Home Metal Fabrication Shop Safety Gear 8


Home metal fabrication shop safety is an easy thing to overlook, but it is THE most important thing to be aware of while in the shop. Also in this post, we discuss a little known benefit of safety equipment that you might not have thought of.

Here is a list of the most common metal fabrication safety gear so you can buy and use them!

I wrote this article because when you get done with your project, I want you to be home with all of you eyes, fingers, toes, and health. All projects are meaningless at work or home if you get hurt while doing them.

Here is another side benefit of wearing safety equipment that you may not have considered before:

I believe that having and using proper safety equipment out in the shop actually makes you more productive.

Think about using a chop saw for example. If you don’t wear safety glasses, gloves, and ear plugs then many things happen. One, with no safety glasses you either have to squint or close your eyes while cutting to protect your eyes from flying hot sparks. Two, your body tenses up and you pay less attention to what you are doing because the chop saw is so loud. Three, you risk cuts and burns by grabbing hot freshly cut metal without gloves.

Ok, off my soap box now.

Here is my list of the most commonly used safety equipment in DIY Metal Fabrication shops. Not necessarily in any order because they are ALL important.

Click the pictures for more information and reviews on each item.

Safety glasses – (Must have a Z-87 rating (basic impact) or Z-87+ (high impact) on it, usually inside the frame)

– Clear for in the shop

– Tinted for outside

These are my favorite glasses in the world. I wear them every day, not just when I am working.

Ear plugs– buy a BIG pack and USE them.

Hearing loss is not noticed right away, it is noticed when you are sitting at the dinner table and have no idea what your friends/family are saying because you can’t hear anything but ringing.

Gloves

-General Duty Gloves. I usually get the mechanics type gloves that have elastic around the wrist instead of the Velcro. They are easier to put on, therefore we are all more likely to wear them.

-Mig Welding Gloves. Nice and thick leather gloves that protect your hands from welding sparks and hot metal objects.


-TIG Welding Gloves. These are thinner leather gloves for TIG welding because it is a more delicate process where you need more dexterity to feed the filler wire.

Welding jacket -keeps sparks off your arms/body. These are really handy when working under or upside down on a project. Like welding under a vehicle. I wear mine any time I am cutting, welding, or grinding.
Welding Helmet – This one is MUST for any kind of welding. The one pictured below is auto darkening, solar powered, and has adjustable shades for different types of welding.

Dust mask – good for keeping grinding wheel and metal dust out of your LUNGS.
P.S. it will also fit under your welding helmet and shield.

Welding Cap / Beanie – protects your head/hair from sparks.

Back Hand Welding Protector – If you are doing any big long heavy duty welds, your work piece gets really hot. Sometimes it helps to put this extra pad over the outside of your welding glove.
Face Shield – Good for when you have to grind out of position where you can’t direct the sparks away from yourself. Safety glasses and the respirator above BOTH fit under this shield, so don’t give me any excuses for not wearing it when needed.

In my opinion all accidents while working in the shop are preventable. So do me a favor, and take an extra couple of minutes while out in the shop to put on your safety equipment, your family and friends will thank you.


Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 thoughts on “Home Metal Fabrication Shop Safety Gear

  • Alex Jennings

    I think it’s very important that metal fabrication specialists wear dust masks and a face shield. You never know what might get into your lungs or eyes, and whether they’re carcinogenic or not. How much do these products usually cost?

    • Paul Post author

      Good question. I put all 12 of the products mentioned above in my Amazon shopping cart and the total came out to $202.02 with free shipping on everything. That is CHEAP!! The most expensive piece was the welding helmet at ~$46.

      For those of you that are thinking whoa, that is kind of expensive. Keep in mind that you don’t have to buy it all at once. I have a pretty impressive set of tools today, but the secret is, I have been building up my tool inventory since I was in high school by buying them as I needed them.

      • Alex Jennings

        Thanks for getting back to me, Paul. I don’t think $200 is too expensive relative to the fact that these products offer protection. I wish I built my tool kit up early on—I’m just starting.

  • Rob Simpson

    Hi Paul, first of all thanks for the amazing post. I am a metal fabrication shop owner and I understand how important it is to keep yourself safe during work. I am actually lacking Dust mask and going to purchase it today only…thanks again!

  • Gielowski, Federice & Caligiuri, LLP

    If you’re a metal fabrication specialist, you must know the circumstances you are in when it comes to safety gears. Wearing face shield and dust mask would be a good thing to do. It is easy to avoid being burnt upon using these gears. Wearing your safety gears is the very best thing to be aware of those cases.

  • Abélia

    It’s interesting that you say having safety equipment in the shop makes you more productive. I agree that you are probably much more efficient knowing that you are protected from the heavy machinery you are using. I very much appreciate your article showing your preferred products of protection for metal fabrication. Thank you sharing!

  • rigger gloves

    Work gloves are used by many working professionals such as air crews, barbed wire handlers, butchers, divers, woodcutters, police officers, doctors, firemen, food, chemical and medicine handlers, gardeners, farmers, machine operators, military personnel, sportsman, welders, blacksmiths, etc.