Woodworking Gloves!?

[Jamie Buxton]

Okay, loose clothing or jewelry or hair is unsafe. However, one of the good things about Jay's gloves is that they do fit snugly. The cotton part of the glove has elastic, so it conforms to your hand. They don't have gauntlets to catch on anything. You can also get these Stanley gloves in various sizes. The one with green rubber is smaller, so it fits even more snugly.

Wearing these gloves gives:
* Better grip, particularly on polished wood.
* Resistance to splinters, so you're not reflexively jerking your hand when you get stabbed.
* Some warmth if you work in an unheated shop in winter. Warm fingers work better than chilled ones.

These gloves do interfere with "feel", so they can't be worn all the time. But where you don't need "feel", they seem to me to increase safety rather than decreasing it.

Jamie

[Steve Jenkins]

There is another glove made by the same folks as Tyer mentioned called "box handler" that have thin rubber type fingertips that are pretty nonskid. I've bout worn out a pair on the jointer and am going to get another. Nice snug fit and surprisingly good feelability(:>)).

[Jim Becker]

Would you expand on that your reasoning behind your proposed rule? After As you say, gloves like this give a better grip. What's unsafe about a better grip?

Excellent question and some other folks already spoke to it very well. I only use the rubberized gloves when face jointing rough boards flat...not for any other cutting tools. I will admit to occasionally using a tight-fitting glove on my left hand (old golf glove with fingers removed) when cutting certain materials on the lathe that spit out hot shavings on the side of my hand (I've had 2nd degree burns when I tried to tough it out one day with out it) but that's a very rare thing and I'm extraordinarily careful that my hand position keeps the glove at least a couple inches away from the spinning object. I do not advocate this nor recommend anyone do it, either. It's my personal decision to do so as the lesser of evils for short periods of time and under very specific conditions. And despite cold conditions in shop during the winter, I still roll up my sleeves when using the lathe, too.

[Chris Padilla]

...I still roll up my sleeves when using the lathe, too.

And I thought all along that "rolling up one's sleeves" was just an expression!

[Tyler Howell]

Here they are, Dirty finger nails and all!

[Rob Russell]

I've found that a set of rubber dishwashing gloves work very well. The rubber (or vinyl, whatever) gives a good grip. You can use them with a power tool without fear of being dragged into a blade because they are so thin that a blade would just go through them. Cheap to replace, too.

[Brian Hale]

I like to use pieces of tape on a couple fingers and the area behind the palm of my hand. I need to get more but the good stuff can be found at places like Rite Aid and such and is the brownish colored medical tape for used for bandages. Good grippy surface.

"Try It, You'll Like It!"

Brian

[George Tokarev]

I'm with Tyler, and for the same reason. I've seen what happens when gloves are caught in things that move. They're great for handling things that don't move, and for keeping your hands warm, but the sight of the bare bones of two fingers, absent flesh to the palm, still sticks in my mind. "No, m'am I don't believe they'll be able to reattach anything we find, so we'll just leave the snowblower alone and get him to the hospital."

On the subject of traumatic amputations, never drop start your chainsaw with the throttle lock on.

[Christine Tiede]

Hmmm, interesting banter on this topic, guys!

Being the new ww that I am, I began wearing those Cowboy roping gloves (tight fitting, thin leather) last year. I love how they keep the sawdust away from my hands, and keep those nasty ol splinters out. Somehow, I just feel "better" wearing them...... then again, I'm not near a drill press or a jointer..... that Am. Chopper story scared the stink out of me!! Anyways, I'm one of those folks who chooses to wear them more often than not. I"ve often seen those mechanics type ones in the local wood/hardware store and wondered about them, too. (thanks, Tyler!)

Regards,