PapaDooks Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 after a few days in the shop drilling grinding and welding i've noticed my hands are having a habit of picking up metal splinters. now the larger one are not an issue a pair of neddle nose pliers and out they come. my issue is the tiny ones ya can't see and only feel every now and then. any advice on how to get rid of the little sob's ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 It's hard to explain but I do my best to find the direction it is jabbing in at and run a razor blade over it ( pretty much like shaving) and it " usually" comes out. Think shaving With the hair grain, not against it. For the teeny tiny ones that you only feel sometimes you have to try to agrivate it to see if you even got it out. Some times this takes a little effort but it works for me most of the time. If I can't get it with that and it's driving me crazy I'll just carefully dig it out with the point of the razor blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Herr Dooks, Daswulf's idea is a good one. He has many great ideas. Also, applying a strong magnet across the skin should remove some of the "splinters" Another way to pluck out tiny metal splinters is to apply a thin layer of polycarbonate glue (carpenter's glue, like Elmer's glue (in North America) onto the skin surface. Let it dry and then peel away the glue layer off the skin The splinters will come up/off your skin. The method works for splinters big and very small. This is an old trick that is used by growers of cacti and succulent plants. (like me). Regards to all "down under", SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I have a strong lighted magnifier and a disk drive magnet and a set of high grade needle pointed tweezers and an exacto knife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I like the glue idea SLAG. I will have to try that if I have some around next time. (always hopeful there isn't a next time tho) I never had much luck with magnets but I suppose that could work in the right situation. I recently picked up 500# and 345# pull magnets tho. Those might do it. I do have nice pinpoint tweezers that have helped me many times but they seem to never be where I need them when I need them. Some how they travel from work to home and back, and I need them when they are at the opposite location. I mostly always have razor blades around. ( in automotive body work we use them a lot.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 My wife latches onto my needle nose tweezers and so they are NEVER in the exact place in the medicine chest I expect them to be. The bench mount round magnifier with built in circumferential light is a big help. Picked up mine at a garage sale. The modern super magnets work a heck of a lot better than the old ones did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Ahhhh, pulling slivers! A long time pursuit of mine. Wood slivers(old family term AKA splinters) bother me a lot more than metal ones. Tweazers, sharp knife blade to "shave" them out. Duct tape often works, Glue is good, a drop of hot glue on a piece of wire works a treat and you don't have to wait for it to dry. Warm it with a Bic lighter, touch the spot with the sliver and it'll cool in a split second and pull (hopefully!) the sliver. Then there are the ones you just can NOT pull, Peroxide will dissolve it in pretty short order. I keep a bandage dampened with peroxide and it's usually gone in a day or so. I wouldn't use this method with some alloys I don't know if it'd carry it into your system BUT I figure is a sliver is in there for good your body Is going to dissolve it and you get to absorb the stuff anyway. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaDooks Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 cheers folks seems i either shave it,wax it or bleach it out hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Bleach will not work. Wax is a poor substitute for wood glue. If nothing else works, keep splinters clean. (use antiseptic). They will be expelled by the skin in a day or two. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Everyone needs tweezers once in a while. They all suck. Start with a quality pair and use some really fine wet/dry sandpaper on a thin block ( like a small piece of glass) with water to hone the important parts so that they actually grab properly. It doesn't take long and it's worth it. VERY sharp pointy end helps a lot also. You can do it with regular honing stones too but I find a really fine grit 600+ (US grit system) sandpaper to work a little better for me and doesn't ruin my good stones. As to those minuscule monsters which feel like a crossbow bolt in your finger tips, I generally use the tape method. Mediocre and I often end up digging anyway. Sometimes, soaking a hand in warm water until you get the wrinkly-finger thing going can improve the "stick out" so you can get a place to grab the tiny ones. Keeping a few of the cheap eye-loupes around is helpful for these and doesn't hurt to have around the house/shop anyway. The kind you pinch in your eye socket are best because they leave your hands free. Heck, the 3 pc set I stole the photo from is only $ 4.95 USD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Jeweler's number five tweezers are the finest that I have come across. We used to use them to manipulate tiny specimens under a dissecting microscope at over 250 time magnification. You can make finer ones but most research people would resort to a micromanipulator, for the truly minute "specimens" SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaperPatched Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I was given a binocular dissecting microscope discarded from a trade school . It and my dissecting kit from school are my splinter removal tools (along with a super magnet). The microscope was used to tune up a few different types of tweezers. Most tweezers look pretty bad under magnification: the ends typically don't align well, and they often do not close at the tip. A tune up involves getting the tip lengths to match, align, and close at the very tip. Many tweezers are useless as bought. a tune up and slim down make them into something useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 23 hours ago, SLAG said: Bleach will not work. Wax is a poor substitute for wood glue. If nothing else works, keep splinters clean. (use antiseptic). They will be expelled by the skin in a day or two. SLAG. I HOPE PAPADOOKS means peroxide when he said bleach. Chlorine not only won't work it's not terribly good for you. Bikini wax is okay though glue beats it all hollow. Frosty The Lucky. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaDooks Posted April 12, 2017 Author Share Posted April 12, 2017 yeah sorry i was trying to be funny with my comment. sounded more like removing unwanted hair then splinters was all with the razors and peroxide and such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Trying to be funny eh? I'll have to keep my eye on you buddy. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaDooks Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 20 hours ago, Frosty said: Trying to be funny eh? I'll have to keep my eye on you buddy. Frosty The Lucky. well i often try. rarely succeed could explain why i haven't tried skydiving yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dabbsterinn Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 I've used calipers instead of tweezers with good success, if it's really stuck in there i sometimes go in with a needle and scrape up the first layer of skin around the splinter then its easier for me to get a hold of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Check out sliver tweezers. Several of the specialty wood tool sellers sell them. They work great. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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