Safety Week Post Safety Glasses for us that wear Glasses

"Be sure to read, understand, and follow all the safety rules that come with your power tools. Knowing how to use your power tools properly will greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. And remember this: there is no more important safety rule than to wear these-- safety glasses."

Well if you wear glasses anyway do you need safety glasses? Well.... yes, your glasses may help you see better but are they designed to protect your eyes? Here's something you should consider when thinking about eye safety.

• Consider frames with side shields, which protect against objects coming at the eyes from an angle, as well as from the front.


• The frames should be made of impact-resistant plastic or polycarbonate.


• For cold weather wear, look for frames made of nylon, rubber or propionate, which do not become brittle in the cold, hold their shape, and are less likely to injure the face in a fall or when something strikes them.


• Titanium is an unusually tough metal used in some sports eyeglasses.


• Wrap-around temples keep the frame more firmly in place.


• Spring hinges allow the frame to flex without breaking
  
  

When considering which safety glasses to purchase keep the ANSI Z87.1 standard in mind. The ANSI Z87.1 standard sets forth requirements for the design, construction, testing, and use of eye protection devices, including standards for impact and penetration resistance. All safety glasses, goggles, and face shields used by employees under OSHA jurisdiction must meet the ANSI Z87.1 standard. The eyewear standard includes the following minimum requirements:

• Provide adequate protection against the hazards for which they are designed


• Be reasonably comfortable


• Fit securely, without interfering with movement or vision


• Be capable of being disinfected if necessary, and be easy to clean


• Be durable


• Fit over, or incorporate, prescription eyewear

Now your safety glasses no longer have to look like the ones that your shop teacher wore along with his short sleeved plaid shirt and bad tie probably including pocket protector that he never seemed to take off even when you saw him outside of school. They can look just as cool as the ones sported by your normally sighted friends. You can even order them online, all you need is your prescription and pupil distance from your last eye exam. I would highly recommend getting some comfortable, cool looking safety glasses because you'll wear them, I tried all kinds of "over glasses" type of safety glasses before I got my prescription and none of them were comfortable so I ended up not wearing them.

My regular everyday glasses do have plastic lenses but they are small and there is no side protection. They offer more protection than wearing nothing but they are not safety glasses. Many woodworkers would spend thousands on a Sawstop and you have ten fingers, loose a few and you can still build nice furniture, but you only have two eyes... Safety Glasses are cheap.

"It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself." Eleanor Roosevelt