Gloves to prevent crushing injury?

[tlingit]

I ran into a friend of mine, lovely woman and she told me about her accident running a wood splitter. She was wearing work gloves and accidentally crushed two fingers. She's a careful experienced splitter user,it was just one of those momentary lapses we all have. The surgeons were unable to do anything and she lost most of two fingers.

Now I'm on a mission to find gloves that can help prevent crushing injuries. In the past, our teenagers have all helped run the wood splitter, but I want better gear before putting them back on the job. Any suggestions?

 

[smokinj]

Nothing is going to stop hydro. With that said the one who is holding the log in place should be the one in control of the lever.

 

[weatherguy]

 

[Realstone]

Nothing is going to stop hydro. With that said the one who is holding the log in place should be the one in control of the lever.

Yep. I hold it just long enough for the head to get a good hold of the round being split. Do you have details of how the accident happened?

 

[MasterMech]

Hands go on top or sides of the log only. NEVER the ends and Jay is 100% right, The guy loading puts the log on the splitter and the guy operating the lever takes it from there.

 

[greg13]

If you find something strong enough to hold off 20 tons of force, you will never be able to flex your fingers. Like Mastermech says, SIDES only.

 

[mywaynow]

Kids should probably never work on a splitter in pairs. Two kids are more likely to have judgement lapses than one, fooling around and all. No glove is going to offer any resistance to even the weakest hydro splitter. No sense looking any further.

 

[Corey]

About the only possibility I see would be wearing a conductive glove...chain mail or something similar - then tying it into the ignition of the engine so if the glove happens to touch the cylinder, wedge or other metal part, the ignition is cut. Lot of hassle and the engine would still coast down unless it also had some type of brake system. But I agree...only touching the sides of the log, and ideally not touching the log at all when the ram is in motion are two of the best safety tips.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah no glove is gonna stop it. In a pinch a few years ago I had to use my 20 ton to break the bead on a tubeless tire using a block of wood between the wedge and the tire. Worked so well I tried it again a year or so later and the block of wood slipped and that wedge cut right through the steel rim.

 

[Realstone]

About the only possibility I see would be wearing a conductive glove...chain mail or something similar - then tying it into the ignition of the engine so if the glove happens to touch the cylinder, wedge or other metal part, the ignition is cut. Lot of hassle and the engine would still coast down unless it also had some type of brake system. But I agree...only touching the sides of the log, and ideally not touching the log at all when the ram is in motion are two of the best safety tips.

An actuator to release the hydraulic pressure might fit your scenario.

 

[Corey]

Hydraulic pressure might be a good way to go as well. Would take a bit more set-up and a secondary electric system - whereas the ignition would just be 'grounded'. But if they can do this with a table saw, surely a splitter could be safer, too!

 

[Highbeam]

I have daughters. They aren't going to run any splitter as long as I can do it. They can stack, feed me logs, or something else but not split. I would rather have them run the chainsaw than split wood.

 

[bogydave]

Handle the wood with tongs maybe ;
but no usable glove is going to stop 20 tons of force on a wedge.
I've used mine to flatten the end Schedule 40 , 1-1/4" steel pipe, with out any trouble at all.

 

[mellow]

Get a slower cycle splitter?

 

[Treacherous]

Kinda like a Sawstop?

About the only possibility I see would be wearing a conductive glove...chain mail or something similar - then tying it into the ignition of the engine so if the glove happens to touch the cylinder, wedge or other metal part, the ignition is cut. Lot of hassle and the engine would still coast down unless it also had some type of brake system. But I agree...only touching the sides of the log, and ideally not touching the log at all when the ram is in motion are two of the best safety tips.