# Safety Question



## beers_4 (Jan 26, 2007)

Hello,

I always have had trouble with googles/safety glasses due to the fact that I wear glasses and have fogging/clarity problems - so I bought a 1 mm poly face sheild.
My question is.....Is the shield a better than goggles to protect the eyes for routing purposes? I can't image either goggles or a shield to fully protect against a flying broken bit.


Thanks.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi beers

That's a real hard one, like you I wear glasses all the time and I have for a long time but they are the safety type but I do wear a face shield when I run the drill press,lathe,etc.anything that's putting out chips my way, but I don't think it will protect me against a flying bit, I have broke a bit or two but they just drop, they don't fly across the shop most are just get stuck in the stock,they are not spring loaded.

But if you like the face sheild or the googles wear them ,safety 1st. 

The googles I have get in my way of site so to speak and I tried many types but they always get put to one side when I use the router, I want to see everything that's going on in front of me.
The one thing I do recommend is ear plugs ,the router is one of the items in the shop that will nail your hearing over time.
Many wood workers are now using the new type of face sheild with the air device on them, you may want to try one out, you may like it over the standard face sheild.
I did and I didn't like it,but many do. 


but this is just my 2 cents.

Bj


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## moreorles2000 (Dec 26, 2004)

hi also beers
i believe there are commercial lens cleaners on the market already that may help you. some if not all are anti-fogging at least.
les.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

I've got the same problem, and a couple of different solutions. There are several aftermarket side shields that fit regular prescription glasses, and they provide decent protection (see link for example)

http://airgas.com/browse/product.aspx?Msg=RecID&recIds=341876&WT.svl=341876

These took me a bit to get used to, because your perepherial vision is diminished a bit, but they don't fog my glasses up that much. Of course, the impact rating of your glasses and frames aren't up to true "safety glasses" standards unless they are an approved design, but they do offer a bunch of protection.

When I need more protection (in areas goggles would be recommended) I will generally use a face mask with chin guard. The chin guard keeps quite a bit more of the stray debris from bouncing under the face mask

http://airgas.com/browse/product.aspx?Msg=RecID&recIds=72605&WT.svl=72605

At work, when goggles are Required (grinding jobs, chemical handling, etc) the only goggles that don't fog up quickly or become too annoying with glasses are from UVEX,

http://airgas.com/browse/product.aspx?Msg=RecID&recIds=160142&WT.svl=160142

They're fairly low profile, and can be worn with most face shields as well, yet still give you plenty of room for your eyeglasses. The frames 'form' around the temple pieces of your glasses and seal pretty well.

Our company 'invests' a lot of money in safety gear every year, and everyone seems to have a particular favorite style, type, brand of safety glasses and goggles. They also encourage us to use our safety gear at home as well, which is nice on the pocket book.... In that time, I've tried a lot of different brands, and the uvex goggles are probably my favorite. I also use UVEX patriot OTG (over the glass) safety glasses (mainly a tinted pair as sunglasses when working outside) and they do a good job, but wearing 2 pairs of glasses all day can be a little rough on the ears. 

The kimberly clark duckbill dust masks also work pretty well with most goggles and glasses without too much fogging. Some of the guys I work with who have to wear goggles/facemasks/dust masks all day long wear an all in one by North, and they seem to like it.

http://airgas.com/browse/product.aspx?Msg=RecID&recIds=367521&WT.svl=367521

if you're just using it to filter out woodworking dust, you can replace the bulky cartridges with these little pillow filters, and it doesn't weigh much at all. It can be a little rough on you if your glasses aren't close to your head in the way of the seal. The face piece of this mask is safety rated, similar to a standard duty face shield. They're about $110, but if you break it down into $20+ for goggles, $30+ for a good face shield, $25+ for a respirator... it's not unreasonable.

See if there's an airgas supply store near you, and go try a few styles on if they'll let you.

I'd love to try out one of the trend Airshield rigs, they look like a decent solution to the fogging problem with goggles and dustmasks, but before I drop that kind of money on something I'd like to try it first in the shop during the middle of July.


Hope some of this helps,


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## beers_4 (Jan 26, 2007)

Thanks for all the great info gentlemen.

I will go with the sheild for the time being and see how it goes. I may switch to something else in the future. ( I never kew that there were so many great options).
The other advantage of the sheild for me is that I also feel safer in terms of overall ability to see things. ie) safety for my hands and other equipment. Also I like the idea of having it on all the time and flipping it down like a welder's mask - this way saves me from trying to find where I laid it down a few minutes ago.

Cheers.


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