Wear eye protection when using chainsaws

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Good post guys - looking for an eye shield right now.

 

[paul bunion]

I wear glasses and a helmet/face shield. I have had bark get pulled off by my chain and hit my face guard. Never had a chance to react nor did I need to. The shield stopped it.

I did just notice that the mesh on face guard has rusted through in a spot and needs replacing. I guess it has been tossed on top of a pile of wood or about my car too many times. It is a safety item that needs inspecting.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

 

[Bobbin]

Eye protection is cheap insurance. I use it whenever I'm stripping old paint or sanding anything (proper gloves, respirator, too). My big thing is hearing protection. I use hearing protection all the time... my foam saw is incredibly loud. So is the lawn mower. The vacuum cleaner. I have actually convinced the good man to use it, too. I figure saving what's left of his rock 'n' roll "hearing" is a good thing... (huh?)

Safen up, guys!

 

[Doug MacIVER]

(broken image removed)

I just dug this out of Facebook. Here's my before and after picture that I posted on Facebook last year when my eye injury happened. The picture on the left is me at the Urgent care, moments after the doctor injected a "numbing medicine" in my eye...it completely took away my pain but they then told me it will last about 30 minutes, long enough for them to lift the flap I had cut in my cornea, cleanse the area, and re-seat everything. When they told me the extreme pain I felt moments earlier would come back soon, and remain for several days and there was nothing they could do for me to ease it until things healed...I was overtaken with dread. It's amazing how a tiny 3/8" slice in your eyeball can cause that kind of pain. It's indescribable.

The picture of me on the right is a week after the incident. I had just opened a package that arrived for me and was trying it all out in front of my girlfriend. As soon as I could see again (I was stuck at home with both eye's closed for 48 hours), I went online and ordered a safety helmet with face shield and Stihl's best safety glasses. As soon as I could drive I went to my Stihl dealer and bought a whole handful of safety glasses and placed them in the truck, on my table saw, on my weed wacker, chainsaw, riding mower, workbench, etc. Now, this is what I look like every time I touch a chainsaw... or any power tool, the lawn mower, etc. Please learn from my mistake so you don't have to suffer like I did. There's no reason to endure that kind of pain when someone who's been through it can tell you what can happen when you don't take safety seriously. I don't mean to harp on the subject or be a pain in the neck about it but...please wear your safety glasses. Be safe everyone!

like the "stihl" , I cut the metal screen. tasco corp in riverside ,ri produces the molded part. thanks for supporting my small company. we cut the slip on style.

 

[bassJAM]

I buy packs of safety glasses all the time, I have a bad habit of losing them or they get "borrowed" when friends stop over on their motorcycles and realize it's too dark to ride home with their sunglasses when they leave, but I still always have some around. I still am not the best about wearing them all the time even though they are everywhere throughout the house. And just about every time I forget, I end up spending a few minutes under the sink flushing a piece of wood or metal out of my eyes!! 2 weeks ago it happened when using a circular saw cutting plywood. I've managed to get brake parts cleaner splash back in them a few times too (which REALLY hurts!!).

You'd think I'd learn my lessen, but it's always that "this will only take a few seconds" that gets me. I might have to look into the mesh bug eyes. I'm a sweater, even in sub-freezing temps, and if the fog doesn't get me, the sweat dripping off my bald head into my safety glasses eventually blinds me anyway. Those might be a decent option for wood cutting.

 

[greythorn3]

like the "stihl" , I cut the metal screen. tasco corp in riverside ,ri produces the molded part. thanks for supporting my small company.

so thats a screen not a shield in front of his face? i figured it was a plexiglass

 

[BlueMule]

Anybody recommend a good helmet with shield? I saw the Stihl one, rather pricey. Makita has one for $45 or so on Amazon.

 

[bigbarf48]

Anybody recommend a good helmet with shield? I saw the Stihl one, rather pricey. Makita has one for $45 or so on Amazon.

Husqvarna makes one like the stihl system. 40-50 buck on amazon and northern tool. It seems to get better reviews than the stihl, I've never used either though so take that as you will

 

[wendortb]

I bought the Husqvarna hardhat with ear and face protection off amazon last week. It seems to work well. It is pretty comfortable and was a good price for the protection. The instructions were not great but I was able to figure out how to put it together.

 

[bigbarf48]

I bought the Husqvarna hardhat with ear and face protection off amazon last week. It seems to work well. It is pretty comfortable and was a good price for the protection. The instructions were not great but I was able to figure out how to put it together.

I think I might pick one up next time I get northern tool coupons in the mail. Looks like a nice piece of equipment

 

[Zare]

As a kid I remember my neighbor screaming, and seeing him the next week..with a big bandage on his leg..
He told my dad he got careless near the end of cutting and the saw bucked and got his leg.
I always go AGAT (all the gear all the time, motorcycle mantra).
And having to go to the hospital for getting crap in your eyes sucks.(i was very lucky, small piece of metal from work)

I shake my head when i see guys cutting with out the basic protection or standing on logs trying to get a better angle..

 

[MJFlores]

To my safety arsenal of Stihl safety helmet and safety glasses you can now add Stihl chainsaw chaps. I stopped at the dealer the other day and finally bought a pair of chaps. The idea is to get them BEFORE wishing I had them abut didn't! Sure, I bet I'll now look like a weirdo out there with all the orange but if it keeps me out of the ER, I'll do it!

 

[TreePointer]

Wearing orange does have additional benefits. A lot of folks assume you're a deranged chainsaw dude or you enjoy shooting and gutting animals (or both).

Either way, they leave you alone.

 

[jillybeansisme]

I have been a long time fan of safety glasses. I've been wearing them since forever because I make soap. You don't want to chance lye getting in your eye or you will be blind. I already planned on packing them for my trip to Eugene to meet my nephew for log splitting fun.

You might want to wear them trying to put a 2 year old in a car seat when they don't want to be in it -- that's how my eye injury happened 5+ years ago. I got kicked dead on in the eye and lost some of the fluid. I am very lucky that the retina did not detach and still have black floaties.

THE PAIN is immense when you get an eye injury. There is no excuse not to wear them because you can buy them cheap just about everywhere . . . Lowes. HD, HF, Walgreens, etc.

And @MJFlores and everybody else . . . the idea is NOT to just get them before you wish you had BUT TO USE THEM before you wish you had!

 

[D8Chumley]

As a kid I remember my neighbor screaming, and seeing him the next week..with a big bandage on his leg..
He told my dad he got careless near the end of cutting and the saw bucked and got his leg.
I always go AGAT (all the gear all the time, motorcycle mantra).
And having to go to the hospital for getting crap in your eyes sucks.(i was very lucky, small piece of metal from work)

I shake my head when i see guys cutting with out the basic protection or standing on logs trying to get a better angle..

I look at that picture and I see "trip hazard"

 

[skfire]

wear eye protection no matter what you work on or with....no matter how small, quick or easy....You can't take it back......it happened to me in 2012..split second....busted face and damaged right eye for life.....eye surgery is not fun...and blurry vision on one side gets old quick.....dont do s%&t without safety glasses.
scott

 

[JP11]

Safety glasses and chaps are VERY easy and cheap to buy. I bet some of you are sitting in your boxers reading this message, and could have several pair on the way to you for a couple hundred bucks in the next 10 minutes.

I challenge any of you to find an eyeball, or a thigh muscle online to buy in the next hour.

any takers?

JP