safety glasses??why??

[neo]

i love wearing my safety glasses. i wasn't even the safety guy on the team and was yelling at my teammates to get them on when they didnt have them, or when we were entering the pit area.

the only problem i experianced was the constant fogging up. i sweat like a pig. and i have long hair. the top would get foggy and i couldnt see most of the field when i looked up from getting a ball. and after every match i was grabbing for my autodesk bandana (thank god for those things) to wipe away all the perspiration.

[chrisinmd]

Everyone above me has given great reasons for wearing safety glasses.

My dad always tried to show me how to be safe when I was little, and it has benefited me greatly. He is in charge of safety (among other things) at his work (excavating contractor), and he always made sure I had safety glasses, hearing protection, and the like, when I was working on stuff around home. The hearing protection is second nature when I mow the lawn or operate large equipment, as are the safety glasses whenever working at the shop at home or school, as well as FIRST events. I did have, among others, a dremel wheel explode on me and those things really do fly! There is no excuse for stubbornness or laziness. Long story short, if you can't take the second to put safety glasses on, you have no business in the shop, or anywhere else they are required (FIRST events).

-Chris

[MattK]

I can not even count how many times I have said under my breath "hmm wow thank god I was wearing my safty glasses"

common guys its just a good habbit to get into...

[LightWaves1636]

even if you're not cutting, welding, or anything like that, it's better to be safe than sorry. Because there's not just one team working, there's a lot more and anything's possible. Like when cutting the excess off the zip ties, those things can really fly. Plusto add in the chaos FIRST gives everyone. (I can't wait for 2007 )

We were doing some milling with a bad rotary table, and the endmill shattered.... Sending very hot pieces of Carbide into my glasses, arms, and chest. Come by 114's pit some regional and I'll show you the scars.

Had I not been wearing my glasses, I probably would've lost my eyesight.

(as a second note, NEVER use a rotary table unless you know it's in perfect condition... it was scary to have that endmill fly apart.)

[Eric Finn]

Although I have never personally had anything fly at me or seen anything flying at somebody (other than poof balls) in FIRST, I still wear my safety goggles.
I recently bought a $6 pair of safety goggles which fit over my glasses at a local hardware store, I can see perfectly out of them, and they don't fog up.

I see no reason not to wear a pair of safety goggles. If the only ones you have access to are scratched up and dirty, then get your own.

[prettycolors91]

why wouldn't you? I LOVE my safety glasses (i painted them our team colors--which makes it even more fun). I'm a chairman's kid, so I don't have to worry too much about flying things, but when your rushing around regionals trying to find your mentors to give them scouting before your next match and your not paying attention, bad things can happen. safety glasses prevent the badness from taking away your vision.

plus, they come in especially handy when eating pineapple with steak knives at the steak & ale reseaurant (story by PM request...)

[DonRotolo]

Most of the folks who don't like their safety glasses are wearing cheap ones. Those $1.98 specials will protect your eyes, but they slightly distort your vision and cause a headache. Or they fit wrong and hurt your nose/ears/temples. Or they fog up....

The point is: Cheap Glasses are just that. If you got them for free, expect to get what you paid for.

Invest $10 in a hallf-decent pair of safety glasses, and (believe it or not) after a short while you will literally forget they are on. In one of our factories it is mandatory to wear glasses all the time - even in the cafeteria (!) - so you never see folks with cheap glasses. Good Glasses are just that.

Don

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

Invest $10 in a hallf-decent pair of safety glasses, and (believe it or not) after a short while you will literally forget they are on.... Good Glasses are just that.

Go to your local hardware store. Get a decent pair. Keep them from getting dirty by washing them (soap and warm water, then dry with a towel). Get a case to protect them when they aren't on your eyes. You should be able to wear them comfortably all day.

[Donut]

Safety glasses are good anti-robot protection. I've had a corner of the robot from this year smack point first into my safety glasses, saved alot of hurt to my eye and probably the cost of buying new normal glasses as well, since they were under the safety ones.

[s_forbes]

I personally think that safety glasses are a bit overdone. I totally agree with wearing safety glasses when cutting/drilling/grinding, but it just bothers me that I have to wear them when I do such dangerous tasks as putting stickers on the robot or sorting through my pocket change. This is mainly because I have prescription glasses and those huge goggles annoy the heck out of me.

I've worked on things for long enough to realize what is the safe way to do something and what is dangerous. I work on bikes and cars and other mechanical things at home without wearing safety glasses because I know how to work on things carefully so that they don't explode and fly across the room.

I do take the necessary precautions when working with powertools just like everybody should, but I think the danger of a bolt is greatly overexagerated.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by s_forbes

I personally think that safety glasses are a bit overdone. I totally agree with wearing safety glasses when cutting/drilling/grinding, but it just bothers me that I have to wear them when I do such dangerous tasks as putting stickers on the robot or sorting through my pocket change. This is mainly because I have prescription glasses and those huge goggles annoy the heck out of me.

OK, first off, you wear prescription glasses normally. IF they are polycarbonate, you only need side shields. That shouldn't be too hard, should it? I know of at least one person who has prescription safety glasses.

Second, just because all you are doing is, say, looking at the robot, that doesn't mean that someone else in your pit, or the neighboring pit, or the pit across the aisle is not doing something that could throw bits of material into your pit, and quite possibly into your eyes.For argument's sake, let's assume they are drilling plastic, say PVC. Now, PVC has a tendency to form a plastic mass on the drill bit, made up of "strings" of PVC, and these occaisionally fly off. (Metal does the same under certain conditions, and tends to fly off even farther.) One of those "strings" leaves a drill bit in the pit next door, and flies into your eyes at high speed before you can stop it. You are not wearing safety glasses, and it has enough momentum/energy/force to shatter your normal glasses. Now you have bits of glass in your eyes, as well as plastic. You could lose your sight.
Admittedly, this is a bit far fetched. I use it to make a point--and it could potentially happen with metal.

So, even if you don't understand the reason behind the rule, follow it. Would you rather put up with discomfort for three days, or suffer discomfort for the rest of your life?

[s_forbes]

I know exactly where you guys are coming from, I'm usually way safer than I need to be. But I still stand by my original post, and I will continue to tinker on my own time without wearing safety glasses unless I see fit.

I thought it also might be worth mentioning that I have always worn my goggles when in the pits at a competition, and I wore them when working on the robot at our teams shop. Just because I don't completely agree with the rules doesn't mean I don't follow them.

Originally Posted by EricH

OK, first off, you wear prescription glasses normally. IF they are polycarbonate, you only need side shields. That shouldn't be too hard, should it? I know of at least one person who has prescription safety glasses.

Actually, I would much rather wear real goggles than those things. In the cases when I'm working on something where there is a significant chance of getting something in my eye (grinding, using the drill press, etc.) I want to have my eyes safe. Metal shards have no problem flying in over your glasses.


Sorry if I came off as some rebelious punk earlier, I didn't mean it.

[Nitroxextreme]

Safety glasses are a must not only in the pit, but anytime you are near a robot.

I do have one question though....why do you not like safety glasses that much? If you are so against them in the pits...I can only assume that you do not wear them during the build season.

I can understand where you may see a cheap pair as uncomfortable and causing messed up vision. However, If you have been involved in FIRST for any time then you would definately have a set of you own safety glasses that you could forget you were wearing.

[yodameister]

Originally Posted by Nitroxextreme

I can only assume that you do not wear them during the build season.

Please do not assume such things...It makes an *bleep* out of you and me . Eye safety was our number one priority when we were working in the shop. I am very strict about safety, I'm sure that s_forbes will agree with this statement.