Safety Glasses

[Mike OMelia]

I always have glasses on in the shop. Have to mainly cause I have 40 something eyes. A month ago, my brother-in-law was camping. Used an ax to chop some stakes. A little piece flew off and hit him in an eye. He said it hurt, but went to sleep anyways. Next morning, woke up and could not see out of that eye. When we got there to rescue him to hospital, it looked like someone had punched him hard in the eye. Blood red, black and blue. All from a small wood chip, blunt trauma to the surface of the eye. He used to be 20:15. Hunter. I called him eagle eyes. The damage is permanent. He is effectively blind on one eye.

If you dont wear shop glasses, start wearing them. The other lesson is if u get an eye injury, go to doc immediately. His doc told him that it was the long time between injury and treatment that ended his vision.

[Sam Murdoch]

I wear safety glasses "nearly" all the time in the shop. Would not have been wearing them camping though. Good reminder not to neglect an injury but I bet most of us would have done the same thing. Thanks for the warning. Sorry for your BIL. That really is a bad news deal .

[Mike OMelia]

I agree, I might not have thought to wear them out in the woods. I guess the rule is, swinging iron? Wear some glasses. Don't matter where u are. For me, that's a non-issue. If I did not have my glasses on, I'd probably hit my hand.

[Edward P. Surowiec]

What type of Safety Glasses do you recommend??? Most of them are plastic and quickly become scratched and blurry .

[Andrew Kertesz]

There are many types and most are relatively inexpensive. Make sure they're ANSI rated and buy a couple of pairs. Try them on and make sure there is no distortion. Definitely cheap insurance... If you treat them with a little respect most will last for quite some time.

[Tom Matthews]

I like the Condor visitor glasses from Grainger. Part numer 4EY97. They are cheap ($1.90) and seem to last quite a while. Low profile and comfortable. They are completely clear, so there is no frame to get in your field of view.

I've seen them rebranded as Dewalt brand at the home centers. If you deal with Grainger where you work, they may even extend that discount to you individually so they're even cheaper.

[Dave Verstraete]

+1 on the Condor glasses at Grainger. Buy a box of them and dispose of them when they get scratched. You almost forget you are wearing them if you keep them clean. I put a pair on when I enter the shop. I am uncomfortable without glasses in any work environment. When I was an apprentice in A Die Shop a journeyman had his eye pierced by a tiny grinding wheel stem. I'll never forget it. Always wear eye protection!!

[Rod Sheridan]

I agree, I might not have thought to wear them out in the woods. I guess the rule is, swinging iron? Wear some glasses. Don't matter where u are. For me, that's a non-issue. If I did not have my glasses on, I'd probably hit my hand.

Hi Mike, safety training teaches you that any time hand tools are used, you wear eye protection.

It's hard to get into that mode, yet once you do it's automatic...........regards, Rod.

[Chris Kennedy]

I wear prescription glasses, so I always have my eyes covered for almost any activity. That being said, I bought a pair of prescription safety glasses somewhere on-line a number of years back. Before I turn on any motor, I put my safety glasses on, although I rely on my regular specs for most other activities. I probably should wear my safety glasses full time when I am working in the shop.

Cheers,

Chris

[Shawn Pixley]

I will echo the need for eye protection. My best friend lost his left eye when chopping wood very similarly to the OP's story. My left eye is likely worse from a series of impacts with baseballs. I was a lead-off batter and was hit several times stealing second, but that is another story. I now am somewhat obsessive about carrying my safety goggles around and wearing them in the shop, playing soccer or working in a lab. I am effectively non-functional to near objects without my glasses. Losing any more vision is a non-option for me.

[Matthew Hills]

I wear prescription glasses always, but they don't provide as much coverage as my old 80's/90's engineer glasses.
I picked up a pair of safety glasses in Wiley X frames from Optics Planet.

Matt

[Ellen Benkin]

Getting older is not for sissies!

I wear blended lenses all the time so I always have some eye protection. However, these lenses are not convenient for either woodworking or using computers so I had two "special" sets of glasses made. I used cheap frames but good lenses. The woodworking glasses have side pieces built in They are well worth the cost.

[John M Wilson]

"And remember this: there is no more important safety rule than to wear these — safety glasses."

The Norminator

[Mike OMelia]

I have a pair of "reading" safety glasses and I do use those.

The main thing to remember here is that (to my knowledge) there are no blind woodworkers.

Mike

[Randal Stevenson]

I have wore glasses with polycarbonate lens for years. A friend who worked at Ford, brought me some side shields that go onto my glasses (need to go looking for more), and I used them for a long time, as I couldn't get prescription ones from my eye doctor (mom works there). I complain about that to him every time, and ended up getting a set at Sam's club. I have seen images and heard horror stories from mom (his surgical nurse).