Hand Protection

[Revuaf]

OK...
Stupid is as Stupid does...
Or as my Coach told me in High School... Fool me once, your fault, Fool me twice, My fault.

So about 1 month ago I'm carving with my friends foredom he let me borrow... I hooked my glove and I guess that broke the flex shaft... So today I'm carving and it hooked my glove and yeppers it broke the flex shaft.... again

I have been wearing the Mechanix wear brand gloves... I found of though trail and error that the cutter bits like's to grab these gloves... So what kind of gloves do you use.... for hand protection....? Now that I have to go and buy my friend a new flex shaft again....

[BobBlaney]

FWIW, I do not use a glove with my Foredom or Micromotor. I do not want the same issue to happen as you found. I had a Foredom hook my shirt sleeve and it was not pretty, tore up the shirt and broke the shaft. Pretty scary.
Some say to wear a leather glove as the bit will chew it up and not hook it. Fabric is definitely a no-no.
When I use my Foredom I use the same rule as using a table saw or bandsaw, know where your hands are and where the cutter (blade) is. DO NOT take your eyes off that cutter.
Works all the time.
HTH

[mpounders]

I use a foot control so that I can stop pretty easy, but any kind of gloves that might snag are dangerous with big burrs. I do wear smooth leather gloves when using big burrs and big sanding drums, mainly to sacifice a bit of cow-skin rather than my own. It is mainly to protect from minor roll-overs with the tool, so you still need to be cautious and aware of what might happen. So wear kevlar if you are carving with hand tools, wear leather only with big burrs is my approach...knock on wood!

[Claude]

I agree with the above. I have had my Dremel catch in the wood and suddenly run right up my holding hand. No harm because I was wearing a pair of leather work gloves. For carving with hand tools, I use kevlar gloves; for power carving, leather only.

Claude

[Inadv]

Count me in for the use of kevlar/stainless steel thread gloves for using hand tools and heavy leather for the rotary tool. If you carve with both methods, as I do, it is a small PIA to keep changing the gloves, but IMHO it is worth the aggravation to avoid injury and tool breakage.

L.P.

[susieq]

The best hand protection when power carving, is to learn good habits while holding the wood...... if you do this, you will not need gloves.

Learn how to turn the wood in your hand as you work, instead of contorting yourself/carving hand/shaft, to reach an area of the wood.

Also, learn to turn the wood end for end so that you don't work close to the far end where the bit can grab the edge and run backwards over the hand holding the wood..... When you need to work on that end, turn it up to be closer to you. It sounds simple but unless we get in the habit of doing things this way, we tend to forget to turn the wood.

We all have minor accidents now and then but if you are practicing safe habits while you work, accidents are rare. If you are working holding the wood close to your body in front, do wear a leather apron......

[Donsexton]

Put me down for leather gloves as Yall know I yack safety all the time. The large aggressive burrs can cut you badly. The not so aggressive burrs will still give you a road rash. The big die grinders could break your fingers or wrist same power and speed as a skillsaw.

[Dileon]

I wear a real leather glove, note there are a lot of fake leather gloves,....so make sure you got the real deal. Never use any other kind of glove with your foredom.....it will eat it up. Like Don said, I learned the hard way.....large agressive burr will make hamburger meat out your hand.

[Eddy-Smiles]

Susieq.. That's great in theory but in practice it's like a good plan....it's goes out the window with the first shot. Some of us can't get out of our own way! I've switched from the fillet gloves with stainless steel threads to the Lee Valley stainless steel chain mail glove. The most damage I can do now is either give myself a 1/8" poke through one of the little openings or worse case, take my arm off just above the glove! As for power carving, I've ruined more than one T-shirt and Dremel so I now wear a full body Master Carver leather apron with all leather gloves. So far even a slip with an agressive typhoon hasn't been able to snag either.

[susieq]

I understand, Eddy..... I was very fortunate to be taught to power carve by an expert BEFORE I had learned any bad habits....LOL. And I still got caught "day dreaming" or something. Have the scars on the fingers to prove it. Still, after that happens once or twice (some of us are slow learners...sigh) you remember not to do that again. LOL

Now if I were using a big die grinder like Don, I might wear gloves....yeah, that would frighten me a bit. But because I learned how to use a Foredom properly, from a teacher who emphasized proper techniques, I have never worn gloves and don't plan on it.

Anyone who feels they absolutely must wear gloves, please wear leather. It's the only acceptable material in a glove for power carving.