Safety Glasses

[Caryc]

Am I crazy or am I the only one who wears safety glasses or googles when cutting with a chain saw? I watch shows like Homestead Rescue or those Mountain Man shows and no one wears any eye protection when using a chain saw. I was watching one today with Marty Rainey using a chain saw on a massive tree in Hawaii and in a close up view, I could actually see him squinting his eyes to avoid the flying chips. Even on those logging shows I've never seen any of them wearing eye protection.

Please tell me I'm not the only crazy one for wearing eye protection.

 

[zuhnc]

Not crazy at all. I have commented to the SO about Rainey never using hearing protection, chaps, glasses, etc. I suppose he feels immune to injury.

I wear glasses, loggers helmet with ear protection, front face shield (breathable, not solid) and good gloves and chaps. Good boots, as well.

Even with the phone nearby, I don't intend to cut any part of myself off!

 

[timcasbolt]

You see it on you tube all the time also. But the first time you have to sit there in the eye doctor's office while he mills out a rust ring you start to realize your own vulnerability and take things more seriously.

 

[Steve in VA]

Am I crazy or am I the only one who wears safety glasses or googles when cutting with a chain saw? I watch shows like Homestead Rescue or those Mountain Man shows and no one wears any eye protection when using a chain saw. I was watching one today with Marty Rainey using a chain saw on a massive tree in Hawaii and in a close up view, I could actually see him squinting his eyes to avoid the flying chips. Even on those logging shows I've never seen any of them wearing eye protection.

Please tell me I'm not the only crazy one for wearing eye protection.

I'm in your camp. Eye protection is cheap as is hearing protection, hardhat, and chaps.

 

[Russ from MN]

I have been using chain saws for 60 years, and for the first 30 I didn't wear glasses or hearing protection, and had no eye injuries, just lucky, I guess. Now I wouldn't consider it, but I have worn prescription glasses for over 30 years. I should have started using hearing protection early on, but it wasn't available on the farm, so now I have hearing aids. Remember how noisy old Homelite chainsaws were? Really no muffler to speak of! Grinders and skillsaws are probably more apt to cause eye injuries than a chainsaw, at least the way I use them.

 

[Caryc]

I have been using chain saws for 60 years, and for the first 30 I didn't wear glasses or hearing protection, and had no eye injuries, just lucky, I guess. Now I wouldn't consider it, but I have worn prescription glasses for over 30 years. I should have started using hearing protection early on, but it wasn't available on the farm, so now I have hearing aids. Remember how noisy old Homelite chainsaws were? Really no muffler to speak of! Grinders and skillsaws are probably more apt to cause eye injuries than a chainsaw, at least the way I use them.

It only takes one little piece of crap to fly into your eye no matter what tool you are using.

 

[DWF]

OP is correct, All tools could cause problems! I have had more problems with grinding than I have had with chain saws and I probably have 50 times the hours on chain saws than grinders. Not bragging, just saying.
DWF

 

[PJH]

Am I crazy or am I the only one who wears safety glasses or googles when cutting with a chain saw? I watch shows like Homestead Rescue or those Mountain Man shows and no one wears any eye protection when using a chain saw. I was watching one today with Marty Rainey using a chain saw on a massive tree in Hawaii and in a close up view, I could actually see him squinting his eyes to avoid the flying chips. Even on those logging shows I've never seen any of them wearing eye protection.

Please tell me I'm not the only crazy one for wearing eye protection.

I worked with a one-eyed iron worker. What I remember most about him - he put his safety glasses on each morning before he got out of his pickup on the jobsite.

 

[dcarp]

Am I crazy or am I the only one who wears safety glasses or googles when cutting with a chain saw? I watch shows like Homestead Rescue or those Mountain Man shows and no one wears any eye protection when using a chain saw. I was watching one today with Marty Rainey using a chain saw on a massive tree in Hawaii and in a close up view, I could actually see him squinting his eyes to avoid the flying chips. Even on those logging shows I've never seen any of them wearing eye protection.

Please tell me I'm not the only crazy one for wearing eye protection.

I wear safety glasses & hearing protection with chain saw.

 

[Wdj]

I have been using chain saws for 60 years, and for the first 30 I didn't wear glasses or hearing protection, and had no eye injuries, just lucky, I guess. Now I wouldn't consider it, but I have worn prescription glasses for over 30 years. I should have started using hearing protection early on, but it wasn't available on the farm, so now I have hearing aids. Remember how noisy old Homelite chainsaws were? Really no muffler to speak of! Grinders and skillsaws are probably more apt to cause eye injuries than a chainsaw, at least the way I use them.

Ah.. Those old Homelites! Run one all day and go to bed your heads going ringadingding and your hands are buzzing.

 

[Tony in SD]

As very young kids we didn’t have or know about safety ,equipment (PPE). As teenagers, we were laughed at if we wore any PPE. Now when I work in the shop with my grandkids, the know my rules; You don’t need to wear safety glasses all the time but if grandpa puts his on you need to as well. Same with hearing protection.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Am I crazy or am I the only one who wears safety glasses or googles when cutting with a chain saw? I watch shows like Homestead Rescue or those Mountain Man shows and no one wears any eye protection when using a chain saw. I was watching one today with Marty Rainey using a chain saw on a massive tree in Hawaii and in a close up view, I could actually see him squinting his eyes to avoid the flying chips. Even on those logging shows I've never seen any of them wearing eye protection.

Please tell me I'm not the only crazy one for wearing eye protection.

One time while cutting branches off a log that was on the ground, the log rolled and another branch smacked me in the eye. It didn't poke my eyes, just slap my eye a good one. That was my wake up call.
The best reason I know of to wear eye protection.

 

[Dave BN]

You shouldn't wear safety glasses when felling a tree. Don't look at the saw when cutting but rather scan the ground around you looking for shadows of falling limbs. Glasses obscure your view of those shadows. Chaps are important and maybe a face shield. Earplugs also hide the sound of cracking and falling branches. You also need to clear an escape route in case something goes wrong.
This is how I was taught by a logger.
Dave

 

[Geo-TH,In]

You shouldn't wear safety glasses when felling a tree. Don't look at the saw when cutting but rather scan the ground around you looking for shadows of falling limbs. Glasses obscure your view of those shadows. Chaps are important and maybe a face shield. Earplugs also hide the sound of cracking and falling branches. You also need to clear an escape route in case something goes wrong.
This is how I was taught by a logger.
Dave

I know a logger that should have looked up.
A dead branch fell off the tree and made his wife a widow, widowmaker.

 

[timcasbolt]

You shouldn't wear safety glasses when felling a tree. Don't look at the saw when cutting but rather scan the ground around you looking for shadows of falling limbs. Glasses obscure your view of those shadows. Chaps are important and maybe a face shield. Earplugs also hide the sound of cracking and falling branches. You also need to clear an escape route in case something goes wrong.
This is how I was taught by a logger.
Dave

Did your logger friend have any fun nicknames like Lefty, Gimp, or one eyed Willie?

 

[Fred Werring]

Am I crazy or am I the only one who wears safety glasses or googles when cutting with a chain saw? I watch shows like Homestead Rescue or those Mountain Man shows and no one wears any eye protection when using a chain saw. I was watching one today with Marty Rainey using a chain saw on a massive tree in Hawaii and in a close up view, I could actually see him squinting his eyes to avoid the flying chips. Even on those logging shows I've never seen any of them wearing eye protection.

Please tell me I'm not the only crazy one for wearing eye protection.

Got a wood chip in my eye once while using a chainsaw, scratched it pretty good.
Opthalmologist put a protective contact on my eye, still watered like crazy.
It was our anniversary, kinda put a crimp in our plans as I couldn't see.

I resisted wearing safety glasses for a long time, until I needed regular glasses and got used to wearing them.

 

[Jim.ME]

You shouldn't wear safety glasses when felling a tree. Don't look at the saw when cutting but rather scan the ground around you looking for shadows of falling limbs. Glasses obscure your view of those shadows. Chaps are important and maybe a face shield. Earplugs also hide the sound of cracking and falling branches. You also need to clear an escape route in case something goes wrong.
This is how I was taught by a logger.
Dave

Apparently, the logger didn't need prescription glasses. The "safety glasses cause vision problems" is as old as the use of safety glasses. More often the problem is cheap glasses or they highlight the fact that a person needs real glasses.

 

[Texasmark]

I was nailing a 4x8 sheet of composite siding on my house when building it and being hard, you really needed to whack the nail to get it to start penetrating. On one nail, the hammer didn't hit it squarely and the nail bounced off the sheet and went directly to the center of my right eye. My salvation was the fact that I had glasses on. I don't have to wear them much any more but when doing farm work, I wear them anyway....you never know.....like mowing under a tree you ae moving branches out of the way and one springs back hitting you right in the eye. Had it happen to a neighbor who wasn't wearing glasses and it was his good eye...other one was missing. Thank goodness he recovered.

 

[Tony in SD]

You shouldn't wear safety glasses when felling a tree. Don't look at the saw when cutting but rather scan the ground around you looking for shadows of falling limbs. Glasses obscure your view of those shadows. Chaps are important and maybe a face shield. Earplugs also hide the sound of cracking and falling branches. You also need to clear an escape route in case something goes wrong.
This is how I was taught by a logger.
Dave

If you take advice like that, it won’t be long before you can’t see or hear. It is kind of like getting a correct answer on the the internet, just because he was a logger giving advice, it doesn’t mean he was a logger giving good advice.

I do have one question, what is the difference between glasses & a face shield in respect to, in your words, "obscure your view"?

 

[Dave BN]

My advise was for felling a tree only. I wear glasses and ear protection when limbing or bucking.
Face shields don't generally have bows on the sides to obscure your vision.
To each his own but that's my method. Every professional that uses a chain saw will tell you chaps are a must.
Dave