PPE in the shop and at home, Personal Protective Equipment Options

[Gunn1]

At the Jobsites all over the U.S., Personal Protective Equipment is a requirement.

Whether its use is driven by OSHA, the General Contractor and or the employer, Compliance has become a important part of Life on the Job.

Much is the case while working at home and in the shop. Most of us wear safety glasses, gloves and other types of PPE depending on the activity.

Recently in addition to safety glasses many companies are also requiring safety shields/visors in addition....if a cut off disc explodes on you...this is what could happen.



This and other recent injuries regarding high rpm cutoff wheels disintegrating have caused me to rethink what I do to stay safe at home....Making sure all the guards are on the grinders which includes buying good quality cut off discs, Welding gloves that are not full of holes, Fire extinguisher charged-ready and so on.

I am Looking for additional ideas regarding what those of you use or rules you follow to stay safe while enjoying your hobby at home..... any pointers or suggestions will be welcomed.

[914forme]

From personal experience the best safety gear is nothing for using your brain and keeping focused on the job at hand.

This is what happens in a very small lapse in judgement. I turned away for a brief moment as something caught my attention.





This all happened in a millisecond on July 4th, 2016 No explosive where involved. A 12" bench mount disk sander with 1-1/2 HP motor and 60 grit paper can do a lot of damage in a short time. And it was 100% my fault. I picked up a piece of steel after I finished working on another much longer one. I had no gloves on, I had safety glasses on, but then they do nothing to solve this issue. Except maybe keeping the blood out of my eyes.

Results lots of stitches, lose of nails, it bleed for 2 weeks, spent time twice a day soaking it in hydrogen peroxide so I could remove the dressing. And this was with the lovely redressing stuff that is supposed to make it less likely to stick to the dressing. I fractured the bones in my middle finger, took it down to the bone. I have at least 12 stitches in the side and nail bed of that finger, I stopped counting. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I was shocked to say the least, I was working alone. I applied pressure, managed to find my cell, call my wife, and get he shop locked up, and meet my daughter at the house. She is an NP, with ER certifications. She did a bang up job of applying a pressure dressing and getting me suitable drugged up with Tylenol and Advil to dull the pain. I though about posting this as a separate topic myself.

The ER staff did a bang-up job also, the Doctors and Nurse Practitioner where trained to do minor hand surgery. They saved my finger, I owe them a lot more than a simple thank you.

This is where I stand today. I am a lucky SOB, this could have been much much worse. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon8.gif) I get to keep 100% of what I have left in my 2 fingers. My index finger I shortened, it is now square tipped. My middle finger I still wrap up when I am in public, as it makes most people (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif) when they see it. I am still not out of the woods, I am require surgery, but doctor says he can now fix anything that happens due to good blood flow.

I have not done a thing in the workshop except to drop off a few items, and look around at the drops of blood, and make sure everything was shut down. I expected to find tools running etc.... Still have not found the piece of metal I was deburring.

So lesson here is not so much safety gear as it is the lapse in focus. When doing this work you need to be singleminded on that task at hand. I would have normally had a pair of gloves on, or held this in a pair of vice gripes.

I am now ordering fabricators gloves, welding sleeves, TIG gloves, etc... But the stuff only works if you wear it or use it. Grabbing a piece off the bench because the sander is still running and demurring it even though it did not need it has cost me some serious productivity time. I now type with 8 fingers, so my work is much slower at work. And my progress on my 914 literally ground to a halt the month of July. Still have not been given clearance to work on the car, nor do I know if I could get a glove over the finger and protect it from the dirt. It is hotter than Vegas out here, I would like to be on the lake, but can't get in the water with the open wound. With the rabbit foo foo finger dressing, people ask me what I did, so I get to relive my stupidity on a regular basis.

I had to give a presentation to my board of directors earlier and just started with the fingers, to get it off the table. Changed my entire presentation and chronology reversed it to start with the glaring finger puppets in the room. That was a great mental exercise. Most meetings are started with my fingers. I have found out how squeamish most people are about injuries. Been told by several people I need to keep them covered up. I don't go out to eat with people, as I don't wish to ruin their meals, and it is very hard for me to use silverware. Hand foods is where it is at.

Is this topic 914 relevant, OH hell yes! It has keep me from working on my 914 project. Hopefully it will remind other to keep their focus, so they can keep working on their cars.

Just look through the build threads at all the projects that get delayed and all the injuries due to working on our beloved cars.

I am not looking for sympathy here, it was 100% my fault, I m a big boy I live and own my issues. This could have been much worse. I am extremely grateful it was not.