Protecting Your Hands - What Gloves to Wear

[52 Ford]

As a follow up to a previous thread about "hand care", I'd like to know what sort of gloves are recommended. In my experience, the quality and design of your work gloves makes a WORLD of difference.

When I was working full time residential construction, I went through a TON of gloves - not cheap gloves, either. I would wear through a $30 dollar leather gloves every month or two. I'd wear through the (usually leather) pads of the fingers, in particular. I'd also wear out the stitching in the palm of the gloves near the thumb.

I got really good at patching up gloves...

Again - what are YOUR preferred gloves?

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

As a follow up to a previous thread about "hand care", I'd like to know what sort of gloves are recommended. In my experience, the quality and design of your work gloves makes a WORLD of difference.

When I was working full time residential construction, I went through a TON of gloves - not cheap gloves, either. I would wear through a $30 dollar leather gloves every month or two. I'd wear through the (usually leather) pads of the fingers, in particular. I'd also wear out the stitching in the palm of the gloves near the thumb.

I got really good at patching up gloves...

Again - what are YOUR preferred gloves?

None. Gloves can be dangerous in an engineering environment and from a personal point of view I like to be able to feel what I’m doing.

Regards Tyrone.

 

[Milland]

For machine work, not what you're thinking - I use a surgical-style glove, usually from the Microflex range like Diamond Grip latex or from their nitrile choices. I use as small a size as I can for best "feel".

They're robust enough to use over and over (until they get too grody), then if they do get caught in anything they tear off with relatively little force required, saving my hands. Obviously, best to keep hands away from spiny things, but stuff happens.

I only use proper leather/synthetic gloves when handling stationary stuff like sheet metal for feeding into a shear, where there's not a rotating blade or similar risk. For those applications, Mechanix Wear has done ok by me.

 

[mhajicek]

Anything other than a thin latex or vinyl glove is a hazard around machinery. It can prevent little knicks and scratches, or it can take what would be a little knick on your finger and turn it into broken fingers and maybe losing your hand. It happened to a friend, got his whole hand wrapped up. Not worth it; I'll suffer through the little discomforts.

Now if you're carrying a big piece of sharp sheet metal or something, that's another story; just remember to take the gloves off before going near a machine.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Safety gloves protect your hands from injuries while you're working. Gloves help you to do your job safely. You should always use safety gloves when handling dangerous substances or tools.
Gloves are not a generic product; they're specifically designed for each type of work. Workers need to wear the correct type of gloves for the job they'll be doing and the hazards they may face.
Types of Hand Protection Gloves

Fabric or Cotton Gloves - These gloves are used as liners worn inside larger safety gloves to provide additional warmth.
Coated Fabric Gloves - These are general-purpose gloves that offer a higher level of puncture and cut resistance, protection from the alkalinity of concrete products.
Latex and Nitrile Gloves - Gloves made of latex and nitrile are widely used in laboratories and healthcare settings and protect against oil, grease, solvents, etc.
Leather Gloves - Leather gloves offer good grip, spark resistance, and protection against sharp or abrasive surfaces, which absorve a moderate levels of heat.
Aluminized Gloves - Aluminized gloves are built to withstand high temperatures. They're used in laboratory settings, furnace and foundry work where there are high-temperature ovens.
Kevlar Gloves - Kevlar is a strong, lightweight material used in protective clothing. It is also used as an alternative to steel in bulletproof vests.This material has been used to create lightweight and durable gloves. These gloves have been very successful in protecting workers' hands from injury, who is working in any kind of manufacturing industry.
Impact-Resistant and Vibration-Resistant Gloves - Hand-arm vibration syndrome is a condition caused by long-term exposure to vibrating tools. Workers who use vibrating tools should be protected from this disease. Vibration-resistant gloves are worn by workers who may need to use grinders or other heavy equipment for long periods of time. Spinning mills and spinning can manufacturers like Jumac cans should provide their workers with these kind of gloves, because in these mills continuous vibrations may occur which can harm the workers hands.

A pal of mine was a rigger. He was putting a hook back into the master ring of a large chain sling. He wore gloves but they were a bit old and tatty. His glove got trapped between hook and ring and he was lifted about 8 ft into the air before the crane driver noticed him ! I’ll take my chances bare handed.

Regards Tyrone.

 

[GregSY]

Although I seldom wear nitrile gloves when machining....I do believe they are too flimsy so pull a hand into a machine if they get caught up. They tear so easily they don't have the strength.

For most other stuff, I use the nitrile gloves sold all over. It's nice packing a bearing with grease or handling used motor oil then peeling off the gloves and having clean hands again. Keeps me from washing my hands as often, which also is a benefit to the skin.

 

[crossthread]

I'm not sure if this is off topic and if so I apologize. I have found that if you put on a cheap pair of nitrile gloves and then put on your heavy gloves your hands will be much warmer when it is really cold outside. The nitrile gloves also keep any moisture from wicking through the leather gloves and getting to your hands.

 

[MilGunsmith]

The cheap HF pigskin gloves seam to last for doing firewood. The rubber dipped Kevlar for handling Sheetmetal.

 

[Larry Dickman]

Safety gloves protect your hands from injuries while you're working. Gloves help you to do your job safely. You should always use safety gloves when handling dangerous substances or tools.
Gloves are not a generic product; they're specifically designed for each type of work. Workers need to wear the correct type of gloves for the job they'll be doing and the hazards they may face.
Types of Hand Protection Gloves

Fabric or Cotton Gloves - These gloves are used as liners worn inside larger safety gloves to provide additional warmth.
Coated Fabric Gloves - These are general-purpose gloves that offer a higher level of puncture and cut resistance, protection from the alkalinity of concrete products.
Latex and Nitrile Gloves - Gloves made of latex and nitrile are widely used in laboratories and healthcare settings and protect against oil, grease, solvents, etc.
Leather Gloves - Leather gloves offer good grip, spark resistance, and protection against sharp or abrasive surfaces, which absorve a moderate levels of heat.
Aluminized Gloves - Aluminized gloves are built to withstand high temperatures. They're used in laboratory settings, furnace and foundry work where there are high-temperature ovens.
Kevlar Gloves - Kevlar is a strong, lightweight material used in protective clothing. It is also used as an alternative to steel in bulletproof vests.This material has been used to create lightweight and durable gloves. These gloves have been very successful in protecting workers' hands from injury, who is working in any kind of manufacturing industry.
Impact-Resistant and Vibration-Resistant Gloves - Hand-arm vibration syndrome is a condition caused by long-term exposure to vibrating tools. Workers who use vibrating tools should be protected from this disease. Vibration-resistant gloves are worn by workers who may need to use grinders or other heavy equipment for long periods of time. Spinning mills and spinning can manufacturers like Jumac cans should provide their workers with these kind of gloves, because in these mills continuous vibrations may occur which can harm the workers hands.

ok captain saftey, then how come all the fucked up foundry videos from India have people working without gloves, saftey glasses, hardhats, or even shoes for cryin out loud?

 

[jspivey]

The boss keeps a pack of Maxiflex gloves around the shop. They are a nylon glove with nitrile coating on fingers and palm. Relatively thin and pretty good grip. As mentioned above about "thicker" gloves above, not safe to wear while running a machine, but I like them for general work around the shop. 12 pack is $45 on Amazon.

 

[Scottl]

I agree with Milland. I use heavy work gloves to protect my hands when moving things but nitrile for everything else.

If it can't tear away easily NEVER wear it around machinery.

 

[DocsMachine]

It always amazes me how many of you go around sticking your hands into rotating machinery.

Doc.

 

[Mtndew]

Again - what are YOUR preferred gloves?

It all depends on what kind of work you're doing where you need gloves.

 

[Scottl]

It always amazes me how many of you go around sticking your hands into rotating machinery.

Doc.

Beats sticking other body parts into rotating machinery.

(Could give new meaning to "Man I love this machine!").

 

[DocsMachine]

I'm pretty sure the machine-tool world is the only one where people insist you NOT wear your PPE.

Can a glove get caught in a spindle? Absolutely. Does the spindle reach out and grab your hand? None that I've ever seen.

I keep saying, it's not the glove that's the danger, it's the idiot that sticks his hand into the spindle.

Personally, I've been wearing black nitrile gloves for everything in the shop, for so long that it kind of feels wrong to not be wearing them. Milling, drilling, grinding, turning, sawing, you name it. Still have all ten fully-functional fingers.

I use heavy gauntlets for stick welding, light gloves for TIG welding, heavy leathers for handling steel and other materials, thin cloth for mechanic and repair work, heavy rubber for nasty solvents and paint strippers... that's what gloves are for.

Have people gotten injured or even disfigured from getting a glove caught in a machine? Absolutely. All too often, really. Did the machine reach out and grab the guy as he was walking past, unsuspecting? Of course not. The victim himself put his hand too close to the spindle.

Doc.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

I go thru a pair of leather gloves per month, as soon as a finger gets a hole in it or the palm rips open they get replaced, its a second skin that is tougher than my first skin. I have nitrile gloves, sometimes I even remember to use them, I should probably remember more often, but cannot stand wearing them for extended time like some people do.

Not wearing gloves while operating machinery was drilled in to me, but that was in Texas where it never really gets cold. Confession, in mid winter I have been known to operate my machines while wearing gloves, I stay very conscious of where my hands are, if I have to reach in to touch a spinning part, the gloves come off to do so. Without heat the shop hovers just above freezing.

 

[boslab]

I’m with Tyrone, gloves and chains don’t even mix, my mate Jim was hooking up a slab of steel in the turret bay of the caster, got his gloved hand caught in the chain as it lifted, and to make things worse he was the one who signaled the crane UP ( arm raised above head, finger sticking up, round and round gesture) his last hand was stopping the shackle twisting, the slab was 30 ton, the shackle was 12” tall and the crane could lift 500 tons
( 1200 tons test) Jim’s index finger got caught, and removed by the crane, first I knew was when Jim walked into the control room and threw his glove on a desk, he said I’m gonna need a plaster for this ( the shift manager fainted btw) I got to do first aid, though somewhat pointless I got the ambulance to pick him up, Jim btw was back in work the next day, minus a digit, he could have cared less!, I then discovered there is a rate for losing fingers in the U.K. at the time (1989 or 90) it was £750 for a left index finger as decided by judge ( forgot name) in the House of Lords. Worth a bloody side more to me I thought.
I saw Jim in Lidl a week ago, still bonkers .
Even where your supposed to wear a glove, if it’s strong enough to pull you it’s a hazard, even a wristwatch or ring, same applies, be wary of clothing, hair and jewellery.
Mark

 

[jim rozen]

For machine work, not what you're thinking - I use a surgical-style glove, usually from the Microflex range like Diamond Grip latex or from their nitrile choices. I use as small a size as I can for best "feel".

They're robust enough to use over and over (until they get too grody), then if they do get caught in anything they tear off with relatively little force required, ....

You might want to re-think that. Guy I worked with got a brand new, custom-made titanium armature implanted in his hand after a thin nitrile glove got caught up in a part he was polishing in a lathe. The glove did not tear away, and his hand wound up on the part and was badly shattered.

 

[cg285]

i cant work with gloves on
gloves are reserved for my dirt bikes

 

[EPAIII]

Doc, NO ONE HERE "goes around sticking their hands into rotating machinery". Our hands are NEAR that rotating machinery and, as the bumper sticker says,

SHIT HAPPENS!

Gloves, which have absolutely zero sense of feeling, greatly enhance the chances of that happening.

I will even disagree with those who say that nitrile gloves will tear easily. YES, they do tear easily and even a small child could exert enough force to tear them. BUT, reaction time is against you here. If your gloved hand is only a fraction of an inch (a few mm for the metric lot) away from that rotating part, a fraction of a second in reaction time before you can decide to pull your hand back IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME for your hand to get tangled in it. And the rubber-like nature of the pieces of the nitrile glove will provide additional traction between your fingers and the oily, rotating part.

In railroad circles it used to be said that you could tell how much experience a brakeman had by counting the number of fingers he had left: the fewer fingers, the more experienced the man was. None of those brakemen deliberately put their fingers between the moving parts of the couplers. If nothing else, IT HURTS. But they did often lose fingers to them. I'm sure many of them wore gloves. Those gloves did nothing to save their fingers and perhaps even contributed to the rate of loss by taking away some of their sense of touch.

NO, NEVER use any gloves at the machines in a machine shop. NEVER!

As for the cuts and metal splinters, I have had my share of them. But none of them has caused the loss of even a part of a finger, much less an entire hand. I keep a first aid kit in my shop and have gotten pretty good at removing metal splinters.

It always amazes me how many of you go around sticking your hands into rotating machinery.

Doc.