The Importance of PPE

[JGRAFF]

For anyone who doesn't know what PPE stands for, it is Personal Protective Equipment (ie: saftey glasses).

I had a really close call on sunday. But i was really lucky to be wearing my saftey glasses at the time. Also it is very important to have the proper tongs for the material you are hammering. I was holding a 3x1x.25 peice of steel, making a L-bracket. Holding it with the wrong tongs plus a bad strike equals FLYING RED HOT STEEL!!!!! It flew straight up and hit me right in between the eyes. Knocking my glasses off and hurting like hell. Anyway, i thought i was fine until about an hour later i went inside and saw my face. So please be carfull everyone.



P.S....THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC SERVICE ANOUNCMENT :D

[Marksnagel]

Thanks for posting your close call and the warning. We all get lax at times and it sadly takes a jolt to bring us back to reality.
Glad that you were wearing your PPE and that it saved you a possible trip to the Dr or worse. Yours is a story of how the consequences of bad things can be lessened when proper precautions are taken. Thank you.

The 6 P's:

Proper
Prior
Planning
Prevents
Poor
Performance

[Ferrous Beuler]

Success story! Could have been a lot worse, an awful lot worse!

I always wince when I see people doing things they shouldn't with no safety glasses. Especially those who should know better such as a few I've seen on YouTube who have their kids blacksmithing with no safety glasses.

[dan_m]

The 6 P's:

Proper
Prior
Planning
Prevents
Poor
Performance

I've always heard it as "prior planning prevents xxxx poor performance". I suppose the "proper" is an important modifier. Glad you're alright!

[ptree]

The 6 P factor I learned in the ARMY was as Dan called it.
I too had a close one when a flat came off the anvil like a rocket, and did about the same damage as JGRAFF has. I too was wearing safety glasses. Mine also flew off, and were bent and I had a scratch indicating my eyeball would have took the hit if I had not had the glasses.
Happened at a monthly meeting, and right after everone figured out I had not been badly injured, there was a mass exodus for their own PPE as several had the PPE but left it in the car.
I posted mine on the Safety thread, probablyabout 2 years ago.

A quick safety glasses test:
Close both eyes and tell me what you see?

Any questions?
:)

[CEmory]

To add for those just coming into metalwork period, and I know there are a few out there,

Sparks and other hot junk can bounce too, hot little marbles or tiny razors flying about. Safety glasses should fit pretty tightly against your face be XXXXXX with comfort unless you REALLY have a good reason. I used to always wear ArcOne wrap-around shades as a welder and was grinding once when I had one on a mission to find my eye. I came around my work oddly and this little spark glanced up off my shirt, then off my cheek and around my shades, off the inside of the lens and onto my contact. Wasn't really too bad that time honestly, but it hurt for awhile afterwards and I had to ditch the contact obviously. Wore the goofy round strappy ones after that, though I still buy on the ArcOnes on the regular cuz they are great sunglasses and cheap. 12 bucks and my last pair lasted over two years and I only tossed 'em cuz the nose pieces had been long lost.
But my uncle had a worse call when something similar happened while he was welding. Somehow or another a grain of slag made it around his hood and nailed him the same way. He had to go to the ER and they sent him to an eye doctor so they could DRILL it out. Yes, you read that right. THEY DRILL THE CHUNK OF WHATEVER OUT OF YOUR EYE. I've had it done once too when I did the 'It'll just be a quick grind job' and had a little bit get me nearly right off the bat. The needle is small, the drill is too, and my dr was quite nice, BUT ITS MY EYE!! So yeah, scared outta my mind and always stuck the glasses on my face. Aside from 'the spark with my name on it' I have not had another incident.

And as a side note, if your welding something above you, don't tilt your head if you can help it. slag can make it into your ear. I suffered moderate damage from this very thing while welding in an awkward position. It can sneak around your hood too so theres that as well. I had NEVER done this before because I had been warned, but I had to for the job and thats what happened. Earplugs could have helped maybe, but I wouldn't like one of those smoldering in my ear either so muffs would be better.

My little story,

~C

[Frosty]

Good to see your only harm was a couple burns on the nose. PPE really helps but nothing, NO THING can make you absolutely safe, your best safety tool is your brain. If the process is going to put a lot of material in flight safety glasses under a face shield more than doubles the protection. It's not uncommon to have debris bounce off a cheek, then the inside of glasses or face shield and into your eye. Wearing both increases the odds in your favor exponentially.

Just being in a shop in operation puts you at risk, doing things makes you much more so. Covering your butt is a must, blacksmiths had a couple basic retirement plans, #1 lose the second eye #2 Open a femoral artery with a flying chip from whatever. Of course getting caught with someone's else's wife isn't the worst. Unless it's YOUR wife of course. <grin>

Glad you're okay, carry on.

Frosty The Lucky.