Tips on How to Avoid Mangling and Maiming Yourself And Others
Sometimes we need reminding about these things, right? Well, at least I do. I was almost an industrial accident the other day!
I was happily drilling away on a piece of metal and I felt something strike my face. Was it a bird? No.
It wasn’t a plane either.
But it was a teeny tiny shard of metal. and I wasn’t wearing safety glasses.
Yes. I admit it.
I could have lost my eye. One of the few organs that brings me pleasure.
(I heard that thought! Get your mind out of the gutter.)
Now, I realize that you’re smart enough to know that basic wire working is not really high on the list of self-maiming activities. You don’t really need the type of ridiculous tips you see on hairdryers (mine says, “Don’t use while in bathtub”). So I’ll keep this brief.
Here are 3 proven ways you can cut your jewelry related emergency room visit frequency down to next to nothing:
- Wear eye protection when working with wire. I recommend using safety glasses, but in a pinch a pair of regular eyeglasses should do. Sometimes bits of wire fly when you cut the ends (if you forget to put a finger over the end) and longer pieces of wire may whip around unexpectedly while wire wrapping.
- Put a finger over the side of your wire cutter (where the tiny end is being snipped off) so it doesn’t fly off into someone’s eye.
- Avoid repetitive stress. An often overlooked but very real and serious problem of jewelry making is repetitive stress.
- Avoid repetitive stress by taking breaks, and vary the types of projects you do. Wrapping, hammering, and forming with pliers are repetitive motions which can cause stress on arms, hands, fingers and shoulders so remember to stretch from time to time. You can strengthen your hands by squeezing tension balls.
So those are my top 3 wire working safety tips. Safety, I know, is not a very sexy subject. But glass eyes aren’t very sexy either. No offense to glass eye fetishists…
Hmmm… Changing the subject! What’s your favourite safety tip?
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The world is a dangerous place… be vigilant at all times!
Don’t tilt your head back when cutting wire… I read where a lady got a piece of wire stuck in her sinus cavity when a tiny piece of wire, flew up her nose! Owww!!
Briefly closing your eyes or turning your head helps avoid flying pieces too.
I know it’s not needed with wire jewelry, but when working with Resin, wear a face mask! The fumes are HORRIBLE. I forgot this (duh) and had a horrible, horrible asthma attack.