Gloves for Saw Operators
Woodworkers suggest some tough, skin-tight, high-friction gloves for use around power equipment. April 21, 2011
Question
Anyone wearing gloves while breaking down melamine? Recommend any? Finger tape? My hands are all cut up. Running a slider.
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor B:
Cut up is better than cut off. The risk created by wearing gloves is too great. I tried fingerless weightlifting gloves for a while - loved them, thought they were perfect. Then came the day that my glove was torn and I didn't notice immediately. The blade grabbed the torn piece and thankfully tore it from the remainder of the glove rather than dragging my hand into the saw. And for all of you out there who are thinking my hand should have never been that close to the blade, I agree 100%. I made one poor choice in terms of shop safety that was nearly compounded by another.
From contributor J:
We have been using Atlas Gloves with rubber palms for a few years. They are great - no more cuts, much better grip and control cutting of melamine. Sometimes we cut 40-50 sheets at a time. I just ordered another dozen of them.
From contributor L:
I was doing some melamine and I used some heavy stretchy gloves that had rubber covered fingers and palms. They were relatively tight fitting. At no time did I feel unsafe. They have a better grip than my own fingers.
From contributor A:
I use the Skins from Fastcap. Very good grip and dexterity with them.
From contributor T:
Second the vote for the Fastcap gloves. 50 sheets, no tears.
From contributor N:
Another reason for wearing gloves is protection from toxic splinters. Ipe, wenge, cocobolo, and many other woods produce splinters that fester almost immediately. They are very painful. If one uses the very tight fitting gloves mentioned above, one can have both safety and splinter protection
From contributor S:
We use Wonder Gloves.
