2nd Degree burn from O/A weld

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In shop class today I was welding a couple small peices of metal with a #2 oxyacetylene torch. I was doing a vertical filler weld (I was making a capital letter ' I ') so the weld was only going to be about an inch long. I guess I got a little too close to the action because all of a sudden above my welder's goggles I felt my forehead get pretty damn hot. I pulled my head up and pulled off the welders goggles. After I turned off the torch, I felt my forehead and a few burnt hairs rubbed off in my hand. I had a 2nd degree burn on my forehead about the size of a silver dollar that extended from my forehead about half way down to my eyebrow. A couple of my friends were nearby, but neither saw exactly what happened. My best guess is that I just got leaned in too close to the weld and on of the little "side-flames" (the little tinted bits of flame that usually just extend sideways across the metal) reflected up at me because of the wierd agnle.I got a prescription for some cream to put on it, and luckily my hair looks okay and is long enough to cover the burned spot.Has anyone had personally or seen any similar experiences?
Reply:Only my fingers.  I have had hot pieces of slag go into my shoes and burn my feet.  The trouble is, you can't get your shoes off quickly enough.
Reply:When you drove your first car/truck did you do it by yourself ?I don't mean to upset anyone, but welding is a trade that needs to be shown to the apprentice from the journeymanThanks
Reply:Originally Posted by MetalSculptorWhen you drove your first car/truck did you do it by yourself ?I don't mean to upset anyone, but welding is a trade that needs to be shown to the apprentice from the journeymanThanks
Reply:G'day Pawn 256,Ignore Metalsculptor's replies, he posts the same lame advice all the time.Check out all his other posts and you'll realize what an idiot everyone here thinks he is.Regarding the burns, I haven't had 2nd degree ones yet, but just luck I reckon.The hot gas from an O/A torch looks neat and well defined, but the heat travels far beyond the flame.  I've been welding tubing in an awkward position and had the flame shoot out the end towards my face. Makes you jump! J.
Reply:i dont care how long you been welding your still going to get burnt time to timeChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:Originally Posted by chopper5i dont care how long you been welding your still going to get burnt time to time
Reply:yupChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterits not a matter of when its where and how bad  ...zap!
Reply:Originally Posted by MetalSculptorWhen you drove your first car/truck did you do it by yourself ?I don't mean to upset anyone, but welding is a trade that needs to be shown to the apprentice from the journeymanThanks
Reply:tucsonbroker that is all metal knows how to postChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:I didn't burn my forehead...yet anyway. Last summer I was up on a scaffold cutting some brackets out of a wall. As I finished the cut with my right hand I reached over the top to grab hold fo the bracket so it didn't fall to the hardwood floor below. As I pulled the torch away, I somehow hooked the end inside my glove. When I realized what had happened I yanked the torch away (or at least tried too) and hooked it in y glove even better. It was only in my glove for a second but my palm didn't put up a very good fight at all. Not sure what degree burn it was, I just put some sort of burn cream on it and kept on keepin on.btw, I did drop the bracket to the floor too. lol
Reply:Getting burned when welding is part of the occupational hazard.  The pain will eventually convince you to be more careful.  I still have a faint scar on the inside of my arm above the elbow.  I reached over a lawnmower handle that I had just welded at 18 years of age.   Some things you should know:  When you can cool the injury as quickly as possible under running water.  The burning effect continues into the flesh so if you can cool the area quick enough you limit the damage.    If you can score some flamazine store it in a refrigerator away from light.  In many cases you cannot get it without a prescription.  The stuff is great for promoting healing.    You do not want to ever need a skin graft.  If you think the burn hurt just wait until they peel off a section from somewhere else to cover the damage!!!!  The pain is exquisite and long lasting.
Reply:yup....no matter how careful you are, you will get a burn and most likely a eye injury ....just part of welding...learn from it and avoid doing it again...but it will happen again ..have fun till thenCya MartyFuture ProjectsEnglish WheelPlanishing HammerRing Bender[URL="http://www.strombolis.com"http://www.strombolis.com[/URL]
Reply:I have a big bottle of green medicated aloe in the shop.  It has some sort of topical pain killer in it.  Wal-mart ($3).  In my experience, if the stuff is applied quickly, you can even avoid a blister on some burns.  My biggest problem is remembering how fast aluminum heats up and how far the heat travels as compared with steel.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterits not a matter of when its where and how bad  ...zap!
Reply:When I first started doing overhead work, I burnt the hell out of my new tan Wrangler work shirt. Hey what do you expect from a newbie that never welded before? I was pissed off to say the least. Now I wear a leather welder's jacket when I do overhead welding. RD 1984 Chevrolet C30 welding truck1966 Lincoln SA200 Continental F162 1942 Lincoln SA200 Hercules IXB-51991 Lincoln LN25
Reply:So I am teaching my 8 year old how to tig on aluminum. He did well and can manipulate the puddle in a complete circle around a bunghole I cut.  I totally expected him to melt the AL all to hell and back, burn through, stick the torch to the base, extend his arc to about 3 inches....you know, like I did the first time I ever tigged. But no....the little SH shows me up. So I am moving the piece around carefully because as you ALL know, when you put 250amps ACHF into a piece of AL, it might be a little warm. Forgetting that it's hot, as it is not cherry red, he takes both hands and reaches out to grab the piece to help me reposition it. Yeah, you see where this is going, right? I couldn't utter a word fast enough, I dropped the torch and  the piece and smacked his hands out of the way as I screamed. I saved his hands (he had already removed his tig gloves) but I scared the bejeezes out of him and his lip started to quiver and his eyes welled up. Now he is pissed off at me.  I guess I get to be the jerk dad for the week, but I honestly think he would prefer me yelling at him if he had instead burned his hands.  That's my story and I'm s-s-s-sticking to it.Ok, sorry for the long post that was actually unrelated to Oxy-Acet burns.  But it just happened this evening. Lincoln Ranger 9Lincoln LN25 Wire Feed Lincoln High Freq. Tig ModuleCK 300A Water Cooled Tig Torch (Only the best) Fully LoadedLincoln Water CoolerWeldpak 130 (Gas Conversion)
Reply:Burns, hmm well GET USED TO IT I've had some rippers, and eye injuries as well. About one a year of them to, and I'm very careful!The worst burn I've had was when another welder decided to weld above me with the flux core, got a burn from the top of my shoulder to the top of my jeans. Man did that puppy hurt!Stephen
Reply:Hey joker,All parents have this kind of thing happen again and again...in all kinds of contexts.  A while back, my son got an unapproved ride to swim practice from a fellow 16 year old swimmer (a nice kid, but 16).  I gave my son the 3rd degree.  I am sure he though I was going nuts over such a little thing...he got the idea, though, but was upset about the intensity.Now he is learning to drive...I have to say, he is not too bad, but occasionally he forgets something or loses concentration and heads for a ditch.  Last weekend, after one of these incidents, I asked him "now, do you understand why we don't want you riding with another teenager?"  He was in total agreement and a look of understanding came over his face.  One day, your son will understand...he doesn't need a trip to the emergency room to figure out that aluminum gets hot fast.  Good job, Dad!!!Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:They make a stuff called water gel that works very well,got a sample from a guy at work. About a month ago my middle son burned himself across the belly on my shop heater, I quickly put the watergel on him and in 10-15 min their wasn;t even a red mark  . Not sure how much it costs but may be something to check into.Why buy when you can build