# Do You Ever Wear Safety Gloves In The Shop?



## Admin (Jan 4, 2010)

I have noticed that some woodworkers wear gloves, while others believe that it is more dangerous to wear any kind of gloves while working in their shop.

Do you ever wear safety gloves for woodworking?

Why? Why not?


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

No, never with shop work itself. I only wear gloves when unloading new wood especially plywood and MDF.

I find with gloves, I have no sensitivity in my fingers and could pose a safety hazard near rotating machinery


When I worked offshore on the rigs, we had to wear gloves all of the time when we left the living quarters. There were only a few exceptions. In all those years, I still never got used to wearing gloves. My shop didn't have that rule.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

As Tony says. Only when handling large pieces of raw wood. Then you want heavy gloves (read leather), not like those in your picture. You want something that will inhibit splinters. Just ask me how it felt to have to go to the Emergency room to have a very large splinter removed from my hand. (It was embarrassing) Luckily my next door neighbor was the head of the Emergency Room at the base. With him taking me in there was no delay.

You never want to be wearing anything around moving machinery!!!!!

George


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

This is one of those,probably shouldn't respond,oh well...

This can be summed up,if your hands are close enough to live tooling,in a wood or millshop,that gloves pose a problem....then your setup needs work.

Just sayin,from an OSHA,safety standpoint,If your hands are not "guard length" away from tooling,gloves or no,I've failed as a shop manager/owner.No exceptions.

Yes,we wear gloves.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*"safety gloves"?*

I've never heard that term. It's a standing rule in any shop I've been in or worked in ..."No long hair, long sleeves or gloves allowed" Hair must be contained or securely wrapped, sleeves must be rolled up and gloves are not allowed. 

Why? *Rotating cutters* like the brushes on your upright floor vacuum with grab a stand of hair or cloth and start to spin it around the rollers or cutters. Lathes are especially prone to this. Drill presses can grab your glove and a scene on Orange County Choppers showed how it injured, Rick the operator. 





Table saw blades are a bit different. They won't grab your hair or clothing as demonstrated by Mathias Wandel on You Tube. But it's better not to take any chances with them regardless.

Welders wear gloves because of the hot sparks and hot objects. Sheet metal workers wear glove because the sheared edges are as sharp as razor blades. Some carpenters wear gloves because they grip better. Roofers may wear gloves because of the abrasive coatings on some shingles. 

I see no reason a woodworker would need gloves unless to cushion a hand chisel OR to handle plywood which may have splinters or Melamine which has very sharp edges. However, there are rubber coated gloves that increase your grip on smooth surfaces like planed wood. I use those only when operating with larger or longer lengths on my jointer where I need to press down and forward simultaneously, and where a push block would be unwieldy.

http://www.harborfreight.com/coated-rubber-grip-gloves-large-90912.html


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I only wear gloves in winter for the warmth, almost never to protect my hands. Any gloves heavy enough to protect your hands are too stiff to use your hands. Anyway around machinery even when it's cold the gloves come off.


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

When I worked the oil rigs, rules were: even before you walk out the door, your gloves better be on. One of the exceptions were tools that require better dexterity such as inspection tools and other tools that were small in nature and impractical to use with gloves on. I was an inspector and I had to take photos. Procedure: Walk up the area where photos were to be taken. Stop, look around for any hazards, take gas detector readings and then and only then, remove your gloves. After photos in that area are taken, do not leave area until your gloves are back on. Another exception that is left up to individuals is ladder climbing. The kind of built in steel ladders with the round rungs. It is totally up to the individual to determine if he feels safer climbing with or without gloves. This are standard practices (in writing, in the handbooks) in the Gulf of Mex oil industry as well as every refinery I have ever been to. I'm sure if the oil industry can get away with it, it complies with OSHA standards and policies. There are almost always exceptions to every rule.


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## Arcola60 (Sep 17, 2014)

Gloves are made for specific purposes. I use them when they are called for. Mostly never in the woodworking shop. Especially around rotating equipment, never. No one glove will work. Use the right glove for each application. 

Proper body placement, use the correct tool for each task, stay out of the line of fire, do not take unnecessary chances, think of what could happen, do not get in a rush, etc. There are many common rules to live and work by to ensure safe, enjoyable activities. 

Safety first! inspect tools, and materials for obvious defects. All you have lost is just a little time. It is better than permanent damage to you or someones else. I have always shared these rules with my children, and my wife. It has become second nature for all of us now. It works!

Ellery Becnel


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

There are many different gloves, and as many schools of thought on this. Some prefer the looser fitting styles, easier to slip your hand out if you get in trouble, others like the form fitting so there is less chance of getting caught in the first place.

Personally I think it depends on the situation, if there is a chance of getting a glove pulled into a machine then by all means don't wear them, otherwise it may be safer if they give you a better grip on the material.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

I hardly ever wear gloves although they would have likely prevented this injury.


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

Was that a chisel injury?


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

Tony B said:


> Was that a chisel injury?


 Pocket knife.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Only to handle rough lumber. Otherwise, a resounding no.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Ditto - no gloves around spinning tools. The only time I wear gloves is when I am working with something hot or handling lots of lumber to move into and around in the shop. Oh, and weeding the flower beds, edging, etc.


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

hwebb99 said:


> Pocket knife.


OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im sure that aided in your ability to come up with brand new four letter words. 

That could be a job for CA glue. Just get the alignment right. And by the way, The sting and burn from the CA glue will bring a tear to your eyes. One mistake I made and will never happen again is that I used the activator to speed things up. Even on my skin it got hot enough to smoke. But it did close the wound.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Gloves for moving anything that might hurt me, splinters, sharp edges, etc.

Like Woodnthings, I only wear the rubber coated gloves in those instances where I need extra "traction", otherwise I'm a no gloves, no loose clothing, etc person.


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## Mike918 (Apr 12, 2015)

Most of the time-no gloves unless moving or unloading something sharp or bulky. Then using rubber coated mechanic gloves. Also no rings-even wedding ring!


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## Chamfer (Sep 6, 2014)

I had two memorable accidents early on in WW/construction involving garments, ever since then no gloves at all for the most part.

If on a job site and it's freezing I'll wear them so long as nothing more than a CS or RS and hand tools are being used.

In WW never.


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## Gary Gill (Jan 27, 2013)

I do not wear gloves while working with machines, but I sometimes wear gloves while hand sanding.


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## Jig_saw (May 17, 2015)

I wear leather gloves only while metalworking and carrying lumber, because they protect my hands against metal shards and splinters. 


I don't wear gloves while using woodworking power tools and bench grinders, because they can get caught in the blade/wheel and cause injury.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

"Safety" from what? "Protection" might be a better and broader term.
I have been a wood carver for some years now. I wear gloves. Usually cloth lined, soft leather work gloves.
1. To keep hand grime off the raw wood.
2. To protect me from raw wood splinters. Most wood that I use has been split, not sawn.
3. My shop is cold. My skinny long fingers get cold.
4. My wood carving tools are cold. Don't need to share body heat with a gouge.
5. Most wood carving tools have handles really too small for a comfortable grip. The gloves bulk things up a little.
6. The soft leather facing gives me a better grip on the tools.
7. A day of pounding a gouge with a mallet delivers substantial vibration to tweak the beginnings of arthritis.
8. I can apply more pressure, I guess the glove spreads the load a little more.
9. With gloves, friction blisters are never a problem.
10. I suppose some cut protection but I don't carve towards myself with any risk, anyway.
11. Pulling gouges out of tool rolls and putting them away. The times of day with the greatest risk of concentration lapses.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I only wear gloves when unloading lumber and I only started that in the last few years. I feel the same way as Tony about losing sensitivity when wearing gloves and I really need to feel what I'm doing within reason that is.

I recently discovered “No-Cut Gloves” on Amazon and have been thinking about buying a pair for when I’m carving or chiseling wood. I cut my index finger about 40 years ago with a chisel and cut through a nerve. It healed up, but the nerve did not reconnect and every once in a while the nerve ends touch and it feels just like an electrical shock. 










I found that I really needed to wear gloves when I’m sanding on my disk/belt sander because I took some skin off my knuckle a few months and that hurt.


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## Hwood (Oct 21, 2011)

Looks like I am the odd ball out when I saw almost always. For years I had problems with fingers tips cracking open from being dry and gloves took care of that to the point where it is seldom now. As a guy who does remodeling and other odd jobs they often make for no worries and I like tight enough gloves where I can still handle screws. One day of doing something like sheet rock, tile or concrete work and my hands are nasty dry. Working with the lathe and other tools at my place it still holds true, almost always have them on. If I don't its simply cuz I can only find the left hand and someone came in one night and took all my right hand gloves. This happens all the time by the way...No one makes me more mad than me ya know. Now why would I wear gloves on the lathe. A- cuz I want to simple as that. B- believe it or not the wood coming off can be really hot sometimes and the sand paper gets hot more than sometimes. In my experience with gloves they don't wrap around and get sucked in to a bowl spinning on a lathe or a saw but a screw or a drill bit and it depends on the situation. I did have an angle grinder wrap up in my jacket a year ago. That comes into the body with a wack


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## d_slat (Apr 10, 2012)

Sleeper said:


> I only wear gloves when unloading lumber and I only started that in the last few years. I feel the same way as Tony about losing sensitivity when wearing gloves and I really need to feel what I'm doing within reason that is.
> 
> I recently discovered “No-Cut Gloves” on Amazon and have been thinking about buying a pair for when I’m carving or chiseling wood. I cut my index finger about 40 years ago with a chisel and cut through a nerve. It healed up, but the nerve did not reconnect and every once in a while the nerve ends touch and it feels just like an electrical shock.
> 
> ...


You may want to rethink using gloves on that tool. Next time you slip like that (if you're wearing gloves), the belt or disc could pull the fingertips of that glove between it and the rest and hold your fingers against the abrasive until there's very little left.


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

woodnthings said:


> I've never heard that term. It's a standing rule in any shop I've been in or worked in ..."No long hair, long sleeves or gloves allowed" Hair must be contained or securely wrapped, sleeves must be rolled up and gloves are not allowed.
> 
> Why? *Rotating cutters* like the brushes on your upright floor vacuum with grab a stand of hair or cloth and start to spin it around the rollers or cutters. Lathes are especially prone to this. Drill presses can grab your glove and a scene on Orange County Choppers showed how it injured, Rick the operator.
> The "Best" of OCC: Rick's hand gets caught in the drill! - YouTube
> ...


I use this type only when pushing/pulling rough boards through the planer. Sometimes you have to pull a rough board or table top out even with the deck of the planer waxed. These grip very well on wood and keep from slipping and therefore getting splinters.


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