The Importance of Eye Protection...

[Art Mulder]

You have eye protection, right? Good.
You wear it in the shop all the time, right? Good.

Me too. All the time. I've got all my fingers, all my toes, and both eyes, and i'd like to keep it that way. Both ears also, for that matter.

Eye protection is very important.

...

...

So.

Yesterday evening I'm sitting at my desk in our office. I'm not in the shop, so I'm not wearing eye protection. I'm trying to staple a few pieces of paper, but the stapler is a bit jammed and nothing is coming out. So I pick it up, and pull it open. (standard type of desk stapler, you pull up on the top, and down on the bottom, to gain access to the staple compartment)

There is a sudden snap, and something comes flying out of the stapler and wacks me in the right eye.

Ouch!

My eye is sore and watering for at least an hour. But it still functions. I honestly don't even know if the eyelid snapped closed first or not. I kind of doubt it.

Who knew that you needed eye protect when working with a stapler? :eek:

be safe,
...art

[Matt Warfield]

Great reminder Art!! As with most accidents, they always happen when we least expect it.

Closest call I've had was here at work. Sitting at my desk and a little hunched over staring at the computer screen, 8' cubicle wall on the back side of my desk, another cubicle wall 10 feet beyond, and 10 feet further were the work benches. Somebody was trimming the wire leads of through-hole components on a circuit board at the workbenches. One of the leads they were cutting bounced off the inside of the right lens on my glasses. Talk about a shot in a billion!!! Certainly gave me new appreciation for "always wear your safety glasses!!"

Matt

[Joe Pelonio]

Just wait Art, eventually you will get old enough to have to wear glasses for reading a most other things, and then you'll have protecion for these nasty little stapler incidents. I hope it's OK.

[Ted Calver]

Art,
Was it a Red Ryder? Carefull, you'll staple your eye shut!!

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

First thing I do when I get down to the Dungeon, after turning on the lights, is put on my safety glasses, why? Well once I put my shop apron on first, and when I was flicking the straps around back to feed though the loops, the end of the strap thing hit me square in the eye, OUCH :eek:

man that smarts, so now, lights, safety glasses, tunes, and then the apron! :D

Got to be careful!

Cheers!

[David Rose]

And remember that regular "specs" do not replace safety glasses! Even with a clear guard in front of my milling cutter, and wearing glasses, I got a sliver in the eye that sent me to ER once. Regular glasses, which is what I normally wear :o does not give much side protection. How do things get to the side? Ask Murphy.

David

[Frank Pellow]

One can only protect themselves to a reasonable degree and, beyond that, they are being parinoid. Art, this was a freak accident that you can not be expected to take precaustions for and I am glad you are OK.

I wear my prescription safety glasses most the time, so I would likely been OK had the same thing happened top me. But, when I wear them while not working, it is not to protect myself, it is because I am less likely to lose them.

[Gary Keedwell]

This is great. office war stories. LOL

Gary k. (just kidding, now);)

[jonathan snyder]

I always wear safety glasses when I'm working in the shop or on the house. I made a trip to the doctors office a couple of years ago, to have a sliver removed which was embedded into my eyeball. They had to anestitize my eye and pick the sliver out. That was definitly not fun! The worst part of the whole thing was the sliver came from some dust blowing around on a windy day. I felt it in my eye, and the first thing I did was rub my eye, and embedd it in my eyeball! Leasson learned - dont rub!!

Jonathan

Dont forget ear protection too!

[Randal Stevenson]

I have a friend who retired from Ford, that gave me his spare "accessory" side shields for prescription glasses. I just wish I could find these readily available as they are a throwaway item sold by the case.

Never really found a pair that fit. So I am stuck with goggles or face shield. HOWEVER, safety glasses aren't foolproof, or impenitrable. My mother is the surgical nurse for an Opthomologist, and loves to tell eyeball removing stories, when serving things like brussel sprouts.:rolleyes: I got a call one day from dad, telling me to make sure "you don't have any air nailers", and to hide them. Mom started searching his shop after doing surgery on someone with an old style framing nailer. She offered pictures, and said the guy was lucky it stopped where it did (he still lost an eye, and I remember some minor brain damage and shock).

When we were kids, never touched a power tool (or hardly anything sharp), as she was afraid we would pick up all dad's bad habits.

[Doug Shepard]

Sometimes s##t just happens. My only eye accident was caused by a 3 year old. This adorable little kid kept crawling up on my lap and horsing around with me. In one of her spasms of giggling/shrieking/squirming about she was flailing her arms around and managed to catch me in the eye with her finger. She managed to scratch my cornea with her fingernail. After a few days of cortisone drops that the E.R. gave me everything turned out OK, but I learned my lesson: Next time you play with 3-year-olds, wear your safety goggles.:D

[Sam Shank]

There is no more important rule than to wear these, safety contacts.

[Tyler Howell]

Stretching out bungy cords can be a killer too.
I've rolled on at least three of those in a previous (ambulance) life.:eek: yuck!!