Heard Stories of Accidents. What’s your recommended PPE gear?

I use baseball cap, safety glasses and half face respirator. No gloves. Like the rest said, no distractions or working tired. A few months ago I was grinding and my son walked in. I looked up and smiled and the belt tugged on my little finger! Didn't fully get ahold of it and put it through the wheel...but it sure scared me.

Fire extinguishers. More is better. I had one smaller one hanging in my garage for 15 years that I never needed...forgot it was even there. I managed to catch my freshly polly'd slab table on fire one day (stupid story I will tell another day) and the adrenalin rush hit and I couldn't remember where the one extinguisher was. I threw the drop cloth from the floor on it and put it out. Afterward I couldn't believe I couldn't figure out where the extinguisher was in the heat of the momen....around the corner of the shelving out of the way! Now I have 3 that are visible too.
 
whiskyrookie said:
Do you know if the full face respiratory masks from 3M or North good enough to protect on high impact (ie: broken cut off wheel)?
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the ones we use state they are for eye protection and in listed jobs it has grinding and machining. That’s best I could find on package.
 
I’m a complete noob at this but I have one of those swag tables that came with a foot pedal and I’ve actually been using that thing with every power tool I own, even the shop vac sometimes (not for safety on that though).

Seems convenient to be able to just step off the pedal to turn off something in an emergency rather than have to Reach for a switch or button. I want to buy more pedals since getting it. Probably will when the belt grinder arrives.

I also wear gloves when forging only. I never wear them while using a power tool, I’ve heard stories of a glove getting caught and dragging something into a tool and I’ve seen first hand the types of injuries this can cause. I wear a rubber wedding band also.
 
I thought that was super obvious, no jewellery in the shop.

Degloving is real and easier than you think.
I know one dude that lost a finger on a fence from a wedding ring.

No pro shop allows it.
 
Yep, I watched a man strip the entire skin off his finger when he drove a forklift by a door switch and hit the switch while moving. His ring caught the corner of the cover plate and peeled the skin off the finger like pulling off a condom. Took less than a second. Not as much blood as you would think.
 
I'll third the warnings about wedding rings. I fell down a flight of stairs, and my ring caught on a nail in the wall. Cut to the bone, and I still don't have sensation, despite some hours of hand surgery. Haven't worn a ring since. Of course, it did keep me from falling the rest of the way.

- matthew
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I wear knit metal working gloves when doing a lot of work and grinding, but NEVER wear gloves while using rotating equipment - drills, lathes, mills, etc.. The gloves wear away fast while grinding, which is a lot better than my skin wearing away. I buy them from the online by the 300 pair case.
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Stacy, what type of gloves do you use? Can you provide a link?
Thanks
 
Here is one seller on Ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-Gray...123601?hash=item4d968a3c51:g:83IAAOSwtJZXXcJi

Works out to about $0.30 a pair. They wear away in one grinding sessions sometimes, and last for many sessions other times. It worth that to me to keep my fingertips. I also use them for yard work and construction, where they hold up well. I wash them with my work clothes. They also work well when forging as they provide a good grip. I use ones that are a tad snug on my hand soI get good articulation and control. They stretch out soon after yo start working. A case usually last a year, sometimes more.

TIP:
When grinding you usually wear a hole on the forefinger tip and the thumb first. Take them off and switch hands. If you do it soon enough, you'll get some extra life. When hogging, I often put a second glove on the pressure hand. If the hand slips or something causes the fingers to hit a 50 grit belt at 5000SFPM it isn't tragic.

I hope it is obvious, but knit gloves should never be worn while running a drill press, mill, lathe, angle grinder, hand drill, or any rotating tool.

Angle grinders and hand drills can be run wearing properly fitting leather gloves.

Grinders and buffers are fine wearing knife gloves as long as you follow the normal safety procedures.
 
Full face respirator

Welding hat for grinding, keep sparks out of face. Loveless wore one! I also use a spark shield so grinder grit doesn't fling at me.

Hearing protection - works double duty keeping dust out of your ears

I wear cheap food service gloves that will tear at the drop of a hat to stop fine dust from penetrating my skin. I would not recommend any gloves at all around anything that spins!! But whatever.. I find that if I am in the shop 40-50 hours a week like I do that my hands will eventually embed a lot of metal in them. I could taste metal a lot of the time until I started doing this. I mostly work with Titanium.

A leather apron and face shield at the buffer or chop saw.
 
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