What eye protection for grinding?

[belfert]

I've been doing a bunch of grinding recently.  Does any have a suggestion on good eye protection for this?  I keep getting crap in my eyes with regular safety glasses.

I do wear a respirator with dust cartridges when grinding to keep the dust and crap out of my nose and lungs.

[muddog16]

I've used a shield like this for the past 20+ years they work !

[JackConrad]

This is what I use.  Jack

[belfert]

Googles is what I am thinking about trying.  My concern is them fogging up in the high humidity we often have this time of year.  I don't think a face shield will work with the respirator or I would probably have one already.

[JackConrad]

Since I am not exhaling warm moist air into the goggles, I have had very little fogging issues.  Jack

[eddiepotts]

GET A FACESHIELD! I can tell you I have seen the accidents with grinders Coming back and hitting people in the faceshield. Now in the industrial business we cant do anything with out them. If you get the griding wheel in a bad spot and it bounces and shatters you will be picking it out of your cheek. the faceshield will work with the respirator. I want to say this too, I watched a guy sitting on a 5 gallon bucket grinding on the end of a pipe. He set the grinder in his lap and leaned over to pick up a rag. Guess what. His belly turned the grinder on and it cut half way into his leg before her could get off of it. This is a true story I seen with my own eyes. It was not good. If he was out by himself he would not have made it. He would have bled out on that bucket. If your using a wire wheel on your grinder you have those wire constantly flying off. I know it is your garage and do as you want but I really don't think people give grinders the respect they need. One of the bigest things I hate about the fabrication shows on TV is their lack of safety with tool. Like Orange County choppers will grind and weld just closing their eyes and turning their heads. It leaves people that only use mechanical pencil sharpeners on their daily jobs believe they can go out on the weekends and rebuild the world. I am not saying this is anyone here Just making my point to whom may read this at some point. The tools we use here fabricating need respect and knowledge of the Safety side of them.

[rv_safetyman]

Kind of a sensitive subject for me.  I have only one good eye and have had to have steel ground out several times.

I always wear safety glasses with side shields for things like drilling.  However, grinding is a different matter.  Several times the grinding particles would bounce off of something and fly back into my eye.  Bouncing particles seem to have a way of getting around the glasses and side shields.

Over the years, I have tried goggles (they always fog up for me - from the sweat) and face shields.  Face shield are better, but I have problems with the plastic surface getting opaque/scratched in use.

What I have settled on, ***AND STRONGLY RECOMMEND***, is an old fashioned arc welding helmet with the flip up welding lens.  Behind the flip up dark lens is a clear lens (designed for the slag chipping process).  The quality of the lens is very good and replacement is quite cheap.  The welding hood completely surrounds you face and eliminates reflected particles.  In addition, it is much better at protecting your face if a grinding wheel/disc fails.

Jim

[Gary LaBombard]

All the above recommendations will work really good and I do agree with Jim Shephard with the welding shield.  Find a welding helmet with the largest viewing area you can, also wear normal safety glasses inside the helmet & be sure there is a plastic shield in front of the lens of your helmet to also help reflect a broken grinding wheel at 15, 000 rpm or so.  Another thing to think about is a welders cap which has no bill on it, it just sits on your head but for us bald dude's, this can sure minimize burns from welding & grinding sparks.  It has also prevented me from having a lot of serious head injuries under my Eagle, I get hit of coarse but the welders hat minimizes the wounds a whole lot.  

To stay cooler when doing a lot of grinding, I recommend placing a fan some where close behind you that will blow air into your helmet  at a slow RPM to stay cool in the helmet and also assist in keeping dust and grinding debree away from your face somewhat.  Look for and use a fan that is adjustable for the air direction, About ($25 at Walmart). This darn heat spell we are all having can sure tempt you to be careless and wear less (PPE) Personal Protection Equipment, BUT FOR GODS SAKE PLEASE DONOT BE TEMPTED TO DO SO.

Hope everyone is doing fine by the way, I have not been on bb'd in a while.  Summer is nearly over, and Kids are back to school in a matter of days in our area, use care when traveling for our little grand children that don't give two hoots about safety.

Gary

[Jeremy]

Some may remember the thread I started last year after ending up in hospital after getting grinding swarf in my eye. On that occasion the piece of rogue metal was so small that I didn't even know I had acquired it until I started getting severe headaches and developed a very red eye several days later - it turned out that the metal particle had given me an eye infection.

At different times I have tried all the options and now always wear full goggles. It seems to me that glasses and face shields don't offer nearly enough protection from small particles flying about at odd angles, although the point about a full-face shield protecting you from a disintigrating grinding wheel is well made.

I have tried using a welding helmet when grinding, but I find that anything that you 'breathe into' becomes unusable on colder days due to the misting-up problem. I also dislike using a full helmet as your field of vision and general spacial awareness is inevitably restricted, which can be a danger in itself

Jeremy

[Madmike]

We use the Face Shield and Spoggles. It has cut down on our eye injurys by 95%

[belfert]

What about using an auto darkening welding helmet?  I have never used one, but that would kill two birds with one stone.  I'm still getting bits of grinding grit/debris out of my eyes after yesterday.

My friend used to grind and cut stuff without any eye protection until he started to wear glasses full time.

[muddog16]

A good auto darking helmet is to expensive just for grinding........a face shield and glasses work very well as mentioned above cutting and grinding wheels have been known to explode with extreme force, I've had cutting wheels penetrate several layers of clothing.  Goggles fog up if you are actually working, the shield serves two purposes, protection from particles and explosions!  The face shield won't fog up either!  I've watched these shows on television where the guy just wears a pair of glasses.......talk about taking chances?   That is just for television and appearances!   Save your eyes wear both a shield and safety glasses!

[BG6]

I use a combination face-shield / respirator when grinding, painting, working underneath vehicles or working on any system with pressure in it (air, hydraulic, etc).  It cost well over $100 new, and has paid for itself a couple of times.

You can't get these at Wally World or Harbor Freight -- try an industrial safety dealer.

[Len Silva]

I'm not sure that anything can save my eyes from grinding.




Picture Removed due to not showing enough skin! Lol...
Nick-

[Gary LaBombard]

Ha, ha, ha, Len  your a hoot!!
Gary