garbear Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I hope i can post this here. My brother brought up a question to me about the light intensity in his brake drom forge. He said that the light of the crucibal in the brake drum forge was bright the most briliiant white light he has seen. He and I are wondering if we should use tinted safty glasses. We have safety glasses that are clear. He said to that usually he keeps it coverd with coal but sometimes it isn't. Any info please. I did tell him that our Grandfather(steel worker) had safety glasses that were tinted when he worked with the charging car and had to look into the open harth. My grandmother told me this becaue the frurnace was so bright. I am also wondering if I wear FRC coveralls(fire resistent clothing) if they would be good to use while forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Yes by all means! With extended forging you need some type of tinted glasses, most people recommend Shade 3 welders glasses, or at least some type of UV protection tinted safety glasses. The overalls are fine, but I would also get a leather apron to keep the stray bits of hot stuff at bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Well I have only caught myself on fire once in 28 years of forging---but remember catching myself on fire 3 times in a single afternoon of using a cutting torch. Can't hurt but I would not be excessively worried if I didn't have FRC. Just be sure you don't use have any non-fire rated synthetics and a good leather apron and leather shoes! IR is more of a problem with forges than UV---look up "glassblowers cataracts". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solvarr Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 A year ago some sparks off charcoal set the cotton cord for my apron in my armpit on fire. The apron and the grommet kept the flaming knot at bay but it was in a place I literally could not reach to smother. You'd think asking the guy next to you to put your armpit out would not be an involved conversation. leaning over in an arc so the flames didn't spread I had to explain that I needed him to scoop some water with his hands and splash the fire. my wife who saw this from a distance laughed but was amazed that it took three tries to get the guy to put me out. (stop drop and roll was next on the list but that would mean standing arround all day drenched in mud) Needless to say my apron now has leather straps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son_of_bluegrass Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 There are a few threads in the safety forum that discusses your concerns. Have you looked there? Or searched? ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 IR is a concern from a forge, not UV. Fire retardant clothing is okay so long as it's treated cotton, wool, etc. Nomex, et. al. are NOT rated for hot material contact, meaning a piece of hot slag will melt it and deep fry you just like most any other synthetic. Oh sure it'll take a larger bit because of it's higher melt temp but it'll still hurt you. I can't count how many times I've lit my Levis on fire welding. Remember when Levis were durable enough the cuffs frayed before they wore out? Anyway, you get to recognize the smell of burning cloth as compared to things that are supposed to be on fire pretty quickly. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave English Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Anything less than 100% cotton won't do. I thought my shirt was 100% cotton but it was some mix of cotton and synthetic. I discovered my error during a forge welding exercise, I ended up with a little bit of shirt "forge welded " to my skin. Removing the pinhead sized "weld" was painful and a good lesson to be more careful with what I select to wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) Another good way of modifying your trousers is the sparks from an angle grinder. If you set fire to the hem, they can smoulder away until you look like a surfer. Edited March 13, 2009 by Sam Thompson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new guy Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 this is a useful thread i just realized how badly i needed ir protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Another good way of modifying your trousers is the sparks from an angle grinder. If you set fire to the hem, they can smoulder away until you look like a surfer. The chap in the foreground of this photo has a 6-inch-long shirt 'modification' hidden just behind his left hand. I didn't ask whether he had 'modified' his belly, I was too busy dodging the sparks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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