Does anyone have pictures of glasses I should use for boro?

[Jacinthe]

I have somewhere here a pair of welder glasses I bought about 3 years ago when I first started making beads. I'm wondering what exactly I should be using to try out the bits of boro I have.

A pic would help me a whole lot!

[LeahPellegrini]

Boroscopes are a great option for working borosilicate... the ones pictured are my favorite pair (I like the frames and they are relatively inexpensive) - but the ones pictured have only rose didymium lenses in them... you'd have to order the "boroscopes" lenses... which basically have added UV protection.

Any rose-didymium lenses with extra UV filtration will do the trick. You can get clip-on UV lenses to add to your existing didymiums, that is certainly a cheap option.

go to http://www.phillips-safety.com/ps/c-12-glass-blowing-eyewear.aspx to check out your option.

Hope this helps!

-Leah


19762

[MikeAurelius]

Oh my, NO NO NO!!!!

Boroscopes ARE NOT SAFE FOR WORKING BOROSILICATE GLASS! They DO NOT filter infrared, which is the main source of eye injury and permanent damage from working borosilicate glass.

The damage comes from IR (infra red, heat energy) NOT UV (ultra violet). This UV thing has become urban legend and is untrue. We do not use temperatures anywhere near high enough to generate large damaging amounts of ultraviolet.

http://www.auralens.net/e_phillips2.cfm

http://www.auralens.net/e_phillips3.cfm

[dogmaw]

Sarah, what shade are your welding glasses? There should be a number somewhere that tells you how dark the lens is. I got a pair of 3/5 splitties from Aura lens, and love them. Turns out I had been using a 7 which is why I couldn't see anything! :lol:

[Tanya]

Mike - I read through the information on your web-site a few days ago. It's great - thanks! I was really interested in the information about UV and how it really isn't the issue it's made out to be and that it's IR we need to be concerned with. I use a pair of flip downs I got from Wale some time ago. They're pretty dark, but they're not comfortable when some of that colored boro gets glowing. I figure if it hurts to look at it and leaves little spots, it can't be healthy. I'm in the process of ordering your AGW 203s. I have to send in my clip ons. It will be great to be able to use my own glasses! Right now, I use the flip ups on a pair of reading glasses. With repeated use, the clip ups mark the lenses of whatever glasses they're on, so I don't want to use them on my good glasses.

Sarah - the boro capable glasses are more expensive. But, if you like working with boro, it's more than worth the price since the alternative is permanent damage to our vision. In addition, it's really hard to look at some colors when they get really hot.

[Jacinthe]

Thank you all very much for the information
I think the welder glasses I bought were 5s or something I just remember using them with my HH and going I don't think so cause I couldn't see ANYTHING!

I won't be working BORO full time, its just a little bit of glass I have and I just wanted to play with it a bit and try it out to see what I could do with it. So many people make such lovely things with the glass. But I had to admit, I'm rather fond of my glass giving me the exact colours I want when I pick out the glass. ;)

[MikeAurelius]

Sarah, if all you are going to do is "play" with the boro, I'd suggest getting a welder's clip on frame. We carry them for (I think) around $20. Since you are over on the other side of the big pond, I'd look around to see if you can find an equivalent item over there.

Plastic/polycarbonate filters need to be replaced about every 6 months or so - they are dyed and the dyes used fade over time and exposure to IR.

[Jacinthe]

Sarah, if all you are going to do is "play" with the boro, I'd suggest getting a welder's clip on frame. We carry them for (I think) around $20. Since you are over on the other side of the big pond, I'd look around to see if you can find an equivalent item over there.

Plastic/polycarbonate filters need to be replaced about every 6 months or so - they are dyed and the dyes used fade over time and exposure to IR.
Thank you Mike, I will look around here and see if I can find something if not then I will be contacting you about the clip ons. I still would like to one day get my sunglass frames custom prescription done by you.