June is National Safety Month and I heard a story the other day about a young (wet behind the ears) man who showed up for his summer job at a construction site wearing those super baggy, hang-below-your-behind pants. You know, the kind of pants you have hold up with one hand to keep ’em from falling down… Well, this young man was advised that he needed to wear pants that fit, and I’m sure the young man thought his boss was a jerk, that he didn’t understand just how cool it is to wear the baggy pants. After the 3rd day of not complying, the boss told him that if he continued to show up with those baggy pants, he’d have to pay him half his wage, since he was only using one hand to do his job and everyone else was using both hands.
Now you’re wondering what that story has to do with welding safety, right? It’s all about fit! Baggy pants can drag on the floor, rolled up sleeves can come undone, gloves too big make it hard to work. As a woman welder the ill-fitting welding apparel is all too familiar. Fortunately there are some better fitting options available for us.
One of our favorites is the AngelFire line of welding safety apparel for women. Chocolate color, stylish, and made of sturdy flame resistant material, the VelvetArc jacket is designed to fit a WOMAN’S body and the welding gloves come in smaller sizes, to fit a woman’s hands. (pictured above). Great fit, great style!
For more welding safety info, check out the posts over on the Joe Welder blog. We started with some Welding Safety Basics, like Eye Protection and protecting your hands (not to mention the rest of your body!). We’ve also covered a bit about protecting yourself while welding in the summer heat, and welding respiratory safety.