Gloves in the woodshop?

[Edwin Santos]

I know this is an old thread, but it reminded me that I've always wondered why someone doesn't come up with a "friable" glove that would give way more easily than your skin so that if it were grabbed by a blade, it would come apart before (and instead of) dragging your hand in. Like a breakaway cleat on a ski. I suppose such a thing would not be very durable by design.

I like the grip of the form fitting gloves, makes me feel less likely that my hands will slip but I have to agree with the majority of comments about the safety risks making it not worth it.

[Mike Ontko]

Nitrile or latex gloves for finishing work and I've recently started wearing the tight-fitting rubber grip gloves for handling plywood or rough lumber. The added grip actually helps with simple tablesaw related activities, especially during the cooler months. Other than that, I prefer to go au naturel for safety and so I can feel what I'm doing. This is especially true for any Neander type work (sawing, chiseling, planing, etc.).

[mark mcfarlane]

I am confused!

It seems to me that most well fitting gloves are going to be fairly close to the skin. A good pair of gloves will only 'fatten' your fingers by a fraction of an inch, probably a good deal less than 1/4". That being the case, why would anyone get their fingers within 1/4" of any power tool blade?

I wear gloves all the time in the shop, have done it for years and years without incident. I don't like cuts or slivers.

In my opinion, Even with very tight fitting gloves, a small accident that might pinch or cut a little skin can actually pull your entire hand into the machinery if you are wearing a glove. Skin 'rips/cuts' easier than gloves, making gloves much more dangerous than you might think, again, in my opinion.

I wear Mechanix gloves for loading/unloading the truck, and Nitrile gloves for finishing, That's about it.

[glenn bradley]

I suggest that gloves should not be worn when using powered rotary machines with sharp, finger-eating blades e.g. table saw, jointer, planer. The risk is that your glove will get caught and drag your hand into the machine, resulting in a rapid loss of body mass. The only time that I wear work gloves in the shop is if I am handling/stacking rough lumber. I do wear protective rubber gloves when using solvents, stains, etc, but this does not involve the use of power tools. My $0.02.

This is me also. I never wear gloves when operating tools. A friend who is a turner learned his lesson when his drill press sucked him in and sent him to the emergency room.

The same safety concern goes for any loose clothing or hair (yes beards too). I wear long sleeve shirts or a jacket when it gets cool but, the sleeves are rolled up to mid forearm. Wedding ring? Wristwatch? Apron? Not this cowboy.

[Ben Rivel]

I wear Mechanix gloves for loading/unloading the truck, and Nitrile gloves for finishing, That's about it.

Same here.

[Tom Trees]

Has/does anyone used marigolds for just hand work only and latex or very delicate gloves for machines ?
I have a collection salvaged iroko that I've been collecting for years, and I need to make a Scandinavian style bench out of it.
Trouble is I've only found out I'm allergic to the stuff now.
Gonna buy respirator and make a leather jumpsuit looks like... if I cant find a cheap and suitable purchased garment.
Wondering what the most suitable glove for my situation for my application is ...
Even taking them off, might cause a reaction with my bare skin ...
I think i need to figure out a system like in a clean room ...
Maybe two sets of gloves ?
Their is clear concise evidence that strong gloves is a no no, no no!
Keepin the thread alive
Thanks
Tom

[Matt Lau]

I use nitrile gloves in the workshop a lot.
If there's a lot of rasping, hand sanding, sawing, I'll put some one.
The oils in the woods I use can be sensitizers, and I already have a latex allergy!

For power tools, the nitriles will easily tear away before anything can happen.

Also, I have the habit of gloving up before any serious work-- hey, I'm a dentist!

-Matt

ps. Tom, you might want to check out Amazon. At $11, you can go through a hundred of these in the time it'd take you to make something with even free leather.
https://www.amazon.com/DuPont-TY122S...dust+suit+osha

pps.
For you latex guys out there, be careful!
Recently, powdered latex gloves have been banned because they are known sensitizers.
Most of the dentists that I know (that practice over 3-4 days a week) tend to have latex allergy.
My office is latex free, since there's a cross-reaction with nut allergies.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My former employer provided and insisted we wear some "cut-proof" gloves. When I retired, I backed my company van up to my shop and unloaded it. Sometime later I decided to wear a pair of those gloves when handling wood. Right off the bat, a splinter on a piece pierced the glove entered my hand and broke off just under the surface of the glove. It made getting the glove off really difficult and painful. While being cut proof, they weren't splinter proof. Now I wear plain old leather gloves when moving wood in and out of my lumber racks. I don't wear gloves when cutting, turning or milling wood.

[Rob Damon]

Since you asked for a list, My practice:

Drill press: never wear gloves
14" bandsaw: never wear gloves
18" bandsaw: depends
YES. for resawing rough wood where I mostly use push sticks and push blocks
NO - If I am hand feeding s4s stock
10" Tablesaw: No only because I never use it to cut wood that is not already surfaced and I 98% time use push blocks (gripper)
8" jointer: No.
16" Jointer: Yes for surfacing 12-16" wide rough boards because I always use pushblocks after the board is set on the infeed table.
18" radial arm saw: yes if handling rough saw wood, No if S4S wood
20" planer: Long boards 6' plus yes if it is still rough on two side, smaller than 6' long No.
Shaper: No
Router table: No

Vertical panelsaw: Yes, mostly handling large sheets
Belt/disc sander: No
Osc. Edge Sander: No
Osc. spindle sander: No
Mortiser: No
SCMS: No
Lathe: depends on the wood

Handling/move rough lumber: yes
Hand power tools: generally no, except not with a drill

finishing - yes rubber gloves

[Shawn Pixley]

Just wanting to post a thread to find out your opinions, advice, warnings etc. on using gloves in the woodshop. (with these tools, not with these tools, etc.)

I'd imagine there are plenty of opinions and i'd like to hear the ones that have reasons behind them.

v/r

dan

No, no, and no. I would never uses gloves around spinny things for the same reason that loose
long sleeves and untied long hair represents a risk of maiming or death.

I might use gloves stacking rough lumber.

[Yonak Hawkins]

My two favorite kinds of gloves are : Showa Palm Fit gloves, for when good dexterity is required, such as for handling small pieces on the band saw and for router operations. ..And Terminator Dyneema gloves for table saw, planer, jointer and handling lumber. Both are tight-fitting and provide good handling without getting in the way. The Terminator gloves seem to be pretty much splinter-proof.

Disclaimer : I have been wearing gloves for most all of my woodworking operations for about 30 years and I would find it uncomfortable, even dangerous, not to wear them. That said, if you don't feel comfortable wearing gloves around power equipment, by all means, don't do it. Everyone has their own methods and level of comfortability with safety.

[Tom Trees]

Thanks Matt
That's exactly what I'm after ...I will be looking like someone from the EPA
The landlords gonna get a fright next time he calls round
Advice heeded bout the latex too
Cheers

[Keith Weber]

Not really in a woodworking shop, but a metalworking lathe has to be the worst. Slower speeds and much higher torque than its woodworking counterpart, it will grab onto you and won't stop until it rips your arm out of your shoulder or kills you. Actually, neither of those will stop it either. I don't wear gloves, roll up my sleeves and tuck my shirt into my pants when I use the metal lathe.

[Martin Wasner]

No gloves for anything that is power fed or cuts anything.

What's with threads bring dragged from antiquity into the future lately?