Got a face shield today!

[John Torchick]

For Christmas, I got a Lowe's gift card from my son and his family. I have been pondering what to get. What I want is many times the amount of the card. Anyhow, I was pondering this dilemma today. I was in Lowe's picking up some grout sealer for a tile job in the foyer. I looked at tools and thought about the full face shield since some of you have spoken about a turning project flying apart. I got a mask and will put it together tomorrow. Many thanks for the stories that emphasize the need for one.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

stay safe, dust protection next

 

[Dean Center]

But John--It doesn't work, I can still see your face

 

[jschnell1203]

John, Be careful, I bought safety shields I think at Sears and in small writing it says also use safety glasses which I do. I also have a triton helmet I use on my lathe and when doing flat work and real dusty wood like MDF.

 

[Vaughn]

Good for you, John. It's not a matter of if something will fly off the lathe and hit you, it's a matter of when. You can do lots of things to reduce the chances of it happening (like standing out of the line of fire), but wood is unpredictable, and stuff happens. Face protection is a must.

 

[George Guadiane]

Good choice. Injuries happen so fast and the problems from them can last so long... Protecting yourself from them just makes sense.

 

[John Torchick]

Jeff, I saw that note on the package. I have several pair of safety glasses and hope I can see without my bifocals.
Dean, thanks confused for your comment.
Vaughn, stuff does happen. I have seen bumper stickers that allude to that fact.
Now to get the shop finished and get started making things!!!!

 

[Gretch Flo]

bifocal safety glasses

John -most of the woodturning cat. sell bifocal (1.5-3 mag) safety glasses. I use them over my glasses at certain points and sit on top of my head if I am not using face shield. If you are turning the outside of a bowl(at least the way I turn), the chips /bark come at your face and shield is a necessity. Beware if you use superglue or finish on the lathe and has not completely dried, or gets in crevices , some drops may get to you glasses. DAMHIKT. Gretch

 

[Mark Warden]

Good decision John

Just yesterday I had a 2lb block of wood fly off and smack me dead in the center of my shield. Still don't know why it came off but am glad I put the shield on.

 

[odie]

For Christmas, I got a Lowe's gift card from my son and his family. I have been pondering what to get. What I want is many times the amount of the card. Anyhow, I was pondering this dilemma today. I was in Lowe's picking up some grout sealer for a tile job in the foyer. I looked at tools and thought about the full face shield since some of you have spoken about a turning project flying apart. I got a mask and will put it together tomorrow. Many thanks for the stories that emphasize the need for one.

Howdy John........

Your standard face shield is not intended for protection from flying objects, but what's the alternative?

My regular glasses are safety glass, but my face is protected by a full face shield.....better than nothing, I guess, but probably not as good as a football helmet with full cage!

I've never been hit by a flying piece of wood......but, I've had a few less-than-stable chunks of wood fly apart on the lathe. I'm always worrying about this, but darn it.......there are times when I just need to get my face in there to see what I'm doing!

The full face shield will help, but probably won't save your bacon when the worst of possibilities occur.

ooc

 

[John Torchick]

If the face shield doesn't offer 100% protection, what does? I have glasses with polycarbonate lenses.

BTW, odie, did anyone tell you that you look like Jack Nicholson?

 

[odie]

If the face shield doesn't offer 100% protection, what does? I have glasses with polycarbonate lenses.

BTW, odie, did anyone tell you that you look like Jack Nicholson?

Some lathes like the Jet and Powermatic have that wire mesh contraption.......looks like it would just get in the way, to me. Hey, I'm not kidding about the football helmet with the face guard.....there's also a hockey helmet, or a catcher's mask! These are the kind of things that would offer the kind of protection you're asking about......but, not that practical.

Some might say to just stand clear and never get your face in line with the turning.......a good theory, but in practice, that just doesn't work out that well, all the time, every time!

I don't think there can be a perfect answer to this.......either you always play it safe, or you takes your chances when you have to!

I use the faceshield almost every time I turn.....so, I do have some amount of protection. I also have a couple of lamps at the headstock that usually are positioned somewhat in a way that might afford some degree of protection, as well........but, the bottom line is........if I want to have every advantage I can get while turning, I sometimes have to weigh the odds before I forgo some safety for turning advantage.

edit: By the way, I have glass lenses which are safety glass rated. They are heavier, but the reason I need them is I've had too many lenses get a little bit of hot metal infused on them from grinding metal at both work and home.........!






Yeah, Jack Nicholson is a bit crazy.......sort of like me!

ooc

 

[Bill Boehme]

If the face shield doesn't offer 100% protection, what does? I have glasses with polycarbonate lenses.

Glasses with polycarbonate lenses are OK if you are thinking in terms of tiny particles flying towards your eyes, but means practically nothing when you are talking about a large chunk of wood flying off the lathe at high speed that has the potential to bury itself in your skull. You can do two things that will reduce your risk of serious injury. The first comes from MM's suggestion to keep the lathe speed slow (I hope that I have correctly interpreted what he advocates). Secondly, full head protection such as that provided by the Airstream is much sturdier than the average flip-up face shield which is only the equivalent of safety glasses for the full face.

 

[ray hampton]

why do you wear a face-shield when you know that a blow-out will travel away from you ?
I've one glue together face-plate fly apart and I consider myself lucky that the missile flew away from me

 

[Vaughn]

why do you wear a face-shield when you know that a blow-out will travel away from you ?
I've one glue together face-plate fly apart and I consider myself lucky that the missile flew away from me

Yes, you have been lucky. They don't always fly away from you.

 

[Mark Warden]

why do you wear a face-shield when you know that a blow-out will travel away from you ?
I've one glue together face-plate fly apart and I consider myself lucky that the missile flew away from me

I don't get what your trying to say.

 

[Bill Boehme]

why do you wear a face-shield when you know that a blow-out will travel away from you ?

The answer is easy ... if you do not wear a face shield, it will travel towards you.

 

[steelguy]

You Never Know!

Years ago, I used to believe that once I had a blank rounded up, then I didn't need "no stinkin' faceshield". They are hard ot see thru, hot, uncomfortable, blah, blah, blah...... I have safety rated eye glasses, etc.

Then, one evening, I was turning a 12" diameter glued up block with less than splendid joinery. I had the outside nicely rounded - it was beautiful. Then I started on the inside. I was standing out of the line of fire and wham! I got a tool catch. The block ended up spewing offfour pieces that went around three sides of my square head. Two hit a wall 10 feet behind, one hit the ceiling behind me and the other buried itself in a sheet rocked wall.

If I had been hit in the face, I believe it would have shattered something. If I had been hit in the chest, I would have had a penetration.

Now I have two face shields that I use religiously. One is a Trend Airshield - great in the summer -it is cool and also great for sanding. Also use a conventional clear shield. I find the it keeps the dust out of my face while the dust is on its way to the DC hood.

My outlook is that running a lathe is sort of like the proverbial disk drive failure saying - it is not if it will fail, but when it will fail. Turn long enough and something will hit you in the face!

Jerry

 

[John Torchick]

Some these posts remind me of the graffiti I saw taped to a file cabinet- Compared to me, Murphy was an optimist!
If it can happen, it will happen!

 

[bfwhitma]

A better faceguard

I have found that not all faceguards are alike. The one I purchased from Highland Woodworking with blue chin-guard is in a class by itself. I have had a couple of major flyoffs that hit this guard and I can tell that it is structurally better, the polyc. wraparound shield gave me all the protection anyone could ask for plus the chinguard keeps the shavings from going down the shirt...I clean the shield with eyeglass isopropyl and have never needed to replace the shield in three years. Wear this one and don't worry. CA glue should never be put on a piece that will spin and not first cured by strong hand pressure on a piece of nitrile glove which makes a bandaid or accelerator spray.

Cheers.

Brad

 

[Jim Leslie]

It happened to me..

Years ago, I was using a duplicator when a major catch occurred. And before I could blink, a fairly large chunk came off the lathe and hit me smack in the middle of the face. Glasses would have saved my eyes, but without the shield, my nose and teeth would not look half as good as they do today. Scared the heck out of me but those things really work. Made me a believer.

 

[Mike McDonald]

If the face shield doesn't offer 100% protection, what does? I have glasses with polycarbonate lenses.

The Lowes' flip-up style face shield is intended to block heavier-than-air debris and chunks flying at your face.

Dust in the air can easily swirl around the sides of the shield and get blown into your eyes. This is one reason why they tell you to wear safety glasses under the face shield.

The other reason, of course, is that the face shield is strong but not unbreakable. If something breaks the face shield you can potentially have sharp pieces of acrylic headed for your face and eyes. Or whatever broke the face shield could be followed by it's mother's second cousin, who will happily fly through the opening that used to be a face shield and into your eyes.

Wear a face shield to protect your face; wear safety glasses to protect your eyes.

-The New Guy

 

[John Torchick]

Thanks. Kind of wish I had taken up needlepoint- not near as dangerous.

 

[Lloyd Butler]

but it can lead to more ribbing from the misses when you need to ask for her scissors again to cut your work off your pants.

At least with the face shield, generally it is there so no one knows something went wrong.

Lloyd