Safety equipment (PPE) while milling

[sansbury]

I like to think I'm a pretty safety-conscious guy, and while I'm comfortable with just glasses, I'd never second-guess a guy who prefers to wear a shield.

The main things I do are to have several pairs of new glasses on hand, plus a bottle of windex, so that there's always a clean pair handy for me or a visitor. That minimizes the temptation to go without.

[thaiguzzi]

I do both, frequently. Getting a hot chip in-between your toes sucks. Someday I'll learn my lesson - hopefully I'll still have 10 toes.

Good man!
Me too. Still have not learned my lesson...

[J Tiers]

For flip-flops, the chips don't need to be hot, if they are sharp..... and they generally are sharp.

hey, look at the good side... the flip-flop they cut off of your mangled foot is not very expensive..... way cheaper than if you forgot and wore your Johnson & Murphy's when you dropped the chunk on your foot.

[Video Man]

I use eye protection plus one of those magnet-base flexible holders with a clear plastic shield between me and the work. Once, I had a drill bit shatter, sending a piece through my lip and it took out a tooth. Could have been my aorta just as easily. I never do any milling (0r lathe) function without a shield between me and the work.

[PStechPaul]

I tend to do machining non-aggressively, with low speed, feed, and DOC, so chips are usually not very hot and don't fly very far. My relatively wimpy machines also limit how I work. I always use safety glasses, and wear sensible clothing and footwear. When using the angle grinder, or a metal or masonry cutting circular saw, I also use a full face shield. I use PlastX polishing compound to remove small scratches from plastic lenses.

[Jigs]

My safety equipment is safety glasses, sturdy shoes, natural fiber clothing.

Occasionally I'll catch a stream of hot chips on the arm or face, but I count it as part of the machining experience.

Dan

When you get a hot chip[ down your shirt, is the next step a suit of armor?
Safety glasses, short sleeve shirt or long sleeve rolled up, jeans or canvas work pants, OTA work boots.
You're being a wimp.

I agree. The first 7 years of my career involved open, manual lathes and mills. A hot chip now and again is par for the course. A face shield with a band around my head all day would give me a headache. I'll take a quick bee sting over that any day.

Try to make your cuts so your chips head towards the machine, not you.

[JoeLee]

This should solve the above mentioned issues.

Full face shield.
Helmet mounted lights.
Helmet mounted camera for your You Tube video making. Hand free operation.
Built in communications so you don't have to stop working to answer the phone.
Climate controlled suit so you don't need AC in the shop.
Flame retardant suit so you don't have to worry about flying hot blue chips. And if the shop starts on fire you can just keep working.
Flexible gloves so you can handle small parts and keep hazardous oils and cancer causing chemicals from coming in contact with your fingers.
Fresh air supply so you don't have to worry about breathing in any hazardous mist or smoke from cutting fluids.
I think you can even go potty right in the suit. No need to stop work to run to the can.
What could be better??? Did I leave anything out????

JL...................

[RichR]

Did I leave anything out????

I think it also has a built in straw connected to a beverage dispenser.

[KiddZimaHater]

JoeLee,
Those sound like California workplace regulations.

[JoeLee]

I think it also has a built in straw connected to a beverage dispenser.

Roger that !!!!

JL................

[JoeLee]

JoeLee,
Those sound like California workplace regulations.

That's where all the madness starts.

JL...................

[Mike Amick]

Yea .. but did you notice the strange alien structure in the reflection of the facemask ?

[Mcgyver]

This should solve the above mentioned issues.

Full face shield.
Helmet mounted lights.
Helmet mounted camera for your You Tube video making. Hand free operation.
Built in communications so you don't have to stop working to answer the phone.
Climate controlled suit so you don't need AC in the shop.
Flame retardant suit so you don't have to worry about flying hot blue chips. And if the shop starts on fire you can just keep working.
Flexible gloves so you can handle small parts and keep hazardous oils and cancer causing chemicals from coming in contact with your fingers.
Fresh air supply so you don't have to worry about breathing in any hazardous mist or smoke from cutting fluids.
I think you can even go potty right in the suit. No need to stop work to run to the can.
What could be better??? Did I leave anything out????

lose the gloves, otherwise you're all set

[kwilliam]

I have had good luck with a 'dam' of aluminium foil.
You can mould it into shape.
Makes cleanup a beeze.
Only downside is you can't always see what you are doing. But if your working by numbers its ok. You can still hear and feel if the cuts going well.
If it gets caught in the machine its no big deal either. Though it has sprayed a handfull of chips once!

Even just one side as a deflector is better than holding up cardboard

[J Tiers]

As for PPE in general....

I think you can easily have too MUCH PPE, and be actually less "safe" than if you had less.

Obviously sometimes it is necessary, as with foundry work, where even what looks like overkill may be hardly enough if bad stuff happens. But for milling, you need to look at the hazards, and see what covers the bad ones. Clearly, safety glasses are top of the list. And there are different types, some types do not even have side shields, some have basic side shields, some have close-fitting side shields,while others are more like goggles. With chips flying around, you don't want glasses that let chips bounce off your cheek under the glasses and into your eye.

For that, a face shield is an obvious alternate solution, but is not without problems. It is not adequate protection by itself, usually, but if combined with approved safety glasses it may make seeing the work difficult. That may lead to problems and be less safe in general than using just the shield, or just the glasses.

The chip shields sold with some mills are similar, making it more difficult to see so that it may be more dangerous with than without. Ditto for the lathe chuck covers that supposedly go over the work area. and stop chips.

For that matter, I know a number of people who injured their backs lifting almost certainly BECAUSE OF those harnesses that used to be required when lifting things. I think they are now forbidden, at least I never see them now. They were worse than nothing, IMO.

If you are just basically sensible, you will do better than if you armor-up and then think you are safe.

No matter what safety item you come up with, assuming it still lets you do the work, I would bet that a credible different risk, that it does not account for, can be found.

And then there is the question of whether you can still actually do the work with that stuff all piled on.