Shop Safety Supplies - Professional PPE Megathread, Reference, FAQ 🧯🥽⛑️👩‍🔬🦺

[CGarage]

I have been wanting to create a thread covering this for some time. I think it will be especially interesting because safety protocol is quite different in the U.S. compared to Europe, where it is often governed by the European Union, and each individual country generally has its own occupational safety and health requirements.

This is a serious discussion on professional products covering shop safety.

I can remember back as a young man and a ‘cowboy’, and regularly machining parts without wearing safety glasses, welding without gloves, and all other sorts of bad habits that were very foolish and stupid. I repeat here — if you catch yourself falling into this trap, STOP — You are given one body and one mind to make it through life, and you need to spend the few extra seconds to look after yourself.

We want to see:

• Eye Safety

• Ear Safety

• Face Safety

• Hand Safety

• Fire Suppression

• First Aid / Medical

• Accessible storage solutions for all of this

• Post manufacturer name and product names / model numbers please

 

[RTM]

Eye Safety

I am a big fan of Bolle safety glasses, especially the frameless varieties. Super comfortable, can wear them all day on the weekends, and my head does not hate me afterwards. Almost every year a pair or two gets ordered from HJE. I try to avoid the tinted / mirrored pairs, the scratches seem to show up worse. I have clear for indoor, smoke for outdoor, and a pair of someone else’s w bifocals for fine work like soldering.

Bolle

The Harry J. Epstein Co. - USA Hand Tools - Surplus/Retail/Liquidation

www.harryepstein.com

• Ear Safety

While I prefer the roll your foam plugs, they aren’t practical in the grime of some jobs. I have a pair of DeciBullz that come out for concerts, or when they will be in and out of my ears a lot. Had something similar in my brewery days, fantastic for the bottling floor

Custom Molded Earplugs 31dB NRR

Discover Decibullz, the best-selling custom molded, moldable earplugs offering high isolation and supreme hearing protection. Ideal for shooting and hunting, and more. These top-rated Thermofit ear plugs provide a comfortable fit with high NRR, ensuring optimal safety and effectiveness in...

decibullz.com

Double those up with the David Clark headphone type for jobs like running the shredder. They recently discontinued the sound deadening only ones. I have the airport ground crew green ones.

Elite Mission-Critical Communications Systems | David Clark Company | Worcester, MA

Headset communication systems for high-noise environments.

www.davidclarkcompany.com

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

I’ll only list the most, generally, used stuff, not going down the rabbit hole of unraveling everything.

- Eyes: Oakley M-Frame from the early ‘00s with clear and tinted poly lenses/screens & case. It’s days are numbered, sadly they have become somewhat of a ‘collectible’, when I last checked eBay for a spare pair to rob parts off it wasn’t a feasible ‘investment’ - so I will be hitting up suppliers to find a new pair.

- Face: Snap-On ‘Nightstalker’ face shield with clear screen and a #12 welding screen.

- Respirator: Dräger X-plore 3500 (P3 filters currently on it.)

- Ears: 3M Peltor Optime II

- Hands: Different type gloves from leather to fabric/ composite & Nitrile, mostly supplier (re-)brands. (Also “Glove in a bottle” type product and hand wash paste.)

- Knees: Klein Tradesman Pro hard face/ gel insert knee pads.

- Feet: S3 (EN ISO 20345) shoes and boots, that’s highly personal, doesn’t really make sense to list my choices.

- Fire prevention: Maintaining a powder extinguisher & fire blanket in a safe & easy to reach spot outside actual ‘risk area’.

- Electrical safety on site: Kopp brand PRCD-S extension, always with (Festool) PowerHub/ power distribution Systainer. Protects and also effectively prevents use of unsafe/ incorrectly wired outlets/ power sources as it won’t switch on then.

- First Aid: Maintaining a First Aid Kit in accordance with commercial/industrial standard and additional sterile eye wash, trauma bandages + Quikclot and high quality/professional shears that will actually cut. Additionally some tool boxes/kits have a couple of bandaids in them. First Aid Kit is in a Systainer as that is my #1 means of storage/transportation.

- Storage: Glasses, Face shield, Ear Protection, some Gloves are always within reach and go in one of the totes when working outside the shops. Respirator sits in a hard case and goes in the chest where I keep my work cloths, shoes, knee pads, (…). As already said, First Aid Kit is Systainer based as that is my main storage/transportation system.


Kind regards,
Olli

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Bolle Sphere face shield
Store brand cut resistant gloves (ISO cut level "E" )

Show your new tool arrivals

Kinda like a tool and they are Snap On Brand new, 1988 vintage, politically incorrect, girly coffee cups for the shop.

www.garagejournal.com

Bolle Rush+ glasses, I have a few clear pairs and the bronze ones. The bronze are 40% VLT and are good for when it's sunny but you still want a good view of colours/texture, or when you're moving between indoors and outdoors.

 

[IndyGarage]

The one thing I would recommend every shop and every work truck have on hand is some CELOX clot powder.

This is the stuff they use on battlefields to stop the bleeding of wounds.

It's not hard to cut yourself bad in the garage or in the shop. I busted my head open by banging it into my lift one day when I was there alone. it bled like a stuck pig. I went and got a package of Celox put it in a clean shop rag and stuck it to the cut - made a mess in my hair but I didn't bleed out.

 

[CGarage]

The one thing I would recommend every shop and every work truck have on hand is some CELOX clot powder.

This is the stuff they use on battlefields to stop the bleeding of wounds.

It's not hard to cut yourself bad in the garage or in the shop. I busted my head open by banging it into my lift one day when I was there alone. it bled like a stuck pig. I went and got a package of Celox put it in a clean shop rag and stuck it to the cut - made a mess in my hair but I didn't bleed out.

This is outdated thinking.

Quikclot combat gauze has replaced the powder / granular blood clotting agent due to the powder complicating wound treatment, especially around burned tissue.

 

[IndyGarage]

This is outdated thinking.

Quikclot combat gauze has replaced the powder / granular blood clotting agent due to the powder complicating wound treatment, especially around burned tissue.

Fair enough. but the point is still valid you should have one or the other in the shop.

 

[drokihazan]

I have been wanting to create a thread covering this for some time. I think it will be especially interesting because safety protocol is quite different in the U.S. compared to Europe, where it is often governed by the European Union, and each individual country generally has its own occupational safety and health requirements.

This is a serious discussion on professional products covering shop safety.

I can remember back as a young man and a ‘cowboy’, and regularly machining parts without wearing safety glasses, welding without gloves, and all other sorts of bad habits that were very foolish and stupid. I repeat here — if you catch yourself falling into this trap, STOP — You are given one body and one mind to make it through life, and you need to spend the few extra seconds to look after yourself.

We want to see:

• Eye Safety

• Ear Safety

• Face Safety

• Hand Safety

• Fire Suppression

• First Aid / Medical

• Accessible storage solutions for all of this

• Post manufacturer name and product names / model numbers please

• Eye Safety
Prescription Safety Glasses. I wear ArmouRX. Full wraparound coverage and comfort.

• Ear Safety
3M Peltor. I sometimes wear 3M foam in-ears underneath.

• Face Safety
UVEX Bionic faceshield or my ESAB Sentinel A60 welding helmet. The UVEX Bionic is incredibly comfortable, I wear it for long periods of time with no issues.

• Hand Safety
So many gloves. Miller MIG gloves and TIG gloves, diamond-grip 7mil gloves from Harbor Freight, leather work gloves when needed, and Snap-on nitrile-coated gloves for everything else, wear them all the time.

• Fire Suppression
Welding blankets are important. I keep a Kidde fire extinguisher around. I also keep all my flammables/solvents in an actual fire-rated 60gal corrosives cabinet from Eagle Mfg, and have a Justrite firesafe can with an auto-closing lid for my oily rags and painting consumables.

• First Aid / Medical
Really important to have a very complete first-aid kit. My partner is a nurse, so I let her put this together, and I keep it all in a large Toyo toolbox that stays readily accessible.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I have Rx safety glasses, dark glasses, and welding glasses. Otherwise I can't see what I'm doing, which can lead to kind of a bummer.... I have a coffee can nailed next to the door filled with ear plugs (Ballistols) because after losing most my hearing on the highway, your ears are like your eyes. And it's embarassing to have to cup your ears to hear someone across the table talking to you. Of course, Gloves to match the purpose, etc. Face shield by the grinder,

ALWAYS have a GOOD first aid kit in EACH of your vehicles, workstations, and toolboxes. Yeah, that's a lot of first aid, but when you're trying to bleed out, you don't want to have to go to wherever the one meager kit was stored... just to find out all the clotting gauze was used up. ALSO - when you get a kit, MAKE SURE it's actually a GOOD kit - a lot of them are filler and fluff... I started building my own, as some of the ones are between Meh and Uck. And then - KNOW HOW to use whats in the kit!!!

The one thing I would recommend every shop and every work truck have on hand is some CELOX clot powder.

Quikclot combat gauze has replaced the powder / granular blood clotting agent due to the powder complicating wound treatment, especially around burned tissue.

True this - I still have Celox powder just in case, but remember if you use it it WILL leave a scar, because the doctor will have to carve it out when they patch you up. I've gone over to the bandages, as you don't get wound contamination from them.

 

[KnurledNut]

I have been wanting to create a thread covering this for some time. I think it will be especially interesting because safety protocol is quite different in the U.S. compared to Europe, where it is often governed by the European Union, and each individual country generally has its own occupational safety and health requirements.

This is a serious discussion on professional products covering shop safety.

I can remember back as a young man and a ‘cowboy’, and regularly machining parts without wearing safety glasses, welding without gloves, and all other sorts of bad habits that were very foolish and stupid. I repeat here — if you catch yourself falling into this trap, STOP — You are given one body and one mind to make it through life, and you need to spend the few extra seconds to look after yourself.

We want to see:

• Eye Safety

• Ear Safety

• Face Safety

• Hand Safety

• Fire Suppression

• First Aid / Medical

• Accessible storage solutions for all of this

• Post manufacturer name and product names / model numbers please

This list is missing several critical PPE components:
-Respiratory safety - particulate management, vapors/fumes/gases control
-Temperature safety - heat stress, extreme cold
-Head safety - hard hats, safety helmets, bump caps, hoods, socks
-Foot safety
-Body safety - fall protection and arrest
-Workwear - High visibility, flame resistant, arc flash, etc

 

[mazdeuce]

• Face Safety
UVEX Bionic faceshield or my ESAB Sentinel A60 welding helmet. The UVEX Bionic is incredibly comfortable, I wear it for long periods of time with no issues.

Thanks for this. I've known I need a face shield for a while since I started wearing reading glasses for fine work. I'll have one early next week.

 

[drokihazan]

Thanks for this. I've known I need a face shield for a while since I started wearing reading glasses for fine work. I'll have one early next week.

I don't touch a grinder without either the UVEX Bionic or my welding helmet on. I also use it for all kinds of other stuff - metal cutting saws, using a sawzall in most scenarios, cutting with an air hammer, working with my hydraulic press. Pretty much anything where I already know my face and neck are at risk, or I've experienced getting hit in the face, I use a face shield - often over safety glasses. It's not uncomfortable, doesn't obstruct my view, and I don't want scars on my face.

 

[ADKAmateur]

I like Stoggles safety glasses with the side shields. Not too expensive and seem to be pretty durable and well made.

3M filter masks with P100 or P100 with activated charcoal depending on what I am doing

Optrel and Miller welding helmets (DO NOT buy a Harbor Freight or cheap Amazon helmet - while they work the latency is poor and it will hurt your eyes over time). Face shield for grinding stuff that may disentegrate. Appropriate shade safey glasses for torch work or plasma cutting.

Need to upgrade my first aid kit; just have a small one right now.

Good quality nitrile gloves; while we all like greasy hands the long term exposure to all those hydrocarbons and chemicals can't be good. Still not disciplined enough around using them.

3M Peltor over the ear protection

 

[CGarage]

Good quality nitrile gloves; while we all like greasy hands the long term exposure to all those hydrocarbons and chemicals can't be good. Still not disciplined enough around using them.

You need to wear hydrocarbon rated gloves if you are around old oil, etc

The health consequences for not doing so are quite bad, since the skin will absorb what it comes in contact with and used oil is cancer causing.

 

[zimman]

I have two pair of prescription safety glasses and my welding glasses. Hearing protection is Milwaukee and 326 pairs of gloves. LOL
I've been to the Emergency Room 3 times with metal in my eyes. All three times I was wearing safety glasses. I now wear a face shield to augment the squint factor.
I like the edge DVX glasses but side shields are questionable. They are no line bifocal's.
Wrap around are the best and for grinding and cutting. Focal length about 20-30"
Zim

 

[Whitworth]

Don't neglect electrical safety.

Lockouts for machinery maintenance, child safety reasons as well. I have Allen Bradley 800 series locking switches on several machines.
Add ground wire to old equipment that originally came with 2 prong plug. Easy to do.
Extension cords with built in thermal protection, especially good for stuff that runs continuously unattended, like an abrasive tumbler, or an air conditioner.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Don't neglect electrical safety.

Lockouts for machinery maintenance, child safety reasons as well. I have Allen Bradley 800 series locking switches on several machines.
Add ground wire to old equipment that originally came with 2 prong plug. Easy to do.
Extension cords with built in thermal protection, especially good for stuff that runs continuously unattended, like an abrasive tumbler, or an air conditioner.

Whitworth, we recently bought the harbor freight rock tumbler. It runs 24hrs. A day for a week for each grit polishing compound. Do you have a link for a suitable thermo protected extension? That housing is hot when it runs!

 

[Whitworth]

Whitworth, we recently bought the harbor freight rock tumbler. It runs 24hrs. A day for a week for each grit polishing compound. Do you have a link for a suitable thermo protected extension? That housing is hot when it runs!

I think I have the same Harbor Freight tumbler.
It shouldn't get hot, warm yes. But I don't run it 24 hours either.

The extension I have has a 13 amp breaker built in, with a manual reset button. China made. Probably can find similar style on Amazon.

 

[rdoty]

The most important piece of PPE is your brain. Thinking ahead, considering what could go wrong, taking a few seconds to make sure everything is secure. One of the big things is knowing when to do tools down and pause before something expensive and/or painful happens.

More on topic, 3M 6300 respirator mask with proper cartridges for what you are doing.

Harbor Freight Vulcan welding gloves. I like to use a TIG glove on my gun hand and a MIG glove on the hand that is handling materials.

 

[i84x]

Eye Safety
I use these Milwaukee Safety Glasses with a gasket.
For welding i have a Parweld XR943H Flip-Up Helmet.

Ear Safety
I prefer these 3M “Classic” Ear plugs though i also have some 3M over ear ones that i wear.

Hand Safety
Ive used various brands of general “cut proof” gloves like these cant say i have a favourite brand as they seem to last the same amount of time regardless of price. Also like these Nitrile “automotive” gloves.

First Aid / Medical
Milwaukee packout first aid box and i added some more and different size plasters and some more heavy bandages. Also have a mini first aid pouch that has a selection of plasters, a couple of bandages, alcohol wipes and some anti infection cream in it.

Accessible storage solutions for all of this
A clear weather proof box stores my gloves, ear defenders, glasses one like this. First aid box lives with my other packout stuff. Welding mask lives on the shelf with the welder.

 

[snickers muncher]

My most often used work PPE:

Nitrile gloves provided by Cintas
Honeywell 76008a respirator/carts with polycarbonate face shield
Kleenguard Nemesis safety glasses (smoke for outside and clear for inside)
foam ear plugs (don't know the brand.)
3M Peltor ear muffs
UVEX Bionic face shield

large brimmed hat
sunscreen

Hopefully, never SCBA

 

[sparky 1971]

This one got me to thinking about my lack of PPE in the shop. Until a few years ago I was never good at wearing safety glasses but I am almost always wearing Milwaukee glasses now because they are bifocals and I can't see anything up close. There's a face shield from HJE that I wear at the bench grinder, and if I remember to put gloves on, they are Maxiflex and if I'm using the parts washer I wear 9 mil nitriles from HF. Ear muffs that double as a radio when mowing the lawn and there's a 15+ year old, unopened first aid kit on a shelf. I think that's the extent of it.

 

[CGarage]

We all are given one mind and one body to make it through life.

Modern medicine continues to improve.

That means we best take care of ourselves and our safety with increased longevity in mind.

 

[KnurledNut]

We all are given one mind and one body to make it through life.

Modern medicine continues to improve get more expensive and unaffordable.

That means we best take care of ourselves and our safety with increased longevity in mind.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Prospecter]

In 2006, after 22 years of safe table saw use, I had my first and so far only accident. I now own a SawStop and am fanatical about push sticks. If I were starting over, I would start out with a SawStop. So much less expensive than microsurgery and more convenient than reduced hand use.

After 56 years of conscientious use of hearing protection to avoid hear loss, I am getting hearing aids on monday. If I were starting over, I would double up on top of the line ear plugs and ear muffs. It never occurred to me that hearing aids often interfere with ear plugs.

Enough said.

 

[PhantomEB]

Hearin….I have automatic decibel reduction capability cochlear implants…..

but on topic, one or two fire extinguishers away from each corner of the garage being covered as well the bbq area of the patio.

i do need to get another box of nitriles from Costco.

 

[Hakeem]

You need to wear hydrocarbon rated gloves if you are around old oil, etc

The health consequences for not doing so are quite bad, since the skin will absorb what it comes in contact with and used oil is cancer causing.

I’m curious about this - I thought all disposable gloves protect against oil, eg: Nitrile, vinyl, latex. Never noticed any oil/fuel coming through an intact glove of those materials. At least I thought so…