Boots in the shop -

Doug DeVore

Member
Messages
106
Location
Southern, Illinois
I usually don't wear boots down in the shop, but boy do I wish I did tonight. I was making end-grain cutting boards for Christmas and dropped a 2.5"x6"x36" white oak board on my toe. It still hurts. It just slipped out of my hands and hit my toe like a post driver. Thank goodness my kids weren't around - they would have heard some new words tonight :eek:

My have to retire the old running shoes as my choice for the shop. Or stop working with thick and heavy white oak.
 
It is amazing how much pain can be generated by something falling on a toe. DAMHIKT. You have my sincere sympathy.

Do I dare say that I work in sandals? However, I do wear my safety glasses, ear plugs and dust mask in addition to the DC.

Enjoy and stay safe,

JimB
 
What else is there to wear other than boots?????? I finally wore out or they fell apart from old age, the sneakers I wore in Adv. PE in high school about five years ago (adv. pe in hs was in '79). Cowboy boots, lace up work boots, what else is there? Oh, replaced those old sneakers with a crossbred hiking/sneaker. Wear 'em to the dr when really sick and wearing only sweat pants. That's a picture for you to remember!
 
Sneakers in the shop and most everywhere else, too! Haven't had a problem dropping stuff on my feet. I just knock myself in the head! :bang: Nah - I don't wear a hard hat in the shop!!!
 
Foot safety is just as important as hearing and eye. What if you drop a board on your toe and break it? You then lean over in pain and rest on a moving table saw blade. The good thing is the pain in your toe won't be so bad anymore. Red Wing boots for me in the shop.
 
I bought a pair of Crocs that are intended for commercial kitchen wear this past fall. They certainly aren't heavy work boots, but from ordinary dropped shop items I think they'd protect fairly well and they are the most comfortable shop shoes I've had. These don't have all the holes that normal Crocs have so they don't fill with sawdust and chips.
 
Mine are over ten years old and still going strong. I can quickly slip them on and off, which is important if I want to stay on the good side of the cook. She does not appreciate wood shavings being tracked into the house.

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I wear work boots, not steel toes though. I've only ever owned one pair of steel toes, and my dad told me to avoid them, didn't listen. I did a lot of crouching at the time working on stuff on the floor or lower to the ground, and they cut off the circulation on the lower half of my feet. Got rid of them after about a week.
 
I wear sandals, tennis shoes or boots. Depends what I'm doing. If general clean-up turns into schlepping lumber around and I catch myself I go change footwear. If I don't and mange to not bang a toe, I count myself lucky. I do try to treat footwear just like any other safety issue in the shop.
 
Mine are over ten years old and still going strong. I can quickly slip them on and off, which is important if I want to stay on the good side of the cook. She does not appreciate wood shavings being tracked into the house.

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I have a pair of those myself... got them after my son said his were the most comfortable shoes he owned... I hated them, so they became my shop shoes until I picked up a pair of $4 brogans from Wal-mart....

I know about dropping things on your toe... a few years back I kicked a down hole gun off a pile... it fell 6" onto my big toe... broke it in 6 places... it's been nearly 25 years and the toe is still stiff.
 
What a coincidence that this thread comes up. Literally two days ago i purchased a new pair of workboots with CSA rating and steel toe caps.

As Steve points out this is a safety item. Has been something that has been bugging me for ages and i have felt like i been tempting fate wearing my old running shoes that were so soft they were worthless in the protection department.

Mine aint full boots they more like shoes but they comfy and now i have no concern about accidently dropping that chisel.

I need all the protection i can get in my shop and thats from myself no one else. Small price when you think about the alternative.;)
 
Well I had to wear safety shoes most of my Adult life for work and I am not as sure they are a lot of help as many believe. First they usually only cover the toe and not the higher part of the foot where damage can be even worse. Also the steel can be collapsed and trap the toe. They really help out with small to medium sized object that actually hit the toe but I think that's about as far as it goes. Now when my son first got out of Engineering school Jobs were tight and he took a limited duration job doing rework on air brakes for Westinghouse. They chased trains all across the west working on railroad cars at all hours and he was furnished a pair of safety shoes that actually had a second tongue covering the laces that was also steel. About 6-8 inch work shoes and they really provided some protection and only weighed about 10 pounds per foot.

I still have a pair of safety shoes from before I retired and do wear them form time to time....
GArry
 
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