[Jewelry making - Article 00107] - Re: [Orchid] U.V. rays

[Peter W . Rowe]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

>     Can anyone tell me what the correct eye protection from ultra
>     violet rays one should use when melting, soldering gold or watching
>     a Mokume Gane billet as it fuses. My local optician suggests tinted
>     glasses as used by people who work long hours in front of a
>     computer screen...??? 

    Your optician is correct, if you even feel you need a darker tint,
    so long as the heat source involved is an oven, or a natural gas or
    propane and oxygen flame, or cooler. These heat sources produce
    little or no UV. But they do produce infrared, (heat), which it would
    be wise to protect your eyes from if it's strong enough to be
    noticable. Some data suggests that long term chronic exposure to
    elevated IR can contribute to cataracts. But for most jewelers,
    we're using small torch flames, and not all the time. This is very
    much less risk than, say, the glass blowers who're staring into a
    glory hole all the time. Much more heat, for much longer durations,
    than we normally experience. For normal use, though, almost any
    eyeglass will protect to a decent degree from the low levels of IR
    we normally see. If you're doing a LOT with such heat sources, you
    may wish a more engineered glass that specifically blocks IR. 

    Now, if you're in the habit of using any electric arc, such as arc
    welding, plasma torches, or the like, or hydrogen/oxygen torches, or
    even oxyacetylene in larger tip sizes and using a sharper hotter
    flame, then you do need to be more careful with UV as well as IR. But
    as your optician suggests, most dark glasses (In fact, almost any
    glasses at all) are pretty good at blocking at least most UV such as
    in sunlight, or low intensity sources that you'll encounter other
    than with electric arcs or high temp glassblowing, etc. For arc
    welding, you'll need glasses specifically made for that, as that
    produces much brighter light, as well as much higher UV levels than
    any oxy/fuel torch flame will. 

    Personally, my favorite general use eye filter is based on the type
    of dichroic glass filter more commonly used by the glass blowers who
    do torch work. They're working hotter than we usually do, and with
    sodium containing glass, they're trying to see through a bright
    sodium flare. So didymium glasses are used to filter out the sodium
    flare. The better ones also incorporate elements that filter most IR
    and UV as well. The result is a fairly light colored lens that totally
    eliminates that bright yellow color in torch flames and subdues the
    glare from a hot environment. It makes soldering a LOT easier see in
    some situations. www.auralens.net is one supplier of such lenses. I
    have their AUR-92 lenses. They can supply these also in prescription
    versions to match your normal eyewear. Note that for platinum work,
    or similar high temp work, these lenses are not at all dark enough.
    For that, I use standard gas welding lenses or goggles. 

Peter

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________