On the importance of safety glasses...

[DuneHopper]

I have 24/7 tinnitus ( ringing in my ears,) from and explosion. I have my eye site because
I was wearing eyes, but did not have ears on.
I wish the ringing would stop some day but its been 12 years and each and every day.
I hear it all the time people saying awww I don't need those, I am here to say yes you do.
It took 1 second to effect my life, do your selves a favor Eyes and ears no matter what you are doing if it makes noise and / or could blind you do it.

 

[teflon6string]

Before I was told it's illegal to kill woodpeckers, I took a shot up under my eave where one of those winged homewreckers liked to hide from me in a dark shadow directly backlit by the sun. We'd been playing this game for a week and I was just hoping he was up there in his normal spot. He wasn't. The pellet from a Crosman Classic 1377 with 10-12 pumps ricocheted off two beams like a billiards bank shot, came back and smacked the right lens of my glasses hard enough to knock them crooked. Lesson learned for me.

 

[teflon6string]

I have 24/7 tinnitus ( ringing in my ears,) from and explosion. I have my eye site because
I was wearing eyes, but did not have ears on.
I wish the ringing would stop some day but its been 12 years and each and every day.
I hear it all the time people saying awww I don't need those, I am here to say yes you do.
It took 1 second to effect my life, do your selves a favor Eyes and ears no matter what you are doing if it makes noise and / or could blind you do it.

Also sporting tinnitus 24/7, I try to encourage people I care about to protect their hearing around unnecessary noise, mowers, shrieking shop vacs, compressors, hammers, saws, etc. Their choice to be sure. It's just frustrating to see anyone blow it off. BTW guys, I've found that foamy earplugs stay in that little "guitar pick" pocket on jeans and most shorts, even through the laundry. I'm never without earpro in any of my everyday drawers.

I refuse to shoot or share guns with people who won't protect ears and eyes.

Youth is wasted on young people.

 

[DuneHopper]

Also sporting tinnitus 24/7, I try to encourage people I care about to protect their hearing around unnecessary noise, mowers, shrieking shop vacs, compressors, hammers, saws, etc. Their choice to be sure. It's just frustrating to see anyone blow it off. BTW guys, I've found that foamy earplugs stay in that little "guitar pick" pocket on jeans and most shorts, even through the laundry. I'm never without earpro in any of my everyday drawers.

I refuse to shoot or share guns with people who won't protect ears and eyes.

Youth is wasted on young people.

I do the same preach when I can and I also wont shoot with those whom wont exercise safety.
I am glad you mentioned the other tools etc because yep they all weaken the ears. I have earbuds and love Howard Lieght , Impact Pros work well so I can hear yet be well protected and they have a input for 2 way radio if need be or MP3 player.

 

[Caveman Jim]

A buddy nearly lost an eye when he got snagged while fishing. He pulled and pulled and the hook broke. The pencil lead came flying at him at warp speed and ruptured his iris. He has one pupil now that doesn't contract or expand.

That is why I don't fish with everyone & their brothers anymore. I saw more than a few people leave the river bleeding or covering their eyes... Don't trust hardly anyone standing next to me pullin & a yankin on their rods...

 

[Caveman Jim]

Now I'm scared. lol
I've had roundish rocks squirted sideways from underneath parked vehicle tires hit the little pick-up I was in so hard I thought it was a rifle bullet.. dented the car bad both times.

I was in a rental car in NM, going about 100mph, zero traffic, broad daylight and hit a bug directly on the windshield.. looked in the rearview and saw the bug circling around in the air back where I hit it.. went back and it was crawling around on the ground by then. cracked the heck out of the windshield.

wear eyes and a good helmet if you ride a motorcycle.. wear everything, really

Speaking of squirting rocks, I was called out to assist the Telco line crew to replace a pole that had been demolished by an RV. I was off in the ditch and some spoils (1" rocks) had rolled off the mound from the auger onto the pavement & along comes a pickup that rolled over them & one flew at warp speed & hit me right in the sack!!!!! No Lie, I was down for the count, I didn't know WTF happened at the time...

Wear a cup!!!

 

[11Charlie]

What are the odds of that?

I mean getting hit in the rocks with a rock!

 

[Caveman Jim]

What are the odds of that?

I mean getting hit in the rocks with a rock!

I do not trust Telco Linemen!!!! Yeah, it seems that I am the one who bats 1000 when stuff happens...

 

[11Charlie]

Your not the only one brother I got a friend who owns 17 acres right in Battle Ground. He was riding his mtn bike one day and spooked a hawk who was killing a field mouse. The dang thing flew right over him and dropped the dead mouse in his lap while ridding his bike. He freaked out and ended up wrecking his bike and hitting his sack right on the cross bar.

It wasn't funny but I laughed so hard

 

[etrain16]

Your not the only one brother I got a friend who owns 17 acres right in Battle Ground. He was riding his mtn bike one day and spooked a hawk who was killing a field mouse. The dang thing flew right over him and dropped the dead mouse in his lap while ridding his bike. He freaked out and ended up wrecking his bike and hitting his sack right on the cross bar.

It wasn't funny but I laughed so hard

I was riding my bike some years back and looked down to mess with something that wasn't working with my gear levers. By the time I looked up, it was just in time to see the parked car in front of me. Just about turned my outie to an innie on that one - flew straight forward into the crossbar and did the same thing. It's amazing I was able to have a kid.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Your not the only one brother I got a friend who owns 17 acres right in Battle Ground. He was riding his mtn bike one day and spooked a hawk who was killing a field mouse. The dang thing flew right over him and dropped the dead mouse in his lap while ridding his bike. He freaked out and ended up wrecking his bike and hitting his sack right on the cross bar.

It wasn't funny but I laughed so hard

innernet story..

"

1. I never dreamed slowly cruising on my motorcycle through a residential neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Little did I suspect!
   
   I was on Brice Street - a very nice neighborhood with perfect lawns and slow traffic. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me. It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it -- it was that close.
   
   I hate to run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should pose no danger to me. I barely had time to brace for the impact.
   
   Animal lovers, never fear. Squirrels, I discovered, can take care of themselves! Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was standing on his hind legs and facing my oncoming VTX with steadfast resolve in his little beady eyes. His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, "Bonzai!" or maybe, "Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" The leap was nothing short of spectacular ... as he shot straight up, flew over my windshield, and impacted me squarely in the chest.
   
   Instantly, he set upon me. If I did not know better, I would have sworn he brought 20 of his little buddies along for the attack. Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of activity. As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer riding gloves, and jeans this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!
   
   Picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and leather gloves, uttering at maybe 25 mph down a quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a squirrel. And losing...
   
   I grabbed for him with my left hand. After a few misses, I finally managed to snag his tail. With all my strength, I flung the evil rodent off to the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw. That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there. It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser.
   
   But this was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary angry squirrel. This was an EVIL MUTANT ATTACK SQUIRREL OF DEATH!
   
   Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands and, with the force of the throw, swung around and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact; he landed squarely on my back and resumed his rather antisocial and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him!
   
   The situation was not improved. Not improved at all. His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was startled to say the least. The combination of the force of the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a VTX can only have one result. Torque. This is what the VTX is made for, and she is very, very good at it. The engine roared and the front wheel left the pavement. The squirrel screamed in anger. The VTX screamed in ecstasy.
   
   I screamed in ... well ... I just plain screamed.
   
   Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel-torn-t-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, and roaring at maybe 50 mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel and with a demonic squirrel on his back. The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder.
   
   With the sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike. This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I really did not want to crash into somebody's tree, house, or parked car. Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle ... my brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little effect against the massive power of the big cruiser.
   
   About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he is an evil mutant NAZI attack squirrel of death), and he came around my neck and got INSIDE my full-face helmet with me. As the faceplate closed part way, he began hissing in my face. I am quite sure my screaming changed intensity. It had little effect on the squirrel, however. The RPMs on The Dragon maxed out (since I was not bothering with shifting at the moment) so her front end started to drop.
   
   Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very raggedly torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, roaring at probably 80 mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrel's tail sticking out of the mostly closed full-face helmet.
   
   By now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse. Finally I got the upper hand ... I managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked ... sort-of. Spectacularly sort-of -- so to speak.
   
   Picture a new scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork. Suddenly a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing only one leather glove, moving at probably 80 mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by and with all his strength throws a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.
   
   I heard screams. They weren't mine... I managed to get the big motorcycle under control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign of a busy cross street. I would have returned to fess up (and to get my glove back).
   
   I really would have. Really. Except for two things. First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. When I looked back, the doors on both sides of the patrol car were flung wide open. The cop from the passenger side was on his back, doing a crab walk into somebody's front yard, quickly moving away from the car. The cop who had been in the driver's seat was standing in the street and was aiming a riot shotgun at his own police car. So the cops were not interested in me.
   
   They often insist to "let the professionals handle it" anyway. That was one thing. The other? Well, I could clearly see shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery from the back seat. But I could also swear I saw the squirrel in the back window, shaking his little fist at me. That is one dangerous squirrel. And now he has a patrol car. A somewhat shredded patrol car ... but it was all his.
   
   I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made a gentle right turn off of Brice Street, and sedately left the neighborhood. I decided it was best to just buy myself a new pair of gloves... and some Band-Aids. "

 

[Flymph]

60$ for ears and 25$ for eyes seems pretty cheap, the way you guys tell it...

 

[ZigZagZeke]

And we say eye protection, as in singular. A pair of glasses, even with side shields are maybe 98% effective. That means some things might still get to your eyes. So, add a face shield. Also 98% effective. Still means small particles can get around the edges of the face shield, and around your glasses. Goggles are the most effective eye protection.

next chapter...Ear protection.

WAYNO.

Back when I was a meter tech for a large public utility I worked with a guy who was in a hurry. When pulling any meter from its socket, or plugging one back in, we were supposed to wear long sleeves, elbow length insulating gloves, goggles, hard hat, and a face shield. He was in a hurry one day, only wearing his bifocals, a pair of leather gloves, a hard hat, and a T-shirt. He went to plug in a new 480V self-contained meter to a live socket, something we did routinely, and the terminals arced over for some reason. The socket was at about eye level. The meter flew back over his head as the socket exploded. The flames and molten copper from the conductors inside the socket sprayed him on his arms and face. He had third degree burns to his face and arms. His bifocals had pellets of molten copper embedded in the glass. There are old electricians and bold electricians, but there aren't any old bold electricians.

 

[etrain16]

This thread might be a good place to also remind folks that it's a bad idea to remove guards and safeties on equipment and tools. About 20 years ago my wife's cousin was working a 2nd job, a graveyard shift at a manufacturer in Clackamas. He was running a high speed metal lathe (can't remember the parts they were making). Anyway, someone in the shop had at some point removed the guard on the lathe that was designed to contain the part if it were to break loose. He continued to work without that guard as many others did. Then the worst happened - a part broke loose and flew right at him. A co-worker saw it happen and reported that it threw him back a good 20 feet, into the wall. He was killed instantly. Young man, same age as my wife and I, late 20's at the time with 2 kids and in the process of building his own home. The investigation put the blame on the company for allowing the guard to be removed and stay removed. Apparently there was a safety that had to be bypassed in order for the machine to operate without the guard. In the end, the company bore the liability, but at that point, 2 kids were going to grow up without a father and a wife would have to raise them without a husband. The effects of that tragedy, and poor decision making, are still impacting the lives of his family 20 years later.

Being safe is a state of mind. Choosing to wear safety gear really is a decision to stay alive, be uninjured. Working construction I saw so many people ignore safety gear, and get hurt. Thankfully I never saw anyone killed. But lots of injuries, lost time and in some cases, injuries that would affect them for the rest of their lives. PPE, guards, safeties, it's all there so we can go home each night and be with our families. It's not worth the 2 seconds you may save or the slight hassle of dealing with a piece of safety gear if it costs you something more important than those 2 seconds. PPE has saved me from some injuries that could have been worse. Now, I just don't mess with it - I always have hearing protection, gloves and safety glasses available and in use wherever they should be used - at home, at work, at the range, etc. Just not worth not using it.

 

[Burt Gummer]

[QUOTE="Mikej]Glad to see you around Burt, been a long time. See you're still at Mc Ds. Probably manager by now eh? [/QUOTE]

Truth be told I was being a smart azz. I actually have my own IP telecom company for many years. Not a Richy Rich by any means though. Have told women I meet I am the drive through manager at the Plaid Pantry by Portland State.

Then I take it farther with 'Thank you, Drive Through!" - how does that sound - in an Beavis voice. Believe it or not they become disinterested in pursuing me after that ....

 

[teflon6string]

Speaking of squirting rocks, I was called out to assist the Telco line crew to replace a pole that had been demolished by an RV. I was off in the ditch and some spoils (1" rocks) had rolled off the mound from the auger onto the pavement & along comes a pickup that rolled over them & one flew at warp speed & hit me right in the sack!!!!! No Lie, I was down for the count, I didn't know WTF happened at the time...

Wear a cup!!!

So just like that you were a realtor - with a couple acres.

 

[Caveman Jim]

So just like that you were a realtor - with a couple acres.

???

 

[Flymph]

since we're expanding the subject...

Always wear good wade boots and a wade belt while wearing your waders! It only takes one slip into a heavy current and it's over. If you don't have a wade belt, you're better off free wading. Felt soles, and even better combined with cleats, are essential while wearing waders.

 

[Mikej]

Truth be told I was being a smart azz. I actually have my own IP telecom company for many years. Not a Richy Rich by any means though. Have told women I meet I am the drive through manager at the Plaid Pantry by Portland State.

Then I take it farther with 'Thank you, Drive Through!" - how does that sound - in an Beavis voice. Believe it or not they become disinterested in pursuing me after that ....

I was funnin' ya' "Burt". I know what you do. It is good to see you back though.

 

[Brutus57]

While currently My motorcycle is hard down in K Falls waiting new tires during my trip back to NorCal from a week of visiting relatives and friends in WA.....a little gun safety. My nephew is a reserve USMC artillery man. A tour in Iraq as a Humvee gunner then they took their big tubes to Astan. Any way, he has an informal range in his front yard in rural E Wa. He wants to shoot a little but I mention I don't have any hearing protection. He says, what hearing protection? I am an artillery man. I don't use it. As we head out the door he hands me two pieces of toilet paper. I say what is this for? He says, ear plugs. Seemed to work ok with handguns..

Brutus Out