Creature Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 So what protection is needed while using the Forge.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Make a list of all the body parts you can live without. It is YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to protect anything not listed above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creature Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 What do you wear? I'm not sure of all the hazards involved in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Eye protection, glasses, full face shield etc, hearing protection, ear plugs, ear muffs, etc, all cotton clothing, long sleeves when needed, long pants, steel toed shoes, apron, gloves (cuffs cut off) but only when needed as in handling sharp objects, or abrasive objects, tongs or vise grips or weld on a handle to hot objects, and always have a plan B if something goes wrong, and it will. Learn what coatings and metals can give off fumes etc that can injure or kill you and avoid them. ALWAYS engage your brain before doing anything that can get you hurt. Then do not do that. The table beside the forge (hot table) is for anything that has been in the forge. Pick the object up, dip it in water, place it in your BARE hand and only then does it go to the work table. No surprises that way. Each task is different and may need additional safety measures or equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creature Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Great info thanks.! Quite a bit more protection than I thought but I hate injuries.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 General forging there isnt anything particularly worn by myself and obviously others. Forge welding employs the use of a heavy apron at minimum. I have used safety goggles as I wear glasses but the goggles can and often to steam over thus you cant find the anvil. Gloves are worn only when required such as hot punching with a drift unless you have one attached to a handle which many are. I wouldn't wear sandals so is that a safety item? Though I do wear shorts in the heat of summer. Be advised that you don't wear Wellington boots with shorts!!! That's about it. If you work in a fabrication shop like I do and you are FABRICATING then there is a LONG list of PPE which is employed. But generally speaking most everyone does not dress up like a firefighter to heat steel and shape it with a hammer. I suppose you could watch ten YouTube videos and probably not see much of anything in PPE while generally forging. Ok I probably should go here but. .. . . . . . .if you have to wear one insulated/kevlar welding glove on your tong holding hand; something is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notownkid Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Good quality FIRST AID Kit with assorted burn items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarkNebulah Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 have some water nearby if your gloves catch fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 There you go!! But I hear now , butter ain't good for burns. That will change again in a few years. The quench tub works great! It's the BLACK iron you gotta watch for. If it glows orange, it be hot. If it's BLACK ............you can never tell. It turns black at what,,,,,750°F from a dark red? I use the BACK of my hand to very gently and quickly touch an item if there is a question. Thata way, I only kill some hair and can still hold a hammer in my palm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan the blacksmith Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 1 hour ago, notownkid said: Good quality FIRST AID Kit with assorted burn items. agreed! aside from just PPE, have a first aid kit, with alivera, and pine tar (highly recommended). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Actually folks starting out should be geared up more than folks with decades of experience who know *NOT* to assume a piece of steel is cold and how to get out of the way if you drop a piece; however *everyone* should be wearing eye protection! Also natural fiber clothes and leather shoes so when the bad happens you are not a poster child for the results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creature Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Great thanks guys. Have some fabrication and welding time in my dad's shop but never spent time with a Forge. Feel more prepared now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuge Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Don't forget about your lungs. My favorite respirator ever. http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/1272/respirators Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuge Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 If you'll be doing any grinding, that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 May not be something you wear but a fire extinguisher is good to keep around. I keep one at the mandoor to my garage. Also plan on getting one for the other end by the garage door. Never know when a hot spark or piece could light something up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 If you ever cleaned up after a dry powder fire extinguisher, you may want to consider a CO2 or Haylon extinguisher, and definitely if it is to be used in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prevenge Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Can I ask why folks say not to wear gloves most of the time? Is it due to the risk of leather heat shrinkage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I avoid them to avoid the risk of becoming careless around hot metal as someday you will not be wearing them---or they will have a hole or a seam going out; or the piece is actually much hotter than you expected; or a piece will drop inside the glove; or....Learn to fit tongs to the piece and not have a habit of grabbing hot iron with your hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 If you are holding metal and it gets too hot to hold, TURN IT LOOSE !! If you have a glove on, even after you turn the metal loose, the heat continues to migrate through the glove. The only way to get relief is to remove the glove, and by then you can get burned. You can get burned if there is a hole in the glove or if the glove is wet, you can get a steam burn before you can react. Wearing gloves can make you careless and grab hot iron, after all you have on gloves. Bare handed you know to be careful the second time. (grin) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prevenge Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Fair enough I suppose... I am just used to wearing them out of necessity from the welding trade. When doing pressure piping it isnt a matter of getting careless around hot metal...it is just that you almost certainly WILL come into contact with it as you are required to handle it while it is still hot. You finish welding a spool and its time to weld another...nobody I ever seen had any sort of handling device...that was what the helper was for. -edit we would use chain vice grips ....but still. Most of the time all we wore was light tig gloves in the summer. 50 minutes ago, Glenn said: If you are holding metal and it gets too hot to hold, TURN IT LOOSE !! If you have a glove on, even after you turn the metal loose, the heat continues to migrate through the glove. The only way to get relief is to remove the glove, and by then you can get burned. You can get burned if there is a hole in the glove or if the glove is wet, you can get a steam burn before you can react. Wearing gloves can make you careless and grab hot iron, after all you have on gloves. Bare handed you know to be careful the second time. (grin) I was going to add that about the water as well Glenn. Not only can you get steam boiled but wet gloves shrink faster and get smaller than dry leather will if they get hot. I still personally prefer to wear gloves almost all of the time.....But experience has taught me to favor protection over dexterity. I now wear big , heavy leather gloves. "Muppet hands" I call them. They fit loose so I dont know that they could even shrink enough to get my fingers and all it takes to get them off is to open my hand up and let my arm down and they pretty much fall off. Just my personal preference based on related trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 ThomasPowers and Glenn give excellent reasons for not wearing gloves on your tong hand. In addition, even those who do wear a glove on that hand will usually go barehanded on their hammer hand, as a glove makes it harder to grip and control your hammer. Me, I wear a heavy leather welder's glove on my tong hand that (like Prevenge's Muppet hands) shakes off easily if it gets too hot. SReynolds may disapprove, but that's how my teacher trained us lo these many years ago, and I'm comfortable with it. Your mileage may vary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuge Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I also wear gloves almost all the time. I used to get such bad cracks in my skin but when I stared to be diligent about always gloving up all that went away. I can remember what is hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 That's a great respirator Nuge, thanks for the link! One of those will hook right up to my dry vane air compressor and I won't have to wear that stupid HEAVY 3M Whitecap helmet! Yeah, it's actually a welding helmet but it's a supplied air welding helmet for toxic environments and made welding galvy or worse okay. Eye protection is a MUST and can vary depending on what you're doing. flying chips WILL find any crack between the source and your eyeball. some operations just my normal everyday safety glasses are fie but others like running a disk grinder requires a second layer. either a face shield or better still goggles. On some occasions I wear all three. Natural fibers, no synthetics! Synthetics, even fire suit synthetics like Nomex melt on contact with hot things then they melt and stick to your hide and deep fry it. Halon fire extinguishers are dangerous in a closed space, I'd rather clean up dry chemical than spend the time in a hyperbaric chamber clearing halon out of my blood. The stuff is worse than CO. I wear gloves when I have to, my forge has significant dragon's breath unprotected flesh doesn't stay very close long, not long enough to grab a piece with the tongs. Gloves can be really dangerous though be very careful. Like Thomas said some of us have been doing this long enough we can spot problems before they begin and minimize our risk. Learning the craft is much different don't take ANY chances you don't have to. This IS a "do as I say NOT as I do." craft. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notownkid Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 14 hours ago, Glenn said: If you ever cleaned up after a dry powder fire extinguisher, you may want to consider a CO2 or Haylon extinguisher, and definitely if it is to be used in the house. True! But I'd rather be cleaning up white powder than a burned building, much faster! In the FD We carried zip lock sandwich bags filled with the powder and would drop them down chimneys when they were on fire, worked great. If you have extinguishers make sure you and everyone else knows how to use them correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creature Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Respirator eh. Dust mask doesn't cut it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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