Safety gloves

Hello all

Could you advise me please the best gloves to wear for lathe work when working with brass. I have some Stanley workwear gloves but the small splinters get into the weave.

thank you

Margaret

None

Robert Butler

Robert - sorry, what do you mean? Wear no gloves or none are effective?

Do not wear any gloves that can pull you into the machine if they get caught on anything. The only gloves I wear are nitrile ones which rip easily.

If you must wear gloves thin nitrile ones tear easily. Generally though with machinery it’s no gloves no long sleeves no long hair etc. I got slated on another site when I suggested the danger when a user showed his eight year old daughter using a lathe with her hair dangling over the workpiece. Apparently, safety doesn’t count when it’s kids in a shed. One thing people often forget is rings, could lose a finger if caught.

Edited By Stephen Follows on 13/07/2023 21:28:57

Hi Margaret None from a safety perspective - gloves getting caught or grabbing on tooling (chucks).

Robert Butler

Ah, ok, good points. Thank you. Those little brass splinters worry me…

I got an bad infection last year (not related to metal work) and ended up in hospital - I don’t want to go through that again!

Thanks for your help gentlemen.

Margaret you shouldn't need to handle the warf until cleaning up. Switch off and use a brush and scoop.

Robert Butler

51 years after the safety lecture on my apprenticeship induction I have a clear memory of a finger and it’s tendons that was torn off it’s owner by a glove caught by a drilling machine. Disposable nitrile gloves are the only gloves I would consider using on a lathe as they tear easily. Many people with sensitive skin use nitrile gloves and probably a good idea for anyone using oils and solvents. They should be fairly effective against brass chips which can make most unpleasant splinters.

Mike

But nitrile gloves do grab and you may be unlucky for them not to tear.

Robert Butler

Any action that would cause a tight fitting nitrile glovedhand to be drawn in without tearing would almost certainly do the same to a bare hand.

If you must have gloves they are the best choice but must be tight.

Bench drills, hand drills, lathes, milling machines, mitre saws, table saws, jigsaws, bandsaws ... I never wear any gloves. Furthermore, any material that is being cut in any of these machines is held in a vice or otherwise mechanically clamped, never in my hand.

That's not advice I would endorse. I've seen a hand drawn in by a combi drill when the user was wearing close fitting nitrile gloves. A wire brush walked [or rather ran] up the user's arm and caused a nasty injury, though fortunately without life-changing results.

Frightening stories!

No. 1 SWITCH IT OFF before touching moving work or tools.

One of the clubs I am a member of, has a number of youngsters wanting to use machinery in the club workshop. I try to impress upon them to keep hands, hair and clothing well away from moving items until stopped, either by switch off or operating clutch. Other things as well, e.g., keys out of chucks asap, in case key gets used left in, forgotten until m/c switched on and ejects key.

Fingers aren't so much of a problem - you've got lots of spares. But, for goodness' sake, wear safety spectacles! If you get copper or a Cu alloy in your eye, it will wreak terrible damage, quite quickly.

+1 on no gloves while operating machine tools. One useful item in my shop used when turning brass is a chip shield. It's just a 100 x 100 mm / 4 x 4" rectangle of 2 mm thick transparent un-coloured Lexan sheet mounted on a stand of scrap steel bar, with a magnetic base under it. (Perspex or Makrolon or other brands of transparent acrylic or polycarbonate sheet will do just fine, any thickness around 2 to 4 mm will do, really). I position the shield where the brass chips are coming off the work and place the magnet base on the compound slide or carriage to hold it there. For cleaning up the chips afterward a brush is best. Not a good idea to use compressed air to move brass chips. Good luck Margaret, hope these ideas help.

I now use a vacuum cleaner with a separator bucket that catches most things. As for stopping the the fine splinters in your hands etc, I use a clear safety guard that had a mag base, and place it so it keeps stuff away. I often use the vacuum cleaner nozzle close to the drill, and catch the swarf as it's being made. Just have to be careful that the nozzle is not near the chuck or the workpiece geometry can't catch the nozzle either.

I do not recommend wearing gloves when using machine tools, but proper safety glasses are a must at all times. I am an advocate for if the chips are going in a particular direction , then make changes so they are not going towards you.

Sometimes it can be a simple deflector that is mounted onto the turning tool holder, or a plastic shield between you and the part somewhere. Cotton clothing is very good and amongst the least likely to be burnt ot have the swarf stick to it.

A recent example: at my brother’s men’s shed, a fellow was warned not to wear gloves. He ignored the warning and when using the jointer, well you know what comes next…

brass splinters are nasty but steel splinters from using the side of an endmill are wicked.

I agree with both points:

-NO gloves

- YES safety-glasses / chip guards. Or both.

I'd add too, perhaps using barrier cream. I don't think it would stop splinters especially but it does protect the skin from oils and (to lesser extent) solvents and makes washing the hands easier.

'

Stephen also warns against wearing rings when using machinery. I've a friend who rides, in fact used to own two horses, and she told she never wears her rings when riding - they have caused very nasty injuries in that activity too.