Gloves: blue nitrile, safe?

[digiex-chris]

I know that using a leather or mechanic's glove is dangerous, but I think using the blue nitrile or vinyl gloves should be fairly safe. I've had tonnes of these gloves fall apart when I ask them to stand up to automotive mechanic's abuse, and the other day a long curl snagged and tore one glove on my drill press without any ill effect, not even a tug. I often don't realize they've snagged something and tore until I feel the ATF or grease inside the glove. I tried them with my lathe, and notice I get far fewer of the tiny metal slivers I often get and none of the black hands from turning the cranks. Quite enjoying it. I can't see how they'd ever stand up to being snagged and pulling my hand into the machine, they just fall apart too easy. Thoughts?

 

[MuellerNick]

Vinyl? You mean PVC? That's a thermoplast, big fun if it melts into your skin. NOT!
Soap is cheaper.
You only have to touch the slivers that are harmless, and stay away from the pointy ones. In case, I know where my tweezers are.

I hate gloves at work.


Nick

 

[bret4]

I would not ware any gloves while running a machine. The fact that you are asking is enough to tell you that it isn't worth the risk.

 

[Tin Falcon]

Chris: Your shop you make the rules.
I wear gloves at work most of the time. leather for most applications or nitrile when leather would get quicly ruined or i need the feel. Also when I am in a lab and the hazards are chemical rather than physical.
While nitrile will tear fairly readily I would not wear them around machines. Is it worth the risk that one time the glove does not decide to tear before the machine tool tears into your finger. sometimes it is a matter of miliseconds or thousands of an inch that makes the difference between a near miss and a serious injury.
I know I have trimmed fingernails with a trim router not on purpose mind you . NO blood no harm just a very short fingernail. But for the grace of god and quick reflexes it could have been to the bone.
OSHA rules do seem silly sometimes but remember they were written in blood. For every rule written dozens were hurt or someone died.

You may want to try liquid glove or some other similar protective hand cream.
Tin

 

[Lance]

As a professional mechanic I can tell you that they do tear easy, BUT they also grab and like to get wound up, with amazing strength when using impacts, and air ratchets. I'm new to this hobby, but I would not wear them around my machine.

 

[crankincraig]

As the supervisor of a student machine shop our rules say ; No Way.
No gloves of any kind allowed while useing machines.

 

[digiex-chris]

As a professional mechanic I can tell you that they do tear easy, BUT they also grab and like to get wound up, with amazing strength when using impacts, and air ratchets. I'm new to this hobby, but I would not wear them around my machine.

That is all the warning I need. Thanks for that. No gloves then.

 

[srgtherasta]

Take one of them gloves, twist one of the fingers around like string and see if you can tear it. bet you can't. I have seen it happen to a fitter at work on a pillar drill. Don't it makes a woeful mess to clean.

 

[wm460]

No glove for this boy any more:
I was putting a bit CA to fill in a couple of voids in a pen blank, I had a plastic bag that a pen part came in on my index finger, holding the end with my thumb, when some how it wrapped its self around the mandrel.
It pull the glove ½ off my and dragged my fingers around the mandrel, fortunely for me it stalled the lathe.
I would have been buggered if I had my big Vicmarc then.
end result was a cracked pen blank, bent mandrel and almost dirty undies.

The glove is just an examination glove a lot thinner and weaker than the nitrile gloves.

 

[kvom]

I use these gloves, but only for oil changes and grease jobs on vehicles.

 

[terrywerm]

Same here, no gloves of any kind around machines or power tools of any kind. Vinyl or nitrile gloves get used only for protection from chemicals, painting, fiberglass work, wrenching on vehicles, greasing, milking cows, and handling the sewage hoses for the RV.

Oh yeah, my granddaughter's favorite use is for making colored winter decorations for the front yard. Mix water and food coloring, pour into glove or balloon, then put outside to freeze. Once frozen, remove the gloves or balloons and you have colorful decorations for the yard. And it's a wonderful activity for a guy and his grandkids!

 

[gus]

I totally banned out gloves when working on rotating tools. Having my left thumb dislocated once was enough. Till today the scar on my left hand is still visible.Scar works to scare my stubborn workmen when they argue with me.
When doing gravity casting of aluminium,I wear thick asbestos gloves when it was not totally banned in Singapore.

 

[Cogsy]

When doing gravity casting of aluminium,I wear thick asbestos gloves when it was not totally banned in Singapore.

In my younger (and stupider) days I worked in a hot-dip galvanising plant, with a 13 metre x 2 metre x 2.5 metre deep 'bath' of molten zinc, ali, nickel and lead, at about 480 degrees C. We wore leather welding type gloves.

On my last night there, we were fooling around and tried submerging a glove in the molten metal. When it survived intact, we tried it with a human hand (mine) in it. It got real hot, real fast, but survived the test. 3 more tries later (and seriously thinking about a fourth) we got back to actual work. I walked over to my 150 degree tool, picked it up and burned the heck out of my finger - the stitching along 1 full side of the glove had split. To think how close I came to plunging that glove, with my hand in it, back into the melt gives me shivers...

 

[JLeatherman]

You know, I'm going to be in the minority here and say that I do occasionally use gloves in the shop, but not in the way you're trying to use them. Grease and metal shavings on your hands is a fact of machining. My shop, unfortunately, is unheated and nothing chills you faster than gripping a handwheel for a few hours with your bare hands. I keep a couple pairs of cheap yellow or black cotton gloves that I wear ONLY to turn handwheels with. When I need to check a part, sand or file something, spin the lathe chuck around, etc I take the gloves off. I understand there is a small amount of additional risk, but still I put them on to spin handwheels because otherwise my shop time would be limited to about 15 minutes before frostbite set in. In the summertime there are no gloves at all near my machine tools.

 

[Noitoen]

I don't know if anybody mentioned it before but there are "virtual" gloves available from some hand cleaner manufactures in the form of a cream. Smear it on before work and when it comes to washing your hands afterwards, it's easy has if you had gloves all the time. At least the nitrile ones anyway .
I only wear gloves if I'm forced to.

 

[gus]

In my younger (and stupider) days I worked in a hot-dip galvanising plant, with a 13 metre x 2 metre x 2.5 metre deep 'bath' of molten zinc, ali, nickel and lead, at about 480 degrees C. We wore leather welding type gloves.

On my last night there, we were fooling around and tried submerging a glove in the molten metal. When it survived intact, we tried it with a human hand (mine) in it. It got real hot, real fast, but survived the test. 3 more tries later (and seriously thinking about a fourth) we got back to actual work. I walked over to my 150 degree tool, picked it up and burned the heck out of my finger - the stitching along 1 full side of the glove had split. To think how close I came to plunging that glove, with my hand in it, back into the melt gives me shivers...

Hi Cogsy.
Those were the days when were young and foolish. I have seen apprentices
risking their fingers at who is faster than the drop forge hammer.One chappy lost the bet and his fingers.

Sure glad we survived.

 

[gus]

As the supervisor of a student machine shop our rules say ; No Way.
No gloves of any kind allowed while useing machines.

You have saved many fingers. If one doesn't want to dirty his hands then he should not be in the machineshop.

Very rare for accidents to happen in our Trade School.When it does,the poor instructors have a pile of reports to write-----why- how-when--who etc.
A fellow student and later colleaque at Metal Box have his finger chopped off while holding on to the chuck key on the Colchester Lathe in 1961.
He had gloves on.

 

[trumpy81]

You can take it from me ... gloves and ANY spinning part equals ... No No. How do I know this? Well they don't call me stumpy for no reason. I lost half a finger to the chain of my motorcycle. It's a bugger being only able to count to nine and a half ... lol

 

[Noitoen]

Just received some terrible glove related news. Our next door machine shop have just lost a 62 year old machinist due to his gloves getting caught in the lathe's work. He was using a big chuck and was pulled towards it by his leather gloves and it's jaw smashed his skull.

 

[gus]

Scenario for glove grabblng and hand injury.
20 years back,my extremely painful thumb dislocation was caused by same happening with Gus wearing cotton thread gloves. Just wondering if my watch belt should be removed when using the drill press.