Hi Bonnie,  I keep a beat up pair of safety glasses next to the wood stove in my workshop.  The wood stove puts out a great deal of IR and you have to get right up close to load more wood.  Any safety glasses block 99% of UV , but maybe less on the IR.  I think a good idea is to install a safety glasses hook for where ever you need them in your work space, so it is easy to slip them on.  

My soldering station is based on a standard cheapo kitchen range hood with a piece of metal roofing bent to form the side and back walls.  In the front I have a piece of plexiglass hanging on 2 nails.  There are several holes drilled in the plexiglass so that it can be moved up and down.  The result is that I can reach in and solder, but my face is behind the plexiglass.  I addition to reducing radiation exposure, the plexiglass also keeps the soldering gasses from escaping out the front of the area and into me. 

A similar idea would work well for a glass flame working station or a kiln.  The trick is to make a shield design that still allows for unrestricted access.

Rio Grande has their Green IR safety glasses for $12.

Cheers  Marty

Here is an example of clear 75% IR blocking safety glasses $8/pair

http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/ztek-arc-safety-glasses-pyramex-clear-mirror-lens.html

And here is a shade 2 for $10, http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/sg-24ir2.html

no affiliations

Thanks, Trish. I have to say it is tempting to not wear glasses, but I'll take your advice.

Hi Martin,

that helps a lot! I will look on ebay or here in local stores to find similar glasses to the ones you included the links for. The descriptions give me enough information to go by.

Thanks for explaining your setup. My own working station is still small: I do the cutting and doming/forming of copper some place else, I only have a small kiln here at home. But ambitions are high, and you do get me thinking about the future! The plexiglass construction sounds clever, and simple enough to construct. Who knows, one day.. Probably sooner than later..

Bonnie,

It is very important that you wear specific kiln glasses that protect your eyes from IR exposure at the levels produced by opening and closing the kiln door repeatedly.  This opening adn closing causes the front of the eye to heat up and cool down every minute or so while firing and can set off a metabolic process that can lead to a certain kind of cataract. If you only enamel occasionally this may not be a problem but, if you plan to fire for more than 20-30 minutes continuously and frequently, it is important to wear protective IR glasses.  You can by cheap polycarbonate glasses from Enamelwork Supply, Schlaifer's Enameling Supplies, and Rio Grande.  Auralens sells a very good and expensive lens.  Another source of IR glasses is a website called NOIR.com. The best lens for protection is no longer being made. This lens was a glass lens from American Optical called Calobar.  You could get 3 types of shade (which accounted for the amount of visible light passing through the glass lens).  If you can find these glasses on eBay, you should buy them.  The best shade for Calobar. is 2.0.

Judy Stone

Thanks, Judy, for all the info. I can't find the noir.com, the website is not available yet. I did find tresnoir.com, which sells handmade optics. Is that the website you mean?

I checked the companies you named. Apart from Aura, they offer very, very reasonable priced safety glasses, but I haven't figured out their shipping costs yet. Ebay had proven a good source for protective eyewear as well. I found quite some IR3.0 welding glasses like these: IR3.0 welding glasses. I am still a bit unsure though, whether these glasses will do. They do seem the be the same as the ones enamel suppliers sell. Does anyone know?

Bonnie,

3.0 shade is overkill and welding glasses block too much visible light.  Talk to Coral at Enamelwork Supply.  She is a great source of info and, while you are it, check out other enameling supplies that she carries.  Joan at Schlaifer's also has a full range of enamel products and is also very helpful.  Both ship via the postal service.  The company online is noIR and their glasses are quite good.  You can e-mail them or call them to talk to someone.  You want a lens that filters out over 90% of IR and allows maximum visible light so you can see what is happening inside the kiln. 

Judy

Ah, so this must be the noIR company you are referring to: noIR Medical. I will follow your advice, and get in touch with Coral or Joan. Thanks for taking the time inform me!

Try this site :http://www.enamelworksupply.com/tools.html

Hi Rudolf,

 Thanks for the link. The shades they sell are also welding glasses IR3.0. They seem quite dark, do you use them?

I ended up buying these: 3M Maxim Minimizer. Simply available here in the Netherlands! They have the benefit of saving against UV and IR light, yet, they are clear and do not change colours.

Thanks all, for your advice, and thinking along..

Hi all,

I am a beginner in enamelling. I read a couple of times that I need to protect my eyes when looking in the kiln. Since I have hardly a clue how long to fire pieces, I look into the kiln quite a lot. So, I am looking for a way to protect my eyes now. What do you use for eye protection?