What do you use for eye protection?

[Dennis Thornton]

I was wondering what everyone here was using for eye protection.

I used to wear glasses, but after some laser surgery I had didn't need them anymore and had to get something just for the protection.

I'm now using racquetball goggles. They don't fog up and I get 100% coverage. Plus when they're clean I can't tell they're on.

[Bill Houghton]

They scratch up like mad, so I have one pair I keep in a plastic bag for when I need to see precisely.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I use wrap-around shooting glasses, or a pair of general Borg safety glasses most of the time. I do use a face shield when lathe turning, but I don't do that very often.

Doc

[Jamie Buxton]

Safety glasses with glass lenses. In a woodshop, glass lenses are better than plastic because they don't have the static-electricity effect which attracts sawdust, and they're much more scratch-resistant. These are OHSA-approved safety glasses. I got them from an optometrist. The optometrist route also gets you glasses sized for your face. "One-size-fits-all" generally doesn't.

[Rich Enders]

A Triton Powered Respirator. Full face coverage, hearing protection, and dust protection.

$179 on Amazon.

[Jim Becker]

Dennis, I had LASIK in early 2003 which took me from extremely near-sighted to "eagle eye" at a distance. I wear safety glasses with "cheater" lenses on the bottom because the eventual effects of aging do not go away with eye surgery. I buy them from http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/index.html. I prefer the type that have the cheater portion large and across most of the bottom of the lens...cheapies don't seem to give that.

[Sonny Edmonds]

Just regular safety glasses I get from work.
They encourage us to use them off the job as well.
And my cheapie reading glasses.
I got a really nice set of O-fishal eye doctor ko-rective glasses with titanium frames! 5 days later I watched $267.00 worth of glasses happily sink to the bottom of a fishin lake I go to.
The sonar said the depth was 176 feet. I reckon them glasses are going to stay down there. :cool:
Hence the reason I just use cheapie reading glasses...:D

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Prescription safety glasses from Sam's Club. No line bifocals, polycarb lenses, frames w/ side shields for $150 about 3 years ago. My Rx hasn't changed so neither have my safety glasses.

[Joe Chritz]

I have about 30 pairs of safety glasses sitting around so one is nearly always within reach.

If price wasn't an object I would get another set of Oakley's. I have a three lens set and wear the clears on the job sometimes and they are very nice indeed.

Joe

[Raymond Fries]

I wear the wrap arounf plastic goggles that fit over my glasses. When turning, I also wear a face shield.

Dennis - I was wondering if you have verified that the racketball goggles provide the same protection as those designed for the shop? I would just hate to see some feel safe and still be at risk for an eye injury.

[glenn bradley]

Prescription safety glasses. I never have to remember to put them on; I can't see much detail if I have them off :D

[Alan DuBoff]

I wear a pair of vintage safety goggles, they have wire mesh sides to prevent metal chips from getting in, when working metal. They are not prescription, so I typically only wear them while I'm doing actual cutting.

Would like to have prescription safety glasses, and maybe I'll get prescription safety lenses for these, but in the meantime they are what I use.

Bought mine on ebay for about $25. Bought them when I started to study blacksmithing a few years ago, my instructor wouldn't let anyone in the smithy without them, or steel toed boots, yet another great safety precaution.

[Thomas Bank]

In regard to safety measures, my metalworking hobbies tend to spread back to my woodworking methods.

For faceshields, I've been very happy with my Uvex Bionic (http://www.uvex.us/products.aspx#/folder=106&product=742)

For more basic eye protection, I've long since given up on just glasses and switched over to goggles - currently Jackson Wildcats (http://www.jacksonsafety.com/linkdetails.cfm?groupid=3013710)

I find both quite comfortable and you can get anti-fog lenses for each.

[Mike Wellner]

Glasses here,but eyewear should be important when operating all types of saws. I try to avoid ALL Chinese made saw blades because due to their disregard for the safety of all Americans, I believe there is a good chance of a carbide flying right off the blade if you use a blade from them.

[Burt Alcantara]

Face shield for turning, shooting glasses for all else. Much of the time I use $8 cheapo reading glasses as they are made of fairly durable plastic. I've walked on them, dropped heavy tools on them and they never break or shatter...at least mine don't.

Burt

[Bruce Page]

I occasionally work with explosives at work so I wear company paid for, ANSI Z87 glasses with removable side shields.

[Chris Kennedy]

I have prescription safety glasses. The frames are pretty big due to my astigmatism, but effective. I ordered from an online place called R_X Safety.

By the way, if you put a little RainX on your glasses/goggles/faceshield, it will prevent fogging.

Cheers,

Chris

[Paul Demetropoulos]

I use prescription safety glasses as well, and goggles or faceshield when working metal.

I learned my lesson a few years ago when I was drilling sheet metal and had a shaving shoot up under my glasses and lodge in my cornea. Lost a little shop time for a trip to the ER.

[Dennis Thornton]

Dennis - I was wondering if you have verified that the racketball goggles provide the same protection as those designed for the shop? I would just hate to see some feel safe and still be at risk for an eye injury.

Good question - Any decent eye protection should have some sort of rating. Racquetball goggles (at least the ones I use) are ANSI z87.1 rated.

Their construction is quite a bit more rugged than say something like this:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5419&filter=protection

Here's a link to the goggles I use:
http://store.racquetworld.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=20301022&Category_Code=Head_Eyewear

several things I really like about them:
super comfortable. I forget I'm even wearing them. I've found myself getting funny looks at the borg and realize, oops, I forgot to take them off.
Don't fog. I've never had them fog up.
excellent side coverage - they cover almost to skin from top to bottom. When I wore glasses I would have problems with sawdust flying around the edges of my glasses and into my eye. That in itself isn't too dangerous, but a teared up eye making vision problematical while running a router with a big bit is dangerous.

[Andy Casiello]

I use a combination of standard plastic safety glasses from Woodcraft, and reading glasses when I need to see up close.

[Steve H Graham]

Eye protection is for wimps. Fortunately, I'm a wimp.

A while back, I had to use a Dremel cut-off wheel on something. I started to go get my glasses, and then I thought, "What are the odds that this thing will find the tiny solid angle occupied by my eye, in the imaginary sphere with a radius defined by the wheel and my face?" It's like the odds of something fired from the moon in a random direction, hitting the earth.

Then I turned the Dremel on, and a piece immediately flew into my left eye.

Now I use the glasses. And I avoid casinos.

[Kevin Arceneaux]

I 2nd Jim's choice of safetyglasses.com.

I have been using them for myself for years and here at my new job I had purchasing set up an account there. They have all the major brands at can't beat prices. Remember, I order 4 or 5 dozen at a time so I get a real break, but for single pairs you still cannot beat them.

I prefer Uvex, Crews, Edge, or Pyramex. They have a style that will suit just about everybody. For higher protection, get one that meets military standards. I have also started getting blue tinted ones for low light times. They "brighten" things up without going overboard like yellow or orange tint. A lot less headaches, the yellow ones just make it feel like my head is splitting open.

Avoid AOsafety at all costs, this is one you really get what you pay for.

[Jeremy Parkins]

I wear Oakley M frames with clear vented lenses. I have a heack of a time with the glasses fogging up and the vented Oakleys help a lot.

Jeremy

[Don Wurscher]

I use a face shield (mesh) similar to the ones used by timber cutters.