• April 2025 Turning Challenge: Turn an Egg! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Kelly Shaw winner of the March 2025 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Ellen Starr for "Lotus Temple" being selected as Turning of the Week for 21 April, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Behind the Head Hearing Protection

Did a little digging, they make over the head with BT, why not behind the head? I have 3M Worktunes over the head and love them.

I did find this on Amazon. While they are made for shooting, they are also made so you can hear what is going on around you (electronic protection - shuts down sound above a certain level). They are not BT, but they DO have an audio input jack - you could, in theory, hook up a phone or MP3 player, walkman, whatever (am I dating myself with the walkman comment?) providing it has a jack and you have the appropriate cable. I know you can get coiled cables with a TRRS plug on one end (the phone end) and TRS plug on the other end (the headphone end). Appropriately dressed, the coiled cable would stay out of your way.

I know this is not exactly what you are looking for, but it gets you closer. Who knows, maybe there is a small BT receiver out there that would connect to the jack on these. Aliexpress is a place to look for that stuff. Yeah, Alibaba and Aliexpress are direct from China, but since that is where a lot of the low-cost consumer electronics (and components!) are made, you can get pretty good pricing. I have purchased through them a number of times (you are purchasing from the manufacturer, Alibaba and Aliexpress are more like a broker connecting you and the manufacturer. Alibaba is more commercial-oriented (often need to purchase in quantity), Aliexpress is the more consumer oriented).
 
Zekler 412's with the Sundstrom 500/570 combo are my favorite way to protect my face and lungs at the same time. The bluetooth noise canceling headphones ( the Zeklers ) are so good that I can have the lathe running, the 5 hp dust collector going and standing in front of an intake, while air sanding - with an overhead air cleaner running on high speed, I can take a call - and you can hear me well enough to hold a conversation. Ken @ Woodturner's Wonders sells this system.
 
Tim Tucker said:
Zekler 412's with the Sundstrom 500/570 combo are my favorite way to protect my face and lungs at the same time. The bluetooth noise canceling headphones ( the Zeklers ) are so good that I can have the lathe running, the 5 hp dust collector going and standing in front of an intake, while air sanding - with an overhead air cleaner running on high speed, I can take a call - and you can hear me well enough to hold a conversation. Ken @ Woodturner's Wonders sells this system.
Click to expand...
Looks like a pretty good setup. The downside is not only not having around $1600+ for the setup, if I did have that much free cash, there are other things in line first!

Hmmmm.....maybe I should start a Go Fund Me or something like that...I could call it 'Protect Tim's ears and lungs'. Or something. :D
 
Tim-
If you are attending the AAW Symposium considerably better pricing can be had. Call and talk to Ken.
But to consider what this systemic approach is- think about it this way for a moment: How many of is provide adequate protection for our lungs? Or protect our face/eyes as we should? This unitized approach wil save you multiple times the insurance deductibles that injuries/ailments caused by inadequate other choices can cost you. Just me, but I try to think about the bigger picture and longer vision of my purchases and choices.
 
I wish I could attend. Maybe if I ever get the opportunity to retire.....this work business seriously impacts my hobby time!

I have been wanting to get a system like that for some time now. Just not economically feasible, especially since most of my funding for those sort of things comes from craft shows. Last year, we had an abbreviated season, first since Covid, but not quite enough free cash that I could drop that kind of coin. Yet. It *is* something on the shorter part of the 'expensive shop purchases' list, though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top