Thanks for your comment. Its interesting that after I started this post I rethought my decision. The earpieces are very wide but come short of side shields. They made a big deal about I could change if I don’t like them. I may check that out. Stay tuned.
I was not aware of us having safety shields available. If they are added to normal glasses, does that meet the test?
I think I paid $20 bucks for mine all in?
My Zenni pair cost about $40 because my eyesight is really bad, but they’re awesome. Especially for the wood shop.
There are eye shields you can just slip on the earpieces. They are just a piece of flexible plastic but apparently they are an approved method.
I just cancelled the Sams order. You are the second Zenni customer here. I will check it out.
I buy all my glasses from them now. I buy the cheap ones by the case and pitch them when they get scratched instead of getting butt hurt. Gotta admit, I love me some China glasses!
I also bought mine from Zenni for less than $20. Unfortunately, they didn’t have bifocals, but they were so cheap I bought a near-vision pair and also a distance, tinted pair for outdoors.
I talked to @nicksilva about side shields for regular glasses with impact resistant lenses and decided to purchase the following. Thanks to all for the input!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BH1WFCY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1TWUGM1549ELP&psc=1
That’s really annoying - when I asked the folks at Sam’s, they told me they didn’t do safety glasses!
I got mine from Walmart, they ended up being ~$170 IIRC
Zenni has now expanded their offering of Safety Glasses. They have several frames rated ANSI Z87.1 starting at $7. You match them with the Trivex or Polycarb impact resistant lenses. Full side protection is avail - and more that just the shields on the arms.
I just ordered a pair of progressives because I need that intermediate range for the computer and the lathe and other hand crafting. They offer 3 different ranges of progressives. The difference is the field of view at the near range vs distance viewing.
All in, including the anti-fog coating, it was just under $90 for the options I chose.
Those of you that have seen me with my safety glasses, this is where I ordered them from:
This was the type provided to me by McDonnell Douglas and Pratt Whitney. They are true heavy duty safety frames and the side shields are hinged, the type I get are very fine mesh so they breathe. My prescription pair, cost $91. Those of you into photography will note the lens are by Hoya, a good optics company. They aren’t the cheapest but they a heavy duty, scratch resistant and I’ve worn this style and frame since the 1980’s. Mine are clear lenses - in QA we weren’t allowed tinted lenses (if you needed tinted or darkened lenses for lasers or welding/furnace-forges you wore something over them).
I’ll be buying replacement lenses for them soon - just had new Rx last week.
@Photomancer. I was following with you until I added the options I got from Zenni. That is more than a couple of hundred dollars difference. Like Anti-Reflective is standard at Zenni. Trivex is $10 more, the Progressive option is $30-60?
Stainless steel frames, fine mesh side shields. Think Holtzmans glasses from the new Ghostbusters, and they’re on sale for under $40. Astrud and I have pairs (I have two, one as workshop glasses with bifocals, and another as dedicated sunglasses).
I’m not technically sure those would be allowed in the metal shop because we specifically spec Z87 with +U iirc.
Edit: They look really sweet though. I want to order a pair 
hmm $3500 lasik + $10 safety glasses. I must have done something wrong.
Which U is required:
UV Filter Transmittance:
I believe the rule is simply that they must have a U rating, not specifically which one. It’s pretty hard to find the data on a random set of safety glasses, it’s much easier to see if the label claims +U.
I think it boils down to: Those are your eyeballs/cornea/retina. It’s also your wallet.
This is not an attempt to get out of buying glasses or arguing not to wear safety protections. I already have prescription safety glasses. I even went out and bought the ANSI standard several months ago when a similar post from Metal Shop sent me down the rabbit hole of trying to understand the U2-U6 marking on Ultraviolet Filter Lenses. If I have to I would be more than happy to buy another pair in order to protect my eyes if they are necessary.
I am confused why the Metal Shop keeps invoking ANSI standards that do not exist. There is no +U (if there is a + sign in front of the U that indicates it met the Impact Protector Requirements there will also always be number that follows the U) or U designations in the ANSI standard. ANSI Standard Table 3 pg. 9 There is only the U2-U6 designations for Transmittance Requirements for Ultraviolet Filter Lenses from my Talk comment above found in Table 8 pg 16 of the ANSI standards.
It is my understanding that the majority ANSI safety glasses are made of polycarbonate or Trivex (I have not found any that are not) because they do not shatter like glass or other plastics
Polycarbonate naturally blocks up to 385 nm of wavelengths of UV radiation.
Trivex provides natural blocking of the UV wavelengths up to 394nm.
The ANSI standard on page 5 defines ultraviolet as electromagnetic wavelengths from 200-380.
They inherit their natural UV blocking characteristics from ultraviolet light stabilizers incorporated in the plastic. The ultraviolet absorbers (benzotriazoles and hydroxyphenyltriazines for polycarbonate) prevent deterioration of physical properties such as loss of impact strength, changes in color, cracking, crazing, and others. From article Spectral Evaluation of Eyeglass Blocking Efficiency of Ultraviolet/High-energy Visible Blue Light for Ocular Protection https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6615932/
This is also an excerpt from The Fabricator magazine article Selecting the Best Lens for Welder’s Eye protection which further backs up the point I am trying to make.
“Clear polycarbonate safety glasses, in addition to guarding against particles or splashes, also can block UV radiation up to 385 nanometers. According to Dr. Felix Barker, director of research at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, this blocking ability makes clear safety glasses helpful for guarding nonwelders from indirect exposure to UV rays generated by welding. Side shields also are important if indirect exposure is a possibility.
“It doesn’t take much exposure to be affected by UV rays. An unprotected worker could be standing off to the side while others are welding and a few hours later end up with painful eyes,” Barker said.”
So my question is why does the Metal Shop not just say ANSI marking required which means they cannot shatter so they are not glass or plastic safety glasses but are Polycarbonate or Trivex which means they naturally block the UV. Otherwise please tell us which U2-U6 designations are appropriate for our Metal Shop.
All my ANSI quotes come from my personal copy of the American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices 2020.
Sounds like you’ve done more research on it than at least I have, show up to a metal shop meeting bring your standard, and get the rule changed.
