Eye Protection? With an Axe?

Wild Willie said:
The only thing I disagree with here is the safety toed boots. I've gotten in more trouble with them than without them, they have a tendency to get wedged while climbing, and in my dairy farming days I never had a 1200 pound Holstein step on the toe part, always behind it, then you're stuck there with a cow standing on top of your foot and can't just pull your foot out.

I started tree care at a good time, ppe was encouraged, but there were enough old timers around still who could show you the more efficient way of going about a task. Things at the company I used to work for before striking out on my own have gotten out of control apparently, just about all of the fellas I worked with have jumped ship and moved on.

All of that to say that while I think ppe isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can be when taken too far.
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I was mounted on a Belgian-Morgan cross, when I was on a ranch, which was like riding a tank, and I was very mindful of those frisbee hooves. One day, while I was leaning in to cinch the saddle up, she shifted a rear hoof and it was on top of my steel toed cowboy boot. At first I was pretty calm about getting her to move, because the plate was taking the weight, but then I felt the plate start to move and it took a couple of haymakers to get her off my foot. I got off lucky. I would have likely had some broken bones without the steel plate, but if I hadn't gotten her to move the plate would have sheered the front of my foot off.
 
The Grendels said:
I was mounted on a Belgian-Morgan cross, when I was on a ranch, which was like riding a tank, and I was very mindful of those frisbee hooves. One day, while I was leaning in to cinch the saddle up, she shifted a rear hoof and it was on top of my steel toed cowboy boot. At first I was pretty calm about getting her to move, because the plate was taking the weight, but then I felt the plate start to move and it took a couple of haymakers to get her off my foot. I got off lucky. I would have likely had some broken bones without the steel plate, but if I hadn't gotten her to move the plate would have sheered the front of my foot off.
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I was once stepped on by a Percheron, it wasn't particularly enjoyable (and yes I wound up with some bruised toes), but it was my first and only time working with horses. I don't mind looking at them, but I'd much rather deal with dairy cows. They're less crafty, and unshod feet don't hurt so much when you get stepped on.

I definitely don't deny that safety toes can save you from a sticky situation, it's just one of those acceptable risks in my particular case. Another thing that always drove me nuts was requiring EH soles on the boots, all of that goes straight down the crapper as soon as you tromp through the mud.
 
Wild Willie said:
I was once stepped on by a Percheron, it wasn't particularly enjoyable (and yes I wound up with some bruised toes), but it was my first and only time working with horses. I don't mind looking at them, but I'd much rather deal with dairy cows. They're less crafty, and unshod feet don't hurt so much when you get stepped on.

I definitely don't deny that safety toes can save you from a sticky situation, it's just one of those acceptable risks in my particular case. Another thing that always drove me nuts was requiring EH soles on the boots, all of that goes straight down the crapper as soon as you tromp through the mud.
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Most working horse like working, but even some of the good ones like to play tricks. Some horses like puffing their guts out (the opposite of what a middle aged guy does wearing his clothes from when he was young), while you cinch up the saddle and if you don't catch it, you'll have to stop to tighten it up to avoid the saddle sliding off the top of the horse. The ones that do it too often you have to knee them in the gut and then tighten the cinch. If you do that in a suburban horse stable you'll have 5 people hitting PETA on speed dial to report you as the monster that you are...
 
Old Axeman said:
One thing I forgot to mention besides my comment about gloves is that you should ALWAYS wear a hard hat (I like the older alum. ones not the plastic ones) when felling a tree with any tool. It is also a good idea to wear one when limbing. I also wear glasses when working wood.
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I’m really glad to see you still posting, Bernie!!
 
I believe in protective equipment, and use it when I deem it useful, but I believe more in minding one’s own business. It’s good to discuss the situational pros and cons of different PPE options, and I enjoy reading y’all’s’ opinions, but I despise the idea that one person or group should demand what risks another must accept.

To me, that’s a personal decision, not subject to mandate. I think YOU should be the one deciding how best to protect your eyes, hands, hearing, etc. not some chair-polisher who’s never even built a successful doghouse.

More broadly, I think safety is much better served by paying attention, making good decisions, and no horseplay, than by blindly following a one size fits all set of rules. I’ve been on jobs where guys said, “Okay, we checked off all the rules, now we’re safe. La, la, la….. SPLAT!”

No substitute for using your head.

Parker
 
EngrSorenson said:
Wearing eye protection is never a bad idea.
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Can't say I've ever been hurt by debris flying off something I was chopping hitting me in the eye, but I suspect that I'll NEVER be injured by wearing eye protection. So, yes, I would certainly agree that eye protection is a good idea, but you probably won't find me setting a good example... T-A
 
You won't catch me using protection.
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Wild Willie said:
The only thing I disagree with here is the safety toed boots. I've gotten in more trouble with them than without them
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I was stagehand/roadie for some years, and we always had the stupidest people imaginable as temp grips. I got my steel toes run over by road cases so many times I was tempted to put ramps on my boot tips so they could at least run me down in less time so I could get my job done. The real lesson here is don't work with guys whose neck size is bigger than their hat size.

the-accumulator said:
I suspect that I'll NEVER be injured by wearing eye protection
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I recently shifted to bifocals for the usual reasons, took them off my face to readjust, and promptly jabbed the earpiece right into my eyeball as I was still paying attention to the thing I was working on and not what I was doing. That was not my proudest moment, but at least I proved that I still remember most of the good swear words.
 
BitingSarcasm said:
I was stagehand/roadie for some years, and we always had the stupidest people imaginable as temp grips. I got my steel toes run over by road cases so many times I was tempted to put ramps on my boot tips so they could at least run me down in less time so I could get my job done. The real lesson here is don't work with guys whose neck size is bigger than their hat size.
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Definitely a case where I'd probably be ok wearing them. I was basing things on my own personal experiences, I've been fortunate in not having to deal with idiots for some time now. One of the joys of self employment is being selective of with whom I choose to work.

I'll also note here, just so you guys don't think I'm a ppe freak, I cut and climb all summer in shorts without saw chaps. I'd rather risk a saw cut to my legs than heat stroke...
 
garry3 said:
The PPE movement has been off the hook for years.
I once worked for an outfit that made us wear safety glasses to hang dry wall. I fought them things constantly with dust, I finally knocked the lenses out of them. Those in charge said nothing and the blue suits never got close enough to know.
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I used to do a lot of work for a huge defense contractor. I was the onsite construction superintendent overseeing our tradesmen and all of our subcontractors. Part of my job was enforce our PPE rules. This customer was adamant that all personnel onsite wore safety glasses, a hardhat and a brightly colored vest at all times. One of these projects was inside one of the largest, most heavily industrialized buildings in the world. There were a million things in that factory that could kill you.

One night (this was a swing shift project) I had to throw a painter off the jobsite for refusing to wear a hardhat. He was working inside an office within the factory where there was no overhead hazard. I had warned him twice before and given him a written notice that he had to wear it. If any employee of the factory had walked in and seen him without a hardhat we'd have been written up for certain. I wasn't going take a fall for this guy so I booted him.

But it's not just about following rules. One of the reasons why my company was getting so much work from this customer is that we had an incredibly clean accident history. This lowered our L&I rates and gave us a competitive advantage over other contractors. We all had to pay the same union scale but our fully burdened rates were lower so our costs to the customer were lower. Our safety record is what got us that work.
 
Square_peg said:
I used to do a lot of work for a huge defense contractor. I was the onsite construction superintendent overseeing our tradesmen and all of our subcontractors. Part of my job was enforce our PPE rules. This customer was adamant that all personnel onsite wore safety glasses, a hardhat and a brightly colored vest at all times. One of these projects was inside one of the largest, most heavily industrialized buildings in the world. There were a million things in that factory that could kill you.

One night (this was a swing shift project) I had to throw a painter off the jobsite for refusing to wear a hardhat. He was working inside an office within the factory where there was no overhead hazard. I had warned him twice before and given him a written notice that he had to wear it. If any employee of the factory had walked in and seen him without a hardhat we'd have been written up for certain. I wasn't going take a fall for this guy so I booted him.

But it's not just about following rules. One of the reasons why my company was getting so much work from this customer is that we had an incredibly clean accident history. This lowered our L&I rates and gave us a competitive advantage over other contractors. We all had to pay the same union scale but our fully burdened rates were lower so our costs to the customer were lower. Our safety record is what got us that work.
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The way I figure it, if you are being paid, just follow your employer's rules. They are not there for your comfort or convenience, just to protect the whole operation. It sucks when people just do whatever, especially if there is a culture of flouting the rules. In the end, no one wins.
 
Wild Willie said:
Definitely a case where I'd probably be ok wearing them. I was basing things on my own personal experiences, I've been fortunate in not having to deal with idiots for some time now. One of the joys of self employment is being selective of with whom I choose to work.

I'll also note here, just so you guys don't think I'm a ppe freak, I cut and climb all summer in shorts without saw chaps. I'd rather risk a saw cut to my legs than heat stroke...
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What if you went kevlar chaps and budgy smuggler? That would give some good airflow.
 
BitingSarcasm said:
I recently shifted to bifocals for the usual reasons, took them off my face to readjust, and promptly jabbed the earpiece right into my eyeball as I was still paying attention to the thing I was working on and not what I was doing.
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Now that you've told that story, I'll probably do the same thing myself. You've jinxed me! T-A
 
Danke42 said:
What if you went kevlar chaps and budgy smuggler? That would give some good airflow.
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I had to look up what a budgy smuggler was... My tan lines are bad enough as is. Plus, despite being 30 pounds overweight I have no ass to speak of, so the swimsuit just wouldn't look right.
 
I have worn glasses since the 3rd grade (in my 60's now), so since they are polycarbonate, they double as eye protection. Have to add goggles for the table saw, but for most tasks, I'm thankful for my glasses, they have saved my eyes from serious injury a couple of times on home projects.

Having also had a .45 acp shell lodged between my glasses and eyebrow, I won't go to the range without a baseball cap. Lesson learned.
 
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