Gloves for surgeons: Luxury in the repair shop

[chuckroast]

Anti-static is just an extra treatment in the case of thin "surgical" plastic gloves. You can also get anti-static Zip-loc bags (generally a light pink color to distinguish them from ordinary bags), custom anti-static Formica, all kinds of things from cleanroom suppliers for tech electronics applications.

Kinetronics gloves involve conductive threads woven into the material. Of limited value unless your gloves are also grounded. And yes, even grounded gloves replete with lines are also available from cleanroom houses, although that kind of thing would be easy to jerry rig with just a little bit of cheap doorbell wire etc. I even grounded my metal monorail cameras that way when out shooting in dry highly static winter conditions in the desert : an alligator clip attached to one end of the wire, and a big nail at the other end, rammed into the ground.
In a cleanroom, the glove or comparable conductible lab coat fabric gets the distal wire end metal-taped to a silver nitrate impregnated conductive countertop material (which is not cold and prone to condensation like a stainless steel countertop). Been there, done that, all of the above.

All my film holders and their slides have been sprayed with a commercial antistaticum. It lasts a long time, and makes a huge difference.

I use the dark gray ziplok anti-static bags made for circuit boards to hold my film holders when not in use. This both avoids static buildup and keeps them more dust and dirt free.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I did that too for awhile. But it made little difference from ordinary Ziplok bags because my holders themselves are coated with anti-static wipe. One exception was when I was doing a lot of desert shooting. Now I simply avoid blowing playa clay dust, especially this time of year in Death Valley etc. I also had to use wide blue masking tape all around the back of the pickup cab window and gate, to prevent fine dust entering into the back on dirt roads - as much to prevent me sneezing all night sleeping in there as for sake of my gear itself. Now I have an extended cab 4WD pickup with the gear itself up front instead.

I've alway used multiple plastic bags around all my gear just in case - whether the issue was dust, or me and my big pack accidentally getting dunked in some mountain stream, which has happened several times. Getting a camera soaked is a big disappointment; but getting your sleeping bag or coat or replacement clothing soaked can potentially be fatal in the mountains.

 

[Robert Ley]

Yesterday I went to see my surgeon for a minor operation. He has such beautiful, delicate tools that I could also use for working with my SLRs. For this reason, I also like to go to my dentist

I asked him where I could buy surgical gloves. They fit perfectly, and if you can perform operations on patients in them, they should also be suitable for working with cameras.


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The gloves I've been using so far are less suitable for delicate work and don't fit tightly.


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My surgeon was so nice and gave me three pairs from his stock.

Today I tried them on and I'm thrilled.

Nothing is loose; they fit wonderfully, tactilely ideal, powdered on the inside, and made of latex, which apparently also resists acetone, at least longer than the blue nitrile gloves I've been using so far.

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Only these and no others, even if they aren't cheap!


Why wear gloves when repairing?

• Protection of hands.
• Protection of repair candidates from fingerprints.
• Better grip.
• Protection from the hot soldering iron tip. The heat is held back for a short time, which is enough to withdraw the hand.
• Advantageous for photos for repair reports.

I tested both gloves, nitrile and latex, with a butane torch. They burn quickly, so be careful.

They can withstand the soldering iron tip at 320°C/608°F for several seconds.

Caution is also required when working with rotary tools like the Dremel. I use thick leather overgloves so I don't have to remove the plastic ones each time.


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All information provided without guarantee and use at your own risk.

In another life I had a chance to work in an operating room as a scrub tech. We used the latex gloves and they came in glove sizes, 7, 71/2, 8, and 81/2. I have fairly large hands and wore an 8 and a 71/2 was a tight fit and could cramp in the middle of a long operation. They should fit without any space in the fingers, sort of like a second skin. The gloves in your illustration look slightly large and if they are 81/2, then I would go with an 8. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

In another life I had a chance to work in an operating room as a scrub tech. We used the latex gloves and they came in glove sizes, 7, 71/2, 8, and 81/2. I have fairly large hands and wore an 8 and a 71/2 was a tight fit and could cramp in the middle of a long operation. They should fit without any space in the fingers, sort of like a second skin. The gloves in your illustration look slightly large and if they are 81/2, then I would go with an 8. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks, I'll try size 8, 1/2 size smaller.