Benderthe.evilrobot wrote:


"WW" wrote in message
. ..

"Peter Hucker" wrote in message
news
Has anyone ever actually been unlucky enough to get solder splattering
into their eye? I've had it hit my leg, hand, and face, but never in my
eye. How bad is it?

I've had microscopic specs of solder splash in my eyes a few times. At
least, I THINK they were solder, they felt different than having flux get in
my eyes. If the spec is small enough, the film of water on your eye cools
id down pretty quickly. I may worry less about this than some others as I
wear eyeglasses all the time and they have wide enough leses as to shield my
eyes fairly well.
You need a pretty big blob to do permanent damage, but even a small one
can be painful.

Its something that happens sometimes - mine are usually on difficult
solder joints when salvaging parts, sometimes a solder joint spits as you
heat it.

When harvesting components with a pencil blowtorch; the spitting can be
hotter - but I hold the board looking at it edgewise, the spitting goes
sideways and nowhere near my face.
I would ALWAYS wear some kind of protection when doing this kind of work.

Jon

Mpfffff.... very late on this.

Back in the day, I did a lot of 50' target shooting and was captain of my school's rifle team - state champs several years running. BUT, that meant a goodly number of hours on the range, and at least several hundred rounds of .22 match per week. Yes, we used very good traps, and excellent range-safety procedures. BUT, every so often there would be splatter. I have always worn corrective lenses, and never worn contacts, so the splatter would bounce off my glasses with no harm done. Were the vain type, I am sure I would have experienced some pain, if not actual damage. NOTE: the others on the team, as it happens, also wore corrective lenses, our best shot wore what then were considered to be "Coke Bottle" lenses. We also used iron sights, not scopes.

Then, my first job out of college was as a machinist. Same issue. Seldom did things go "POP" on the lathe, but the lessons when they did were clear and emphatic. Wear Protective Eye Gear.

Dabbling in vintage radios, power tools, activities of daily life, I cannot tell how many times my vision has been at least protected if not saved by my glasses. And I have learned to wear gloves and ear protection over the years as well - so I still have excellent hearing and all my digits even at my advanced age. Oh, and putting the spare tire or bad tire under the car when changing the a tire - so if the jack fails the car comes down on the tire and rim, not a hand, foot or worse.

Guys and gals, this is not a debate. This is a matter of life-safety. I would rather be overly cautious and look silly than be 'brave' and be damaged.

By the way, my lenses are progressive high-index, UV coated, scratch-resistant plastic. They last me, on average, about 2 years.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA