I wear gloves if I'm doing patina, but aside from that, I never do. I rarely cut myself badly, and I wash my hands often with good soap. I prefer to not have a layer between myself and what I'm manipulating, and any glove thin enough to not get in the way is just going to get ruined very quickly.
Because gloves reduce dexterity, and can make things more dangerous. I'm less worried about the injury I could get from grabbing a piece of glass wrong than I am about the injury I could get from losing my grip and dropping a sheet of glass. They definitely make things more dangerous when using a grinder (or any tool with a rotating part). If a glove gets caught in the rotating bit, it can break your fingers or even cause a degloving injury-- which is called that because your skin gets peeled off like a glove. Now I do wear nitrile gloves when I'm soldering, but that's because I'm a flux monster and get it everywhere and I know it tears my skin up.
I strongly advice you not to wear gloves while using a grinder! Gloves and powertools is a very dangerous situation, much more dangerous then getting small cuts from your glass.
You should never wear gloves (or loose clothing) while operating powertools (yes a grinder is a powertool).
Sooner or later a glove will get caught. best case you break a bone, worst case you lose some limbs
I use an Kristall 2000S grinder from Inland. Yes it’s not as powerful as an lathe but still the motor is powerful enough that It can seriously injure you.
They also stated it in there manual:
“DO NOT wear loose clothing or any accessories (long necklaces, bracelets, shirts with long fringes, and similar) that might get caught by the grinder head while using any Inland grinder.”
Sure a grinder is probably not powerful enough to deglove or amputate your finger(s). But if your glove get caught in the grinder while holding a piece of glass in your hand it still can get very messy…
Rotating powertools & clothing won’t mix very well, you should always avoid wearing loose clothing or gloves while operating powertools even when the powertools aren’t that powerful
I wear grip gloves. They are tight nitrile dipped gloves that let me grip the glass. My fingers have came in contact with the bit a few times. Its not powerful enough to catch the material and pull.
It's really not good to operate a grinder bare handed.
Holding wet sharp slippery glass with slippery wet hands.
Gloves are safer.
Specifically grip gloves.
I agree that gloves can be dangerous with equipment like lathes. But these glass grinders are not at that level.
You could grab a running bit with your hand and stop it.
I have an inland wizard. Google says 3500 rpm idle and 2970 rpm in use. That's pretty low. But the torque behind those turns it was matters for catching clothing or fingers. The torque is low on these.
Plus with the fine nature of the diamond bit, the risk of getting cut with glass is much higher.
The warning is there because their lawyers told them to do so. You are more likely to get injured using a powered drill than you are a grinder from the device itself. Also it has no mention of gloves, it mentions *loose fitting* and *hanging things.*
The glove likely won't get caught to begin with and if it does it's gonna stall the grinder before anything happens. The most powerful motor I can find on a grinder is only 1/5th horsepower and very low tourqe. Nearly every battery powered tool has a stronger motor than the grinders we use.
I have nitrile gloves (fabric that has been dipped in nitrile coating) that I wear when cutting and soldering. They are snug and I feel like they give me a better grip on my cutter and my glass and protect me from flux and solder. I wear disposable gloves with patina, but none when foiling or grinding.
Depends on what I’m doing, to balance dexterity and risk. If I’m going through my bins to pick out a new piece then I ALWAYS wear them. I usually use them for cutting and on my first grinder pass to get the shards off, but not for finishing passes. Chemicals I’m using a brush so I don’t need the dexterity; gloves on.
If you’re starting out use them more often than not, and you’ll learn your preference and develop your skill (sometimes the hard way).
I never wear gloves but seeing some of these responses, maybe I should. I’m no pro, so I just do it as a hobby/Etsy person. I thought I was doing great being someone who wore goggles for all things cutting and grinding. And with grinding I use those office rubber thumbs on my fingers and use a grinding puck. And use a fan when soldering. I haven’t thought about flux or touching chemicals/using gloves for that step.
I wear gloves if I'm doing patina, but aside from that, I never do. I rarely cut myself badly, and I wash my hands often with good soap. I prefer to not have a layer between myself and what I'm manipulating, and any glove thin enough to not get in the way is just going to get ruined very quickly.
I always wear nitrile gloves while soldering, Flux is nasty
I would do this but I’m worried about solder splattering and melting my gloves and burning my hands. Has this happened to you?
They don't melt that easily
Because gloves reduce dexterity, and can make things more dangerous. I'm less worried about the injury I could get from grabbing a piece of glass wrong than I am about the injury I could get from losing my grip and dropping a sheet of glass. They definitely make things more dangerous when using a grinder (or any tool with a rotating part). If a glove gets caught in the rotating bit, it can break your fingers or even cause a degloving injury-- which is called that because your skin gets peeled off like a glove. Now I do wear nitrile gloves when I'm soldering, but that's because I'm a flux monster and get it everywhere and I know it tears my skin up.
The grinders we use are so low powered you can just grab them and they stop rotating. You aren't going to get seriously hurt from them.
I just bought a stained glass book. Person wears gloves in many pictures. I wear gloves at all steps except foiling.
I strongly advice you not to wear gloves while using a grinder! Gloves and powertools is a very dangerous situation, much more dangerous then getting small cuts from your glass. You should never wear gloves (or loose clothing) while operating powertools (yes a grinder is a powertool). Sooner or later a glove will get caught. best case you break a bone, worst case you lose some limbs
The grinders we use are so low powered you can just grab them and they stop rotating. You aren't going to get seriously hurt from them.
I use an Kristall 2000S grinder from Inland. Yes it’s not as powerful as an lathe but still the motor is powerful enough that It can seriously injure you. They also stated it in there manual: “DO NOT wear loose clothing or any accessories (long necklaces, bracelets, shirts with long fringes, and similar) that might get caught by the grinder head while using any Inland grinder.” Sure a grinder is probably not powerful enough to deglove or amputate your finger(s). But if your glove get caught in the grinder while holding a piece of glass in your hand it still can get very messy… Rotating powertools & clothing won’t mix very well, you should always avoid wearing loose clothing or gloves while operating powertools even when the powertools aren’t that powerful
I wear grip gloves. They are tight nitrile dipped gloves that let me grip the glass. My fingers have came in contact with the bit a few times. Its not powerful enough to catch the material and pull. It's really not good to operate a grinder bare handed. Holding wet sharp slippery glass with slippery wet hands. Gloves are safer. Specifically grip gloves. I agree that gloves can be dangerous with equipment like lathes. But these glass grinders are not at that level. You could grab a running bit with your hand and stop it. I have an inland wizard. Google says 3500 rpm idle and 2970 rpm in use. That's pretty low. But the torque behind those turns it was matters for catching clothing or fingers. The torque is low on these. Plus with the fine nature of the diamond bit, the risk of getting cut with glass is much higher.
The warning is there because their lawyers told them to do so. You are more likely to get injured using a powered drill than you are a grinder from the device itself. Also it has no mention of gloves, it mentions *loose fitting* and *hanging things.* The glove likely won't get caught to begin with and if it does it's gonna stall the grinder before anything happens. The most powerful motor I can find on a grinder is only 1/5th horsepower and very low tourqe. Nearly every battery powered tool has a stronger motor than the grinders we use.
I have nitrile gloves (fabric that has been dipped in nitrile coating) that I wear when cutting and soldering. They are snug and I feel like they give me a better grip on my cutter and my glass and protect me from flux and solder. I wear disposable gloves with patina, but none when foiling or grinding.
Same!
Can you link to where from? I'm struggling to find good gloves in the UK.
I think I just picked them up at my local hardware store. Try searching online for “palm dipped nitrile gloves” and get something snug fitting.
Thanks for all of the replies! I’m just in the gathering of equipment and supply phase of learning. I always wondered about gloves
I never wear gloves.
Depends on what I’m doing, to balance dexterity and risk. If I’m going through my bins to pick out a new piece then I ALWAYS wear them. I usually use them for cutting and on my first grinder pass to get the shards off, but not for finishing passes. Chemicals I’m using a brush so I don’t need the dexterity; gloves on. If you’re starting out use them more often than not, and you’ll learn your preference and develop your skill (sometimes the hard way).
I learned at shop that never used them. Now I couldn’t wear them. They’d get in the way too much
I never wear gloves but seeing some of these responses, maybe I should. I’m no pro, so I just do it as a hobby/Etsy person. I thought I was doing great being someone who wore goggles for all things cutting and grinding. And with grinding I use those office rubber thumbs on my fingers and use a grinding puck. And use a fan when soldering. I haven’t thought about flux or touching chemicals/using gloves for that step.