safety when welding

Date 01-29-2007 05:54

Thanks Willie for post that.

That is a valid point on wearing ear plugs!
Although, I'm young and just started out, I'll give some input

I had a E6010 spark settle in my ear canal halfway during a flat 10" run.
Did I stop welding? No! My speed was better on that run, had to stay in it, or else I'd mess up the weld.
That was my thought after I felt it settle in my ear, but it hurt like a b!tch!
Pain went away in a minute or two after puttin some water in there.
I was lucky, and it could've been worse, further into my ear.

Most fabric welding caps (not the helmet) don't provide ear protection.
Also, beware when shopping for a new helmet!
Some helmets open out at ear locations, to provide room for ear muffs (I call them fender flares).
If you don't wear ear protection with those types of helmets, then I'd suggest covering the opening between those "fender flares" and your head.
When you tilt your head down looking at your work piece, there is space for a spark to enter.

Imagine concentrating on puddle depth on a nice weld run, then all of the sudden a
spark falls inside the helmet, in front of your face, lights up the inside, and ruins your view:

I had many sparks enter though the top front of my helmet.
Most helmets are designed to tilt back. Because of this... most helmets are open at the top.
"Well Duh.. weld cap takes care of most of the protection there."
But it's not enough, because there is still space between the head and the front of my helmet.
I'd had many sparks enter through there and disrupt my view... Annoying as sh**T!
I also, have some solidified on the inside glass. As a beginner experiencing that..

Why is there only 1 helmet out there that has an optional piece to cover the front top of the helmet??
That is BS! Besides designing helmets to tilt back all the way, they need to design a flexible piece to close off the area that allows the tilt back.

I was on a budget, so I used high temperature duct tape by 3M to block all openings (including ear locations).
The tape was folded against itself, and hugging the edge of the helmet.
It turned out pretty well, almost looks like part of the helmet, and flexes enough to provide full tilt back.
I used the same tape method for creating a inner visor over my inside glass to prevent spatter from sticking to it.

Notice, I didn't mention anything about my eyes because it only takes 1 instance.
I always wear safety glasses. This is only my 2nd post, and I want to be able to read on this forum.
No helmet offers full protection. Take these few instances and prevent them from happening.
I don't know bout yall, but I want to be able to drive, fish, play billiards, and read forums like this til I die!

By andrewsullivan9 (*)

Date 03-19-2007 18:39

Im one of the unfortunate ones to have had a piece of weld splatter in my eye and it isnt very nice it came from welding
with an ABB robotic MIG welder. The way the doctor removed it was with a needle in my eye while i was awake not something
which i would like to go through again moral of the story always have your eyes protected as well as you can

By Highway (*)

Date 05-04-2007 06:53

yeah when that needle comes down and your eye starts bouncing around you kinda wonder if it was all worth it

By hurricunning (*)

Date 03-19-2007 23:15

Good thread. My first post. A good friend of mine has a hole burnt into one of his eardrums from a welding spark. Even with prescription safety glasses I have had grinding splinters removed from my anesthetized eyeball and I didn't enjoy watching that show so close up. Safety first!

Cheers,
Chris

By bozaktwo1 (***)

Date 03-20-2007 14:15

Don't forget leathers, even for quickies! I had to do some overhead tacking on HY-80 to satisfy the NDT that it wasn't going to fall on him...so I grabbed hood and gloves and went to work, 4 inch-long tacks with 3/16" 11018...the third one's slag peeled beautifully...and went right into my shorts, came to rest in an uncomfortable spot at best. I couldn't do anything right away for fear of long arcing...that hurt!

By yorkiepap (***)

Date 03-20-2007 17:52

Hey willie,
It's good to post and re-post the safety issue on occasion. Some of the new fellows coming here can go thru the past posts and archives and get some interesting reading regarding safety, accidents, and remedial applications. And, like you, my EYES are the most important part of my body.....Thanks for reminding everyone....Denny

By RonG

Date 03-20-2007 18:54

Denny is 100% correct, we can't stress safety enough. Can't think of any thing you could do with out your eyes.

There are plenty of other issues to like knowing your surroundings. Welders have to get into some strange positions and places and once you put your hood down you a have very narrow and dimly lit view of your surroundings so survey them well before dropping your hood.

There maybe people unfamiliar with the potential for danger working close enough to you to pose a threat to you as well as them selves.

I once shared my lunch with a fellow because he was working late into the next shift. It was his last meal and all because of a Domino effect of events that was not related to what he & I was working on at all.

By devo

Date 03-20-2007 20:47

Speaking of eye safety, is there a consensus on contact lenses and welding? I have heard that it is absolutely verboten, as the lens will melt onto your eyeball if a spark goes in there. I have also heard that they will offer some measure of protection. Of course the guy that told me they will protect would routinely flame cut 1"+ steel with no shade at all. But man was it a beautiful cut!

By RonG

Date 03-21-2007 15:25

I don't belive nor I do not know of any thing to support the "melt onto your eyebal" theory but I have heard it my self. If I recall we have discussed and dismissed that here before.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 03-22-2007 23:15

If I was a woman, I would cook bacon barechested....It's inevitable that you will burn yourself and have splinters in your eyes, regardless of safety precations. Just when you think you're on the top of the world, something riquochets and ends up in your eye, ear, or even in your underpants, (true story). Getting things dug/drilled out of your eyes is a part of doing a high volume of field welding in the elements. Getting burned on your privates is also a bi product of sparcin and arcin till the cows come home.

Unfortunatly we cant weld in a bubble, safely contained away from our firey jobs. If you're into s&m, it's probably a good vocation to get into!!...........

By 357max

Date 03-23-2007 15:17

Use the leather clip on hood/helmet "bibs"; one for extending coverage of the neck and one for the "up" ear when welding overhead.
Double eye protection, safety glasses with side shields (preferably stainless steel mesh) on at all times and helmet/face shield.
Test flammability of the ear plugs with a match, if they burn don't use them (can you hear me now?). Test the flammability of the disposable safety glass frames. Also when being fitted with prescription safety glasses ask the eye doc if their frames are non-flammable, if they don't know, ask and test them.
The bogus story of contact lens melting and "welding" to eyeballs: the danger is abrasive material (grinding dust/metal oxide from fumes) getting between the eyeball and the contact lens (so much for soft lenses). Picture sand paper on the eyeball. Be safe out there.

By devo

Date 03-23-2007 19:41

Sourdough, can I have your autograph?

By cmays

Date 03-23-2007 23:33

Amen SD, I even had a peice of slag land right on the tip of my tongue. Felt like I took a shot of black coffe right off the hot plate for a week. When youre on your back, using one hand to hold your glass out of your hood and the other to hold your stinger you gotta hold your tongue just right!!

By MDG Custom Weld (***)

Date 03-27-2007 10:52

Because of the cost associated with taking our welders to the Dr. to get grinding splinters removed from the eyes, we have decieded that glasses alone are not enough. Now we require everyone using a 4" and larger grinder to wear a clear face sheild. We went from 2-3 times per month to none in the last 4 months.
An ounce of prevention=......you know the rest.

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 03-27-2007 11:44 Edited 03-27-2007 11:55

I did the same thing back several years ago(3/29/01 to be exact). I too, was tired of spending my time writing up accidents and recording all of those trips to the Eye Doctor. Our eye injuries were cut down from several a month to only two or three in an entire year. The whole time, folks were telling me that it was just the cost of doing business and that people just get hurt and there wasn't anything that I could do about it, and to just accept it. I'm glad the safety glasses plus a full face shield while grinding policy proved them all wrong.

edit: Just to put this in a better perspective, I'm not talking about one or two guys grinding every now and then. Our shop has 75 guys working, so grinding is going on somewhere in the shop just about every minute of everyday. So to only have a couple eye injuries every year at the most for the past 6 years is a testament to the policy's effectiveness. Some years we had ZERO eye injuries.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 03-28-2007 01:29

You guys are absolutely right. You have guys to take care of, that is first and foremost on a large company's list of things to do.

I can't wear a faceshield on site most times. I do, however set my nexgen on 0 sensitivity so I can leave my hood down while grinding/brushing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't!

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 03-28-2007 01:55

Some of those auto hoods are rated for grinding some are not.

I think its pretty spiffy when they are. Lots of times a welder will just keep the autohood on and do the grinding where he might use only the glasses rather than move a couple of feet to get a face shield.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 03-28-2007 19:50

mine have all that, but either im too lazy, or too busy to mess with it.

By cmays

Date 03-29-2007 01:45

Most of the time if it allows I wear clear safety glasses under my auto hood, but when I get into cramped or confined spaces they get in the way.

By ZCat

Date 03-29-2007 02:09

Some of the bigger contractors make you wear monogoggles and a face shield, what a nightmare, fog city. Luckily they usually let the welders use a flip up hood.

Those flipups with a hard hat under 'em are quite a nightmare, too, plenty hard on the 'ol neck.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 03-30-2007 01:53

The nexgens only downfall - weight.

By ZCat

Date 03-30-2007 03:56

I can understand the whole earplug thing for noise, but I was brought up to wear my welding cap over my ear to keep the sparks out. Also, if I got sparks coming down inside the front of my hood, I'm thinking I may need to move my head out of the fire, if at all possible. :-)

By byJohan.se Date 04-30-2007 07:54

It's good to be reminded every now and then to think about the safety...

The hard part is when you need glasses, and then you have to have safety glasses on top of that, and Then the flip up hood... :)

Johan

By Duke

Date 03-30-2007 03:52

I was told, when i had an MRI, that i needed a eye xray first, to look for any small bits of metal, due to my occupation as a welder, as if there were any in there, the MRI machine would make me go blind

By Sourdough (****)

Date 05-08-2007 21:33

Jumped off a pumpjack onto a 2x6 with a nail in it today. Last time I had a tetnis shot, I did the same thing. I'm letting my new redwings dry out for a day. Bloody mess..........

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 05-09-2007 10:26

Nothing worst than knowing when it happens and seeing that board stuck to your boot, then having to pull it off and wondering how deep the nail went in. Man I get after my guys about picking up old pallets here that get thrown around and broken up...they always have those twisted nails sticking out with just enough rust.
Sorry about your foot....hope the soreness will leave you soon.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 05-11-2007 03:50

no sweat. Just feel like an invalid.

By mdu

Date 06-23-2007 21:14

Double eye protection is a must, but even that sometimes doesn't help, especially in confined spaces. Its best to wear goggles in that situation, eventhough they tend to fog up. Also I had to the pleasure of climbing in a chrome vessel with preheaters on the side and welding. I felt alright untill I took a break and noticed my hands and arms wouldn't stop shaking, so when working in extreme heat monitor yourself, because eventhough you may feel alright you might not be. I worked for a company that had air-cooled vest which knocked off the heat a little. Also I have heard horror stories about welders not wearing respirators when they need to be worn.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 06-24-2007 09:59 Edited 06-24-2007 10:04

I got the auto lens more for the fact I don't want to have to don a grind shield.....Now that I think of it it will be DANG handy when I got to smaw some stainless with a 309-308. I had a piece of 309 flux jump right into the corner of my eye once....jeez it hurt...I welded half blind the rest of the day.

I remember a fellow I worked with wearing sneakers in a bolier shop and arc gouging....I reminded him we had the leather foot covers and he just kept on.......He was off for a month getting skin grafts and vascular surgery and trying not to get his bones in the top of his foot infected. Leathers are hot and they stink....but I wear em when I need em.

Torches will cut flesh just as easy as a piece of plate...first hand experience (don't ask). A hot mig wire will feed DEEP into your thigh. A wildcat without a guard don't give a crap what its grinding/cutting and takes a while to wind down. A crane operator may set it down on you if he can't see you. CHAINS are friggen scary dude...GET CLEAR and preferable behind somthing you think is bulletproof....at least cables and straps give a little warning. Speaking of that how many of you have chain winched stuff with your face in hands right in line of sight with the tension on that chain??????? all it takes is once...you probably wont get a second.

A lot of these lessons only come with experience....when you see someone doing somthing stupid ...don't let them learn the hard way or like you may have....pass it on...thats the biggest safety you can have....information.

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 06-25-2007 03:10

Tommy, Your post reminds Me of that old saying: "Good judgement comes from experience, Experience comes from bad judgement." Better We learn from someone else's bad judgement.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 06-26-2007 09:04

I have not heard that one before Dave...thats cool I am gonna put it on my toolbox!

By Bob Garner (***)

Date 06-25-2007 18:23

And let's not forget the teenage girl who had both of her feet amputated by a snapping cable on an amusement park ride last week. I lost a friend to a similar accident, actually a snapping anchor line that threw him up in the air and he landed on his head, breaking his neck.

Bob

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-25-2007 19:59

Hey Duke! Excellent advice!!!
I was advised the same and, you'd be surprised how many of us walk around with metal fragments either in our eye region or our hands!!! I personally had to get three fragments removed that were lodged in my eyes and four or five that were in my hands so, before anyone goes to get an MRI, and is in the metal fabrication/ welding side of either construction or manufacturing... I would strongly suggest to have your eyes checked by an eye doctor prior to getting an MRI done for SAFETY'S SAKE!!!

Respectfully,
Henry

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 06-26-2007 04:28

Good point Henry. I get MRI's every 3 months to monitor My cancer, and get an eye X ray the day before every time. I don't do all that much metalwork, as I spend half My time on chemotherapy and the other half recovering from it, but metalwork is what I do, and risking eye damage from the MRI isn't worth the gamble. Like they say, "A glass eye looks real good, but it can"t see at all".

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 06-26-2007 04:50

I could'nt have said it better myself!!! :)

Respectfully,
Henry

By Sourdough (****)

Date 07-01-2007 18:58

Had a buddy in ketchikan, Alaska die on me this year. He was running down a sitka spruce limbing it with a small chain saw. He lost his footing, and fell on a sharp limb. Speared him right up the rectum. He bled to death in under a minute. Sometimes you just never know what kind of wierd circumstances will take you in the end.

One thing is for sure, I hope I don't go out like that....

By J Hall

Date 08-18-2007 13:22 Edited 08-18-2007 16:56

I have not had an eye xray, but before my MRI's they did a CT scan to look for metal. They said the MRI could pull the metal out of the eye.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 08-18-2007 21:31

The getting checked before MRI advice is great.....I would have never thought of it. I have only had one in my life and I rekon I am luky there were no suprises.

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 08-19-2007 05:51

I think the danger is that the metal doesn't get pulled out, but moves around with the magnetic pulsations and cuts itself a big [er] hole. In my experience they have always asked if I worked around metal, and if there was any chance that there might be a sliver in one of My eyes. I always answer "YES" to both, and get the eye X ray the day before the MRI. There has never been any slivers there, but it is not worth the risk. As I commented in a previous post, "A glass eye looks real good, but can't see for shit."

By jonesy70 (*)

Date 08-20-2007 01:55

I had the x ray done before a MRI and they FOUND metal shavings on my face....always remember the x ray before a MRI