a heavier duty faceshield

[John Hicks]

Does anyone have an idea of a heavier duty face shield that is on the market? I have a sellstrom and it did stop a small chunk of a bowl, but the shield fell halfway out, and the plastic frame is kind of flimsy. I did see one on craft supplies with a bubble type shield on it, that looked a bit heavier duty. I don't have money for one of those thousand dollar respirator types, so I am looking for something in the 100 dollar range. Maybe I should just hang a cast iron pan with two holes in it from my head with a piece of wire? At least I'd get to smell bacon!

 

[Donna Banfield]

If you are patient, you may find one of those very expensive units on Ebay. I found three of them, and you could wear just the helmet and lexan shield without the chin cover - which is necessary only if you're using he Hepa filter/respirator. There are plenty of those old style Racal or 3M helmets around, and I know a few long-time woodurners that wear only the helmet/faceshield.

In fact, here's one available right now: Airstream Racal Headgear-Mounted Powered Air Purifying System - HELMET ONLY 51138765590 | eBay

 

[Damon McLaughlin]

John, when I first started turning I also had a Sellstrom faceshield. I think its still laying around the shop somewhere. Its better than nothing but in my opinion it is flimsy and doesn't offer as much protection as other faceshields. One that I've used and like is Optrel Clearmaxx Grinding Helmet. My go to is the Bionic faceshield which can usually be had for less than $30. I have a new one which is s self contained power assisted respirator, the Gentex Pureflo 3000 which I like a lot. Great protection for the face and the lungs but its considerably much more expensive.

 

[John Hicks]

I'd like one of those 1,500 dollar wizmazoo's; just a tad over budget.

 

[William Rogers]

I'd like one of those 1,500 dollar wizmazoo's; just a tad over budget.

You will need to wait until the pandemic is over. I bought my PAPR equipment at the end of February before PAPR equipment became scarce. I invested a total of $550 for mine. As far as the shields you will not get much better than the Sellstrom shield you have assuming it has the ANSI.z impact rating.. All of these shields are to an ANSI spec. They are rated to impact and high impact, but that might not be enough depending on the mass from a chuck of wood flying off the lathe. Only way to add protection is a motorcycle helmet or some other massive type hood. In reality my Versaflo won’t provide additional protection for flying objects, but much better dust protection.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Sounds like your face shield did what it was supposed to do, sacrafice itself. But if you're looking for face protection with a little more heft available to sacrafice should a bigger chunk come flying by then one thing I've heard others mention is a police riot helmet. But I understand these are heavy. Another thought is a wire mesh mask for chainsaw work. You are wearing safety glasses in addition to your face protection, right.

 

[Dean Center]

I've always used a 3M faceshield. The 3M held up to impact from modest pieces of wood a couple times and are reasonably comfortable. It seems the bionic shields are very popular for tasks not needing a PAPR. Am I missing something? What advantage does the Bionic offer that the 3M doesn't?

 

[Mark Jundanian]

If you're using the same 3M face shield I have, the frame on the Bionic goes all the way around the clear shield where the 3M clear shield is un-supported. I believe the 3M clear shield is thicker.

 

[Bernie Hrytzak]

If you're using the same 3M face shield I have, the frame on the Bionic goes all the way around the clear shield where the 3M clear shield is un-supported. I believe the 3M clear shield is thicker.

Years ago, I purchased the Bionic because it looked strong. Turns out the frame really didn't offer any support and the shield portion was 50 % thinner than the 3M. I returned it and bought a bunch of replacement shields for my clear shield helmet.

 

[stu senator]

My Uvax is .04" (1 mm) thick lexan, my old Trend is also .04" thick. In looking to make a replacement for my Trend (old style) I made a replacement out of .04" lexan. It seems anything thicker I found is difficult to shape or bend to fit a face shape. Thicker shields must be formed or molded to fit and not distort vision. This will make it a more costly device.

I know safety is not cheap but if it is out of reach it will not be used.

A few years ago there was a similar topic and I remember a post where someone had a converted hockey ( I think ) face shield he wore when doing problem wood. He wore it over his face shield.

Stu

edit

It was Odie, see https://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?threads/face-shield.15423/#post-153168