schro Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I have been doing a lot of work on my PF lately, including fitting my nightmare Pacesetter headers. This morning I was test fitting the Y-pipe and found that it is nowhere near able to fit, but I'm not about to send them back AGAIN so I decided I would cut and weld the Y-pipe myself to make it fit. As part of my preparation I was cutting along the welds and grinding off the ceramic coating so that I have clean metal for the new welds. I DID NOT DO ANY WELDING. Over the course of the day mt eyes became more and more irritated, particularly when I went outside (it was dark overcast this morning, as it usually is in Vancouver, and has been clearing and becoming sunny) until now, when I cannot step out into the sun for more than a few minutes before my eyes become so irritated that I am effectively blind from tearing and burning. I called a guy at the local welding shop, since I knew that the symptoms were similar to arc eye ( I ALWAYS use appropriate eye protection when welding) and asked him if grinding sparks were bright enough to cause arc eye, and he informed me that they are! Particularly when grinding ceramic coatings. Who knew!? I am very safety conscious so I thought I should pass this along so that others can avoid the discomfort that I am going through right now. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Wow, I did not know that. Guess I should use my welding helmet for grinding from now on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 When doeing any actual ammount of grinding I like to use a pair of tinted safety nerds and recommend at least that. Hinsite of course to you though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I use the same goggles I use for oxy-acet welding and torch cutting, if not my welding mask set to a very low darkness (only when I'm in contorted positions and getting sprayed in the face) Of course, in most cases you won't notice it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Regular safety glasses will block almost all UV... so I'm shocked (as I'm assuming you were wearing some sort of eye protection), but maybe if you grind enough this could happen. I wonder if tiny particles or fumes in the air could get in your eyes could cause problems too. Maybe this is why my welding helmet has a grinding mode... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarehouseRat Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 sorry to hear about your pain but yes it does its a spark just like when you weld just not as intense add ceramic with a 3K*+ melting point and its even brighter, grind titanium and watch the show lol do not grind magnesium it will catch on fire and you cant put it out even under water visine and sleeping help it pass the easiest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagabond Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 arcing brushes in a drill motor will do it also, found that out the hard way years ago porting a set of heads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schro Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 I ended up going to emerg. Turns out that the feeling of 'sand in my eye' that I thought was from arc eye, was actually sand in my eye. I don't know how, but even with safety glasses on I got debris into my eye (5 very small particles were removed by the attending doctor) I went out and bought shade 3 glasses for grinding just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabre2d Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 glasses are nice but goggles are better. also i use filter mask to keep myself from blowing jet black snot rockets if i do any heavy grinding/cutting, buffing or wire wheeling (heavy metal particles are never good for the lungs) . also a good fan can blow most of that crap away from your face if you have one just point it away if your welding. i also use the cutt/grind mode like sewebster on my hood for light fab in addition to my saftey glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I have been doing a lot of work on my PF lately, including fitting my nightmare Pacesetter headers. This morning I was test fitting the Y-pipe and found that it is nowhere near able to fit, but I'm not about to send them back AGAIN so I decided I would cut and weld the Y-pipe myself to make it fit. As part of my preparation I was cutting along the welds and grinding off the ceramic coating so that I have clean metal for the new welds. I DID NOT DO ANY WELDING. Over the course of the day mt eyes became more and more irritated, particularly when I went outside (it was dark overcast this morning, as it usually is in Vancouver, and has been clearing and becoming sunny) until now, when I cannot step out into the sun for more than a few minutes before my eyes become so irritated that I am effectively blind from tearing and burning. I called a guy at the local welding shop, since I knew that the symptoms were similar to arc eye ( I ALWAYS use appropriate eye protection when welding) and asked him if grinding sparks were bright enough to cause arc eye, and he informed me that they are! Particularly when grinding ceramic coatings. Who knew!? I am very safety conscious so I thought I should pass this along so that others can avoid the discomfort that I am going through right now. Cheers. Here is a header Y-pipe fitting tip: Cut back on that cross member bracket instead, the pipe should fit much easier. I have done that and was able to fit a 2.50" pipe without any clearance issues even though the amount of room there is non existent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchizophrenicMC Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Damn dude. Guess I'll have to use my cheap welding goggles instead of my normal safety goggles next time I go grinding. I didn't even figure grinding was bright enough on the UV spectrum. Never can be too safe I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Every reminder to work safe is worth it. Thanks for the post. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 And it reminded me of this scary welding story: http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Not that again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Yes, that again. Post-whore the sheit out of it. I've stopped 3 friends from using brake cleaner to clean stuff before welding since I read that article. I do a fair bit of grinding, had no idea the UV was strong enough to do any damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 that's crazy. Brake cleaner can kill you, but carb cleaner is ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchizophrenicMC Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Brake Cleaner is chlorine-based. Carb cleaner is a number of alcohols. All carb cleaner releases when it burns is CO, CO2, and water. Brake cleaner releases a number of chlorine gas compounds. In other news, I learned Berryman B-12 Chemtool is manufactured about 8 miles from my house, and just a short distance from Six Flags Over Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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