Silversafety 1
Silversmithing Safety 1
Eye Protection
I have decided that, as I did when I taught in public schools, that
every student will wear eye shields at all time while in the shop. They
can keep them by the door, or they can take them with them, but when
they set foot in the shop, they must have them on. I do have face
shields at some of my stations, but they can fit over the eye shields.
So will some the googols that I have at some of the equipment.
Each student will own their own, no borrowing from each other for health
concerns. They must be safety glasses, not just eye glasses.
This will be a short class, because they will be worn at all times while
in the shop. There is not much to add to that.
I might add that I do have a fully tinted, full face shield for use when
casting. And of course, for welding every one must have the proper
shields on.
One last little safety tip when it comes to eye protection. Always wash
your hands good before putting your fingers up around your eye. Many
days I work 15 to 20 hours straight, and my eyes get tired. I love to
gently rub them for relaxation. I try to always wash my hands very good
before doing this. Metal filings and solutions could be on your hands
and fingers.
Silversafety 2
One of the things that really does scare me when it comes to safety is
long hair. That's right, long hair comes right after eye safety in
importance to me. It comes before the danger of cuts and burns. The
reason is that if you have long hair and it get tangled in any fast
moving machine, it will usually yank it off or out. I do not want it
thing "yanked" let alone yanked out!
The buffer is the most dangerous machine for long hair. The large wheel
can slowly suck up the hair, wrap it around the wheel, and then pull you
face in to the wheel, thus polishing your eyebrows right off, your nose
may be. Ok, scared sufficiently?
It is not that scary, just tie up you hair, wear a hat, or shave your
head. That will take care of it, no problems, but if you do not take one
of these precautions with long hair, you are just plain stupid. Do not
count on, "Oh, I am just going to give this a quick final touch up
buff". Whissh, you are going to loose your hair some day.
I even worry a little about it when my hair gets long just before a hair
cut. If you have seen my photo, you will know I do not ever let it get
to long. Sometimes, however, it gets a little long, because I do not
have time to get it cut. What scares me, is that now and then I drop a
piece, then bend over to pick it up. My hair gets really close to the
wheel if I am not careful.
And of course if we were always careful, there would be no accidents.
By the way, another safety tip this week. NO WIRE WHEELS! NO WIRE WHEELS
IN THE SHOP FOR ANY REASON! Wire wheels can cause serious accidents, by
grabbing hair, clothes, chains and any thing hanging down. They will fly
apart from time to time and send small little needles in one direction,
YOURS and your eyes. I see no need to have large wire wheel in a jewelry
shop, and very little to no reason even for small wheels for flexible
shafts. Any one out there have a good reason to use them?
