Safety Glasses Side Shields

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

Does anyone know where I could buy a pair of universal safety side shields for glasses, that is, side shields that could fit on any pair of glasses?

Spectacles Direct do them for £4.90, which seemed reasonable, until they mentioned a minimum order value of £15.00 – ouch!

Chris

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

I wear specs too and wore a pair of cheapo safety glasses over the top of them while grinding yesterday…and completely forgot i was wearing both pairs until the wife pointed it out some hours later…

No idea what brand they were but I'm a mean beggar so doubt I paid as much as £4.90 for them…

If it's just side bits you really want then I was going to suggest a ski shop.. the side bits to protect against snow blindness… but a quick look at the silly prices for fashion sunglasses makes that a real no-no

[Jon GibbsParticipant @jongibbs59756]

Hi Chris,

Have you seen these? **LINK**

£8 + P&P = £10 – a bit cheaper.

HTH

Jon

[colin hawesParticipant @colinhawes85982]

Have you tried asking at Boots or other optician? I had a pair of prescription safety glasses made a few years ago at Boots optician; the side pieces were permanently attached to the frames; perhaps they can supply clip-ons. Colin

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

Saw a pair of 'over glasses' on a website, £2.80ish, cheap enough I thought, OK, then found delivery was £3.95 plus vat made it nearly 9 quid, so binned that idea, wasn't that keen on the 'over specs' route anyway although have done it loads of times in the past.

Will ask at local opticians, otherwise, unless something else comes up will go for Jon's link – thanks Jon.

Chris

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Chris,

It's a matter of personal preference, but; have you considered using a full-face visor instead?

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 05/01/2015 18:23:43

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

MichaelG – I have a full face visor which I do use from time to time, but it just seems a bit over the top and it gets to be a pain wearing it after a while.

Chris

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by ChrisH on 05/01/2015 19:11:28:

MichaelG – I have a full face visor which I do use from time to time, but it just seems a bit over the top …

.

… Boom-Boom !!

MichaelG.

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

A good optician will do cool stuff. I had them make me up a pair of my prescription glasses with an extra flip-down lens pair for close-up work rather then use the fancy loupe I'd bought 'cos it was horribly heavy to wear for any length.

You might make your own side bits.. a bit of polycarbonate and a coupe of simple spring clips…

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Chris

The question is surely – why do you want side shields for your glasses? If your answer is that you think them important to protect your sight then surely £15 is a small price to pay. You could, of course, buy 4 sets and sell a couple to other spec. wearers to recoup some of your costs.

Norman

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

If you want to protect your eyes whilst grinding, then use a proper protection system. Merely closing in the sides, covers the side gaps ONLY. Not only that,, the flying hot metal will ruin the surface of your spectacle lens anyway and they cost far more than a decent protection set up.

Edited By KWIL on 05/01/2015 22:02:52

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

I take the points noted above, however, I'm not wearing my best specs in the workshop whilst working but a pair of specs kept specially as working specs. By that I accept that they might become scratched or damaged, which is why I wear them and not my best specs.

If I am doing any serious grinding, either on the bench grinder or with the angle grinder, or any other activity that might throw up rubbish in my direction, like strimming the garden for example, I wear a full face visor, and ear defenders a lot too when it's noisy but that has nothing to do with eyesight protection! When milling or doing lathe work it has been very rare that chips have come my way more than chest high, they are more aimed at my beer store and nether regions, ditto on the bench grinder when grinding lathe tools for example.

So the side shields are an added protection during my normal working "just in case". I cannot comment on how others work and what comes their way, I can only comment on my experience on my working practices.

It is not that £15 is a lot to pay, although it is more than enough as what I actually required was a third of that, or indeed nearly 9 quid for something listed as being under £3, it's not liking having that feeling of being ripped off that I object to. And I don't know lots of other folk to flog unwanted side shields to either, even at a profit!

Chris

[Johnboy25Participant @johnboy25]

Hi Chris… I get my safety spec from Vision Express. I have been using them for years as the guys who measures up does a great job with Varifocals. (Usual disclaimer). If you don't get any luck with that I could always cannibalise an old pair to try to remove the slide shield for you.

Regards

John

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

Hi John, thanks for the offer, very kind. I will try Vision Express myself, as the working specs did come from there. Good idea!

Chris

[Jesse Hancock 1Participant @jessehancock1]

A subject close to my heart. I haven't read all the replies here Chris but then I can't recomend any one particular supply, rather a few tips to keep you safe particularly if you use hand grinders but also sharpening on a normal powered grinding tool.

1. Wear a hat low on your brow as it keeps grit, dust and needle particals out of your hair to a large degree.

2. When you have finished grinding wipe your forehead and eyebrows carefully with a clean rag or paper towel (away from your eyes) hopefully taking away any filaments that might be stuck there. (Clammy skin and all)

For years I was plagued with steel filaments dug deep in my eyes, then it dawned on me. It wasn't happening during the grinding operation but when I showered at home. Very fine steel filaments where carried from my hair and face onto my eyelids and lashes when showering. In the middle of the night I would wake up with extremely sore eyes. Off to the eye hospital and sure enough a filament or two lodged deeply in one or both eyeballs.

PS This applies doubly if working in a fabricating shop or similar enviroment.

Finally wear close fitting alround goggles as side shields on specs don't stop oddly angled rebounds. I know from experience.

Or you might like to try a full face mask if you have to wear glasses. They also have their draw backs including  bad and under side protection, plus they are very easily scratched.

Edited By Jesse Hancock 1 on 13/01/2015 20:46:20

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Jesse,

Yu rmind me of my old Chemistry teacher (Mr Gwynne) 'always wipe your eyes with the back of your wrist, then the day you wipe them without washing the nasty chemical off your fingertips, you won't blind yourself#'.

Neil

[Author]

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