Been there done that. 35+ years in the chassis business I've had more than one trip to the eye doctor. I always try to wear safety glasses but things happen. I've been lucky to date with no permanent damage. At 72 I'm trying to be more careful.
I`ve been down to one eye since I was 16.Soooooooooo,when I use any tool that might kick out junk,I wear my regular glasses,safety glasses AND a full face shield.Over kill?NOT likely. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
I opened this thread thinking it was going to be about Dagmars. But yes, eye protection is of the utmost importance
I wear glasses I had a piece of metal fall from my hair while lying on the couch after working in the shop and had to go to a Dr to get it removed they make cheap safety glasses with cheaters in many magnifiers that hug close to your face I also wear gloves when I don't have to pick my nose LOL but it a good idea to brush your self off after working
I wear goggles and a face shield when grinding (been ribbed for it a time or two) but never thought to wear a respirator. Do you wear a respirator when welding or grinding or both? Never welded any galvy but know about the hazards.
I got one in the center of the eye once went to the doctor he had me set my head on this stand and told me to stay still...So I am holding still and he is trying to find this pick that he is holding in his hand in view of this scope he is using to look at my eye and he pokes me in the nose. Now this makes me nervous so I move back and wait while he is poking around then he finds out I moved and was up set and said I told you not to move. I said don't worry if I move I will move backwards and now you calm down and when you think you can find my eye and not my nose then we will try again. He got it the second time...sure would like have a bottle of the eye drop he used.
Yup... same here... I've had the same shit happen... now I'm never with out safety glasses hanging around my neck!!! There everywhere!!! I must have twenty pairs all over the damn shop!! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That's some scary stuff, oj. Hope the healing process is complete and quick. Keep us in the loop. Good luck my man.
Hello, Back when my brother taught me how to weld with our new gas welding kit in 1958, he said using the goggles was the most important thing. But, when it was my turn to practice, I could not see a thing through those dark goggles. I tried as best that I could, but a clean sight was not in the offering. Needless to say, my welds were of poor quality. Once when he was not there, I was practicing the cutting technique he showed me earlier. But, I wanted to see the straight line I had drawn, so I took my goggles off to see the line being cut. I got ¾ of the way on the cutting and pop…a blast of whatever comes flying out and hits me in the face, just below the eye in the soft skin. That hurt to no end. I popped off the metal or whatever off of my face and I quit welding for the day. My mother went berserk about her “little boy” getting hurt doing those dirty, dangerous things. We put stuff on the burn and lived to tell my brother about it later. His reply…”You get what you get, if you did not learn a lesson.” Later on in 1960, I was given the job of securing some steel plates to the trunk floor to shore up the thin metal flooring. It also gave us some extra weight over the rear wheels. Finally, it also allowed us to drop down into the C/Gas class weight ratio for racing. Did I learn a lesson? You bet. In the high school metal shop class and the ever popular automotive class, I got an “A” for always wearing those dark goggles when welding and becoming the “sheriff” at telling others to put on those goggles. Did I like gas welding? Yes. I got the technique down as my beads were smooth and not huge blobs. But, when the next phase of arc welding came into play, my welds took a nose dive and melted the practice metal. I could not see a %^&%# thing through those flip down arc welding masks. Those were darker than the gas welding goggles… So, my arc welding days came to an end. (where were those tiny face mask lights back then?) But, in making those requested floor shift transmission mounts for my friends, they were all welded with a clean bead using the gas welding technique. My eyes are still good today using the old safety rules. Today, while drilling something quickly in the garage, there still is a tendency to drill without using protective glasses. Flying bits and all…but lately, those easy to slip on, clear, protective glasses make things simple and nice… Jnaki
I was known as "eye injury man" round here, if there was something that could get in my eye, it would. That was while wearing saftey specs, & the crud would get between through the gaps in the side. Now it's seeing-glasses with those over -the -glasses type safety specs. Worst I got was when an octopus strap let go and got me in the eye. Apart from the instant pain, I didn't think much of it, went to bed, and when I woke up, all I could see was a pink haze through that eye. After I shat myself and went off to emergency, it was my eye that had blood in it, that was the "pink" colour I was seeing. It cleared up after a couple of days, but I still see a thing that looks like a worm floating around in my eyeball. Hope yours gets better soon.
The only thing I don't wear safety glasses for is sanding/grinding filler (bondo). Best protection for that is a fan at your back or to the side. That powdered shit will get in between the glasses and your face, next thing you know it feels like light welding flash or being in a sand storm. Everything else, glasses. The other thing that glasses won't help? Really ugly cars and those Walmart Women posts! Some shit never goes unseen! But back to serious (well the ugly can be serious too ya know), eye protection has to become instinctive. Safety glasses are cheap insurance. Try to keep em near every tool/bench area so you never forget.
For me, it's not flying stuff, it's welding flash, although I wear a helmet, I been flashed too many times, ugly feeling to wake in the night with two eyes trying to bug out of your head. Finally affixed a piece of leather to the bottom of my helmet for protection, good now.
Here's a great picture that illustrates why it's so important to protect yourself. Not a mark on me. I was lucky that time...
Thanks Don. I met with the Doc yesterday (Sunday) and again this morning. He is very happy with the healing, it is going to take time before I see up close, my nose is all but touching the screen right now. Bright light is the worst but that should pass soon.
Very important!! Thank you for the reminder and I hope it heals quickly. Here is something awesome --> my optometrist builds old cars. No, he doesn't buy them, he actually BUILDS them. He is an accomplished welder and has a shop at his house. He has built a 1965 Impala, 1968 Suburban and is working currently on a 1959 Cadillac. He has also built a OT road race track car --> 1992 Mazda RX7 w/supercharged LS/6-speed. Every summer, he even has a car show at his office! He is a super down-to-earth guy. He cannot stress eye protection enough.
2 weeks ago sunday I was grinding some stuff in my shop, off and on wearing safety glasses, but not all the time. Nothing happened until mid morning Monday and then my eye hurt more and more all day long. Driving home in the dark was hell, flashing headlights as I met cars. Talked a friend into driving me to urgent care. Dr there put in some drops and dye and found a fragment with a "halo" around it and sent me to the ER. ER did same thing. Dug a metal fragment out with a needle and then used a dremel type tool to grind the rust off my eye. Lucky for me it wasn't in my field of vision and after a week its all cleared up. I may have finally learned my lesson.. Maybe
Hope you're OK. I've been the optical business for 40 years and seen many eye injuries. Sorry this happened to you, heal soon.
30 years back I had a battery explode in my face when I was right next to my slop sink. I immediately washed it out with cold running water. I looked in the mirror and saw one eye was pink. I nonchalantly drove myself to the ER 3 miles away. When I casually told the nurse at reception what happened she dropped her pen, ran around the counter and led me by the hand to an exam room. Immediate eye wash and visit by the doctor within minutes. Lesson learned: a liquid burn on the eye continues to erode your eye if not completely flushed out. 100% recovery because I got immediate help. Try a blindfold for five minutes. If you like it, you can ignore everything you read in this thread. Sent from my SM-T377V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
sucks man. I did the same thing not once bit twice this year, once around safety glasses. Sent from my SM-G920R4 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
When I was 21 or 22 years old I was working in a manufacturing plant. Our job one day was to drill and tap holes in a press bed for a new die set. I got the job of drilling the top holes, upside down, because I was small and could fit into the space better than anyone else. The bed to the press was made out of cast iron so the chips come out like powder. After we got done, I started to have eye problems from cast iron chips stuck on my eyeballs! I ended up getting sent to the eye doctor, where he proceeded to use a tool that looked like pen light with a Q-Tip that rotated out the end of it. He actually buffed the specks from my eyeballs! When he got done he asked me who drove me there, I replied "I did". He just shook his head and said, you drive straight home and stay in a dark room! Later that evening I had to be in a wedding rehearsal, but couldn't see well enough to drive so my buddy had to pick me up.
Do not use safety glasses. They are a waste of time. I learned the hard way, have several pairs, but while using a death wheel, to cut off some shock mounts, the flying rusty metal just went over the top, and down into my eye. First doc was good, a guy with a steady hand, but I had to go back, and the woman doc I then got, was useless, and told me lies. I know Goggals's fog up, but I will never trust anything, that don't hug my face and head. It's real uncool, thinking your safe, when your not.
..............That's great news. Tell him there are probably more people thinking about him than he realizes. Continued recovery.
A friend of mine lost an eye to a piece of wire. Now that he's down to just one eye he's extremely hesitant to work on these old cars.
nothing better than having your eye ground on to remove a metal shaving Having worked in the mold building industry since 80 ive been around lots of equipment that make crazy metal shavings.Always wore safety glass but still had stuff come up over the top and land on my eye.Full face shield or glasses with the top visor are the only fully safe protection.
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