You’ve probably heard the warnings to wear eye protection hundreds of time; maybe even to the point that you just don’t hear it anymore. Well, I’m here to re-emphasize that eye protection is absolutely essential!
This is a case of do as I say, not as I do because I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t follow my own advice and now I’m paying for it. I was doing a quick grinding job on a project last night and thought, “This’ll be quick; I don’t need to find my goggles.” Wrong! I now have a small piece of metal lodged in my eye that is making life miserable.
Lesson learned. It would have been worth the few minutes it would have taken to find my safety goggles because now I’m going to have to go to the eye doctor to have the metal removed from my eye and as Dave Monyhan would say, I’ll probably look like a pirate for a few days. Not only am I going to have another medical bill; I’m losing time at work. I don’t run my own shop anymore, but if I did, that would be time lost on a job so I wouldn’t be making any money to cover that doctor bill.
Let me tell you about another instance that happened many years ago, when I did have my shop. I was doing some welding – just a quick job – and because I didn’t have my eyes protected, I caught a spark from the TIG welder in my eye. I have never; let me say that again, NEVER, hurt like that before or since. That time I spent several days with my eye bandaged, had an emergency room visit to pay for and time lost from the shop. Just because the guys on TV do it, doesn’t mean you should.
So, learn from my mistakes and protect your eyes! They’re the only ones you’re likely to have.
Jim Tapp,
Goodson Tech Services Manager (retired)