Safety Gear

Since I have recently started working more with boro, especially large pieces of boro for goblets and such, the heat coming off the piece has started to increase. I've found that my upper arms in particular are suffering - one day I came home and discovered a nasty heat rash all along the inside of my arms. I decided it was time to invest in some heat gear. I bought a pair of kevlar arms sleeves. They look like this:I like the hole on the side for the thumb to stick out so that the sleeve can actually cover the back of my hand and part of my fingers. However, the hole is too big, so the whole back of my hand around the thumb and into the palm gets really hot. Also, the sleeve is 24" long. This is the largest size I could find anywhere. Unfortunately, my arms are longer than that, so the sleeve leaves several inches of bare skin at the top. So, I bought another chunk of kevlar and did some custom modifications. Sewing had to be done by hand and was not easy. The results aren't particularly pretty either, but the sleeves fit great now and solve the problems I had with them before. I still wish there was a way to have the fabric cover more of my index fingers as those are closest to the torch and still get too hot. But I can't figure out a way to cover the side of the finger to protect it while still leaving the pad free for maniupuating the glass. Trying to spin a glass rod while wearing gloves just doesn't give enough control...
Finally, working with boro, especially colored boro, requires some additional eye protection. I haven't had good luck with the clip on lenses that go over the regular glassblowing eyewear, so instead I've been using a welder's shield. Plus, this blocks some of the heat and UV from my face. Here I am all dressed up and ready to go. Next step, full body silver space suit!