Although miniatures are far from the most dangerous hobby that a person can have, there are still a number of safety issues which you need to be mindful of while enjoying the hobby. From small bits to sharp tools and hazardous chemicals, we do deal with a lot of hazards - they just tend to be a little smaller than most. Read on and hopefully my pain can save your suffering.

Eye Safety

One of the most important tools which any miniature painter will ever own are their own eyes.  Unlike most of the others, you only get one set so you want to make sure that you take care of the ones you have.  Practicing proper eye safety is very important in order to keep them in tip top shape.  To this end, you need to make sure that you use proper safety gear when working with things that might harm your eyes.

Safety Glasses

One of the most basic pieces of safety equipment that everyone should have is a pair of good quality, well fitting safety glasses.  When using wire cutters for clipping pinning materials or using a rotary tool for grinding a base off from a miniature, your eyes may be exposed to materials and debris which are moving at a very high rate of speed.  Safety glasses will help to deflect this debris from your delicate eyes and save you discomfort or permanent damage.

When looking at safety glasses there is a lot to consider.  Some are much the same as a normal pair of glasses - others wrap around your eyes to provide improved protection from the sides.  There are also several different ratings on the glasses themselves.  The most common and generally minimal rating that you will find is along the lines of "Conforms to ANSI Z87.1"  For most people, this doesn't mean much of anything though.  For those who are curious it basically breaks down to being able to survive having a 1/4" steel ball bearing shot at the glasses from 50 inches at 150 ft/sec.  This should provide adequate protection against anything that your average miniature user will deal with.  The standard also has other requirements that are related to marking and other administrative issues.   Look for that marking and you will be just fine - be careful though for cheap safety glasses though, as they may not be tested and able to withstand an impact (which will lead to more problems).

Following the tests and certifications, the next most important thing to look for is side protection.  Quite often when working with brass rod for pinning or grinding wheels, you will not be dealing with debris thrown straight at you - rather it will be from ricochets.  These will come from all different directions and can be hard to predict.  Having side protection on your glasses will ensure that you do not get something stuck in the corner of your eye that comes in on an angle.  In this regard you have two different styles to choose from - wrap around or side shields.  Both do the job well enough, however I prefer the wrap around glasses since they do not restrict peripheral vision as much as the shields do.

So you have a selection of rated glasses which all offer side protection - but you still will likely have a dozen or more choices.  What to choose?  Obviously your budget will have a bit to do with it.  You can get safety glasses for as little as $10 or you can spend over $100 on them.  Both will provide about the same protection, but if you are looking to save money - and inexpensive pair of glasses is much better than none at all.

Fit is the next thing to consider.  You want to make sure that the glasses are comfortable to wear and are not too large or too small.  If they are too large, you will have gaps at the edges that will allow debris to get in.  If they are too small, you will not feel comfortable wearing them and may not wear them when you should.  After that, take a look for rubber pads for the nose and an added bridge pad to prevent debris from coming in from above.  Cheaper ones are normally solid hard plastic and this can become a bit uncomfortable if you are wearing it for a long time.  And ladies, be sure to look at the ones made for women.  Not only are they generally a little more stylis, but more importantly they are designed to take facial differences into account to allow for a better fit.

Bells and Whistles 

So what else can you get out of safety glasses?  Everything and the kitchen sink.  AOSafety is the brand of choice for me.  They have a built in lights for getting light exactly where you are looking.  You can also buy safety glasses which are often referred to as cheaters by tradesman.  Basically they use a bifocal design with reading glasses built into the bottom of the glasses.  As many know already, a pair of reading glasses comes in handy when trying to see the smaller more fiddly bits - and our old eyes could use all the help they can get.

Safety Goggles

Safety goggles are one step up and a little bit over from normal safety glasses.  In addition to providing all the impact and debris resistance that the glasses provide (and a little bit more - ANSI Z87.1 rates goggles at 250 ft/sec) it also provides full wrap around protection from splashes and dust.  If you do a lot of work with resins or large volumes of paint, you will want a pair of goggles.  Be aware though, there are some goggles which are not rated to deal with splashes and are basically just safety glasses in a different form.

For me, I use goggles anytime I am sanding materials like MDF for terrain and scenics as well as when I use my spray gun or spray paints outside of the paint booth.  MDF and a lot of other materials which are popular with miniature hobbyists can be a bit of a pain in the eye.  The dust from MDF, resin and plaster is very fine and can irritate the eyes.  It also will hang in the air, so you do not get a whole lot of protection from safety glasses.  Similar problems exist when you use aerosol paints or a paint sprayer.  The paint is atomized and can hang in the air for hours - you do not want that to get in your eyes.  Although I am less religious when dealing with mixing chemicals, it is a good idea to wear the goggles any time you do.  Two part casting resins can splash or spill when mixing, and a pair of goggles will keep an unfortunate event from becoming tragic.

The selection of goggles is a bit smaller than that of safety glasses - and you do not have nearly as many features and options.  As I have already mentioned, make sure they are not just impact goggles - those won't give you much more protection than normal safety glasses with the materials that goggles are mainly used to protect against.  Make sure the frame material is soft and pliable - some of the cheaper goggles use a fairly rigid rubber which will cut into the skin and not conform to your face.

Once you have chosen a pair of goggles to use, be sure to read the documentation that comes with them.  Many are designed to be custom fit to the user at home either by heating in warm water and than wearing or by some other means.

Face Shields

The vast majority of miniature hobbyists will never have a use for a face shield - at least not one that is related to the miniature hobby.  For the most part they are designed for situations where large or particularly fast moving materials will be thrown at the face and may actually cut skin.  I have one which I use when cutting firewood with the chainsaw and from time to time when I am working with various power tools in the shop.  Most situations though you will only have smaller chips and dust which doesn't have the ability to cut through skin (though it can puncture delicate eye tissue - so wear your safety glasses). 

Other Concerns

In addition to wearing the proper safety equipment, you want to make sure you take care of your eyes in general.  If you wear contact lenses - do not wear them when dealing with chemicals like acetone, turpentine or other fast evaporating cleaners.  The fumes from the chemicals can cause some contacts to begin to break down and actually fuse to the eye.  This can lead to a very difficult surgery and a painful recovery.  You can get prescription safety glasses or goggles which are designed to be worn over glasses.  If all else fails, you can wear a face shield as they all have room for glasses under the shield.