Welding protection for your hands is not limited to just “gloves.” There is also a question of what type of gloves a welder should use. When you walk into a welding supply store or try to order gloves online, you may notice there are plenty of options to choose from. They range in material type, insulation, thickness, size, and color. The list goes on, and the first time buying them can be a daunting task.

Gloves

When it comes to materials worn when welding, the general rule is to avoid fabrics that will melt if they get ignited. While no welder wants to catch fire, catching sparks is an inevitable part of the trade. If a droplet of molten steel that is 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit drops onto the top of your hand while welding a joint in the overhead position, you’re going to notice. If the fabric of your gloves is a natural fiber—like leather or heavy cotton or wool—the gloves will smolder and you can then pat out the spark without much concern. However, if you are wearing neoprene-dipped gloves that have a maximum temperature resistance of 482 degrees Fahrenheit, the glove will melt. Instead of being able to pat out that droplet without much fear or injury, the melted rubber will stick to your flesh and burn even more, resulting in a potentially severe burn.

Figure 3.10 shows three different types of leather welding gloves. These are only a few of the gloves that are very common in a welding shop or in the construction field, though. They also change color and number depending on the manufacturer and size than the ones shown. Let’s review the three shown and what purposes they fit.

The blue gloves on the left, of the brand Tillman 1080, are thick gloves that extend down onto the wearer’s forearm. These gauntlet gloves are excellent for welding processes such as SMAW, FCAW-S, and FCAW-G. Their insulation adds extra protection from spatter and heat that often occurs with these processes. They also make an excellent glove for GMAW.

The gloves in the middle and on the right are composed of thin goatskin leather. They do not offer the same protection against heat and spatter as the blue Tillman gloves. However, because of their thinner material they do provide better dexterity and allow for finer movements with the fingers that a welder might need for GTAW. While you could use the blue Tillman’s for GTAW, it would give you a similar motor control you’d find using an oven mitt.

The black and brown gloves in the middle are specifically designed for GTAW (also known as tungsten inert gas welding or TIG), with added padding and grip where such a welder would need it the most without limiting their hand mobility. On the far right side of the image are general shop gloves. They offer a good range of motion for the fingers and hands while protecting from scrapes and pokes. However, they shouldn’t be used for welding as they offer very little in the way of heat protection. Also, there is no extra padding or support in the hands or fingers that a welder needs.

There are also a variety of gloves made from wool or cotton that may provide decent control and heat protection.

Heat Shields

Heat shields are an additional product worn over the welder’s gloves during high-temperature welding. They reflect and dissipate heat from the finger or hand area so that a welder can spend a little more time completing a weld. Some TIG welders will get a heat shield in the form of a finger guard. These are single-finger protections made out of leather, aluminum fiberglass, or another material with high resistance to heat and fit over the finger(s) most susceptible to heat during welding. They also come in flat rectangles with straps that can be worn over the back of a gloved hand. They reflect and dissipate heat from the protected finer area so that a welder can spend a little more time completing a weld. They are to be used in addition to gloves.

Attributions

1. Figure 3.10: Three different gloves. by Stephanie Oostman, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
2. Figure 3.11: Automotive Welder (Unsplash) by Igor Ovsyannykov is released under CC0