to expand...

Thanks for input guys. I have just gone through this OSHA 10, which is 10 hours of safety training at work. The instructor is the head of the safety dept. (one man department :D ). As I wear scripts also, I did ask about this type of eye wear, figuring I could defray the cost with work. When I asked he didn't know anything about didymium, so I think I will bring him some info and let him do the research.

PICT2170.jpg


Clip-ons would be preferable, but I don't think they would fit on my present safety glasses.

I see that "Rose" seems to be a prevalent shade and they also come in darker shades. What "color" do you use? With these glasses, can you see the steel in the fire better? Do you where them whenever you're forging or just while welding?,,,,Opps, Stacey you answered this question while I was typing it

Thanks again :thumbup: :D
 
Chris Meyer said:
If you get Lasik, you can just use the standard didymium glasses. That's what I did. I use the one's that Centaur Forge sells.
Click to expand...

Chris, I don't think I'm a candidate for Lasik, :eek: and at this point in time I don't think I'd get it if I were,,,,though it would be nice to see 20/20 again without glasses. :D
 
Smith and Wesson's "Magnum" line of safety glasses are available in a #3 or #5 welding lense. I haven't tried them, but at $10-$15 they might be worth a try. I guess the green color might be hard to get used to for forge welding though. I usually just get the clear or indoor outdoor lenses, but have been meaning to pick up a #3 for those times when someone else in the shop is arc welding.
 
Larry, there's some decent reading at this place:
http://www.auralens.net/m1_eyewear.cfm

Didymium is fine for peeking into forges. It's real purpose is to filter sodium flare for soft glass work, something forges don't do. It doesn't offer really good IR protection.

For adequate UV protection for "peeking", regular polycarbonate lenses will work ok.

If you're like me and spend more time watching the fire than you should, a lens such as the AUR-99 2.0s (their expert recommendation) that I wear are a good choice. Something like these become even more important if you are a firegazer with an ITC 100 coated forge, which has IR emissions. I use a frame much like your safety glasses. This lens makes the forge experience very comfortable; I've never had the "burny eyes" of UV exposure since I started wearing them.

Somehwat embarassing to say, I find myself with a set of readers perched outside of the protective glasses. This vision thing has turned in to a real SOB. Gotta love aging. :rolleyes:
 
Mike, aging eyes are a B***H.
I didn't bring up the AUR99 lenses since he asked if I wear Didymium. I am getting the better UV/IR lenses on my next set.

You can't take too good care of your eyes, and you can't start too soon.
However, you can find out too late!
Stacy
 
Fitzo, thanks for the info. Is it safe to assume that you think the AUR99 lens are more appropriate for the type of work that we do? If that's the case I'm wondering if clip-on flip-up AUR99 lens are available to go over the glasses that I posted, which are prescription progressive lens.

My forges are ITC-100 lined. Though I don't get hypnotized by the forge fire, just paying attention to the color of the steel must not be good for your eyes.

I did my first production weld in 1973 (22 years old :D ), I didn't wear scrips then, in '77, was when I first started wearing scrips for welding, was it caused by the act of welding? Was it just growing old? I'll be damned if I know.

You talk about using a certain magnification to work at a certain distance? By the mid 80's I had a different scrip for welding on a bench, welding at arms length, and using a mirror to weld :eek: and I started wearing them in general activities :(

But in all that time welding, (I built US Nuclear Subs), I never heard of didymium eye protection, go figure. Now that I'm thinking of my old submarine welding days, one of my good buddies from those days who welded nuclear pipe on my crew was named Mike Fitzgerald, go figure, though we did share many a laugh together, and many a beer, etc. Mike and I actually went through initial training together. I wonder what he's up to now a days?
 
Stacey,

You say that you use didymium prescription now and are you planning to use AUR99 next time? :confused:
 
T Blade said:
Fitzo, thanks for the info. Is it safe to assume that you think the AUR99 lens are more appropriate for the type of work that we do? If that's the case I'm wondering if clip-on flip-up AUR99 lens are available to go over the glasses that I posted, which are prescription progressive lens.

My forges are ITC-100 lined. Though I don't get hypnotized by the forge fire, just paying attention to the color of the steel must not be good for your eyes.
<snip>
You talk about using a certain magnification to work at a certain distance?
<snip>
Now that I'm thinking of my old submarine welding days, one of my good buddies from those days who welded nuclear pipe on my crew was named Mike Fitzgerald, go figure, though we did share many a laugh together, and many a beer, etc.
Click to expand...

Larry, after I got a couple cases of "fuzzy eyes" after doing an afternoon of forge welding, I realized I needed better protection than quality polycarbonate sunglasses but a little lighter than a shade 4 gas welders lens. I searched around online and found this place. I called them, they had me talk to an optometry person, who researched and told me this was their recommendation that should offer me pretty certain protection. I got them and have been very happy without a problem since. Bear in mind, though,that I am a fire-gazer. Given the fact that any IR damage is cumulative, I decided not to piss on probability.

Are they totally necessary? No, shouldn't be. Especially if one takes the advice of a fellow forumite who argued this with me last time and said "Just don't stare into the damned fire!". Good advise. Are the Auralens pretty protective for a bonehead who stares anyway? U betcha. there's no doubt they provide a lot more IR protection than didymium. Do we need it? I'm not sure. Does it hurt? No. Better safe than sorry as far as my eyes go.

Now, the sad part is that they are expensive and don't come in clip ons. I just checked. Sorry. Scrip lenses are quite expensive.

I had eagle-eye vision (20-10) up until I was about 45 when I suddenly started devloping the dreaded presbyopia, or "aging eyes". Nowadays I have a slew of different readers from 2.25 for this screen up to 3.5 for in the shop. I mix the different readers with a #4 or 5 Optivisor in the shop so I can see things decent enough for good detail. Last week I was so close to the grinder I stuck my danged Opti into the moving platen. DOH!

So, for me, the Auralens were worth it. I want to protect them any way I can. No more fuzzy eyes. I wore eye patches from a UV burn one time at work, and have tried to be really careful since. When I felt the fuzzy from the forge, I got good glasses. I decided I didn't need any problems I could prevent for $75.

As for Michael Fitzgeralds....I've never met another. Was he nuts, too? :D
 
I first learned of Didymium from Jim Hrisoulas, and he swore that they were the best. Maybe they were then?
Lately,from what I've read and Mike's experience, I think next pair will be a 2.0 or 2.5 shade AUR99 or the equivalent from another lens supplier. The general consensus is that there is not enough IR filter in Didymium. It seems fine to me, but better can't hurt. I work under close lighting at work (diamond grading and jewelery manufacturing) and need to avoid any retinal damage I can . Years ago, I wore a #3 welders lens in my safety glasses. It worked OK ,too.
Stacy
 
Hey guys, :thumbup: thanks for the info. I'll be checking with the safety person at work about procureing eye wear (prescription) that will have AUR 99 option. I do wear the progressive lens, and i prefer them to bi-focals, so I'll see what's available. As you stated "eyes,,,,you only get one set"

Stacey, I first heard of didymium from Dr. Hrisoulas' writings also.

Mike, the other Fitzgerald, Nutso? :jerkit: , if you can measure nutso by the people you hang with, than yes, Mike was a bit nutso when I worked with him in the 70's :D
 
Chris Meyer said:
If you get Lasik, you can just use the standard didymium glasses. That's what I did. I use the one's that Centaur Forge sells.
Click to expand...

I had Lasik last summer. I was 46 years old at the time and could read without glasses, but wanted to be able to drive, golf, watch tv, etc. without glasses (I'm nearsighted and had trouble with things far away). I was told by the surgeon that I'd have to wear reading glasses after the lasik. I wasn't too sure about having to have reading glasses all the time for up close stuff, but he told me that my aging eyes would require that I have them anyhow within three or four years.

So, I had the lasik and if I can't reach it I can see it great. However, I definitely can't read without reading glasses now. I have half a dozen different reading glasses of different strengths scattered around my house, shop and office. Not to mention the magnifying glasses in the shop and the office for seeing really small things like joints in my knives, grind lines, etc.

Since I drive about 35,000 miles per year, it's really great to be able to drive without glasses.

The point of all this is that your advice to get lasik isn't quite that simple. Since I can reach the anvil when I'm forging, it means that I forge with reading glasses, so that I can see what I'm doing. I also where a light welding goggle (the kind you wear with a cutting torch, I'm not sure of the shade of the lense in it) over the reading glasses. Lasik for younger people would be great for forging and welding, but for we of the older generation, it's not quite that simple.

Scott (Ickie) Ickes
 
well now there are some newer surgeries that dont have as many bad sideeffects as lasik some times can have (like the NV problems) and also the newer ones do not cut the cornia and are good enough to allow people to fly (now im not sure if thats for pilots as well but anyone in a USCG helio must have good vision and they allow this new surgery to fix vision when they wouldnt allow lasik)

-matt
 
fitzo said:
Larry, there's some decent reading at this place:
http://www.auralens.net/m1_eyewear.cfm

Didymium is fine for peeking into forges. It's real purpose is to filter sodium flare for soft glass work, something forges don't do. It doesn't offer really good IR protection.

For adequate UV protection for "peeking", regular polycarbonate lenses will work ok.

If you're like me and spend more time watching the fire than you should, a lens such as the AUR-99 2.0s (their expert recommendation) that I wear are a good choice. Something like these become even more important if you are a firegazer with an ITC 100 coated forge, which has IR emissions. I use a frame much like your safety glasses. This lens makes the forge experience very comfortable; I've never had the "burny eyes" of UV exposure since I started wearing them.

Somehwat embarassing to say, I find myself with a set of readers perched outside of the protective glasses. This vision thing has turned in to a real SOB. Gotta love aging. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


Mike, how well can you see what your doing with the AUR-99 2.0s on?
I'm just wondering if I'll be able to tell when billets are ready to weld, and whether I have the billet under the power hammer dies or not. :)
I'm tired of getting that feeling that I got something in my eyes after a long forging session.
 
They're far less tinted than either gas welding or even dark sunglasses, Phillip. They have a light greenish tint but you can see just fine, in the forge or working at the anvil. I havern't had the itchy eyes since I got them.
 
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