gauntlet gloves

[VA maple guy]

I can't seem to get much more than a year out of a set of gloves. I've
tried welding gloves, insulated leather gloves, cheap gloves, gray, red, brown
and blue. They all seem to do the same thing. The fingers shrink and palm
area gets hard and inflexible. Dose anyone have the same problem
and does any one make a gauntlet glove that can really take the heat?
One other thing. I reach into the fire box every once in awhile to adjust
a burning piece of wood . This is probably where things go wrong, but
there has to be a set of gloves that can handle it.
Gerry

[WF MASON]

If your going to leave your hands in the firebox awhile , I'd recommend the long cuff asbestos foundry pouring gloves and jacket!

[KenWP]

Try rubbing a bit of vaseline into the gloves so the palms don't dry out so bad.

[ennismaple]

We start with a new pair of firing gloves every spring. They go in the fire box with the last wood of the year because they're finished!

[KenWP]

We are actually sissiys around here. Dad worked with a guy who heated the fuel pump on a old threashing machine engine up in a camp fire every morning and put it on bare handed because hands would heal and gloves cost money.

[maple flats]

If you do the vaseline idea DO NOT PUT THEM IN THE FIRE WHILE WEARING THEM, they will burn. When i was a scoutmaster one of the fire starting tricks when everything was wet was to use a couple of cotten balls with vaseline on them. They burned very well to get your wet tinder, kindling and then fuel burning. I have never needed to do anything to move wood in the firebox that was not done well with a poker. I keep a medium weight poker next to the firebox and a heavy weight one hangs about 5 feet away. Have yet to need the heavy one. Gloves are cheap, burn them at the end and start new next season.

[maple flats]

OH, and those foundry gloves will cost more than several pairs of what you have been using.

[3% Solution]

VA maple guy,
We had the same problem, we cured that!!
The trick is to put the poker in the firebox and keep your hands out.
Sometimes it just feels easier to move it with your hand, however, the glove gets a tad warm!!
We've all been there!
As far as them wearing out, nothing you can do about that.

Dave

[VA maple guy]

Well, I just can't keep my hands out of the fire box. There I was tonight
firing my evaporator and adjusting the wood with my hands. I guess
I'll look into getting some of those foundry gloves for next year.
Gerry

[Pete S]

I would assume that you have some configuration of a fire poker.

As most of the Maple Syrup folks are "do it yer selfers",...............make a set of tongs that you can reach into the firebox and manipulate your errant logs while buring.

Maybe something like:

http://mitchelschimney.stores.yahoo.net/tonheartool.html

Just a thought, as that firebox is a dangerous place to be with only leather gloves,............besides, it's an annual cost, where the tongs would be for life.

Just a thought

Pete

[mapleack]

I wear out a pair of good welding gloves every year, just part of the price of making syrup with a wood fire.