The whole 'hot glass looks cold' thing is a safety trap I see new helpers fall for

I watched a guy at the studio grab a piece off the marver because it looked black and cool. It was over 400 degrees and left a bad burn. Some say you should just watch the color change, others swear by the back of your hand test from six inches away. Which method do you actually trust in a busy shop to stop that split-second mistake?

3 comments

3 Comments

lisaf381mo ago

Oh, the classic "looks cool, is molten" trick. I trust the hand wave because my brain's color-checker is clearly broken after a long day. Saw a guy pick up a punty that looked like it came out of the annealer, dropped it real fast when his glove started smoking. That six inch rule is the only thing that works.

jamie_white28d ago

That six inch rule is good, but I keep it closer to four. At six inches you can miss the heat off a small piece. I mean, @lisaf38 is right about the hand wave being key, but the distance matters. I just hover the back of my fingers right over it, almost touching. You feel the radiant heat way better that close. It stops that auto-pilot move to grab something dark.

the_luna1mo ago

My buddy learned the hard way last month. He trusted the color and grabbed a gather that looked totally dark. The back of the hand test is annoying but it's the only real check. Now he waves his hand over everything.