Cold hands idea..

[MiserableOldFart]

I can't believe I never thought of this 30 years ago or more. I don't much mind the cold, except as it relates to my hands, and I'm pretty much of a baby when it comes to that. When on the tractor plowing snow, I can wear fat mittens with liners and sometimes even those chemical warmers in them, so I'm good. But when I need finger dexterity, it's another matter entirely.
The other day I was looking at electric gloves online and moaning about the prices, when the most obvious thing in the world occurred to me. I have old cast iron irons for doorstops here, and I have a small cooler. If I put a towel in the bottom of the cooler, pop the iron on the wood stove for a couple minutes - doesn't take long, drop it in the cooler and put a pair or two of plain leather or lightly lined gloves in there and close it up, I can have warm hands for hours!!!
I'm ashamed I never thought of it before, but at least I thought of it now. If you thought of it, why didn't you tell me? A hot water bottle would also work, but the iron is dry and will never leak, so I chose that route. If you don't have an iron, there are any number of other things you could use, even a stone as long as you don't heat it so hot it explodes..

 

[cqaigy2]

Man, just the thought of reaching in for a nice warm pair of gloves, uhmmm nice.

 

[5030]

Pocket Pool maybe?

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Pocket Pool maybe?

Overalls make it about impossible..

 

[pmsmechanic]

I have a second pair of mittens for when I'm blowing snow. When my hands get cold I just pop inside and put on a warm pair!. By the time my hands are cold again the originals are warmed back up again.

 

[strantor]

Overalls make it about impossible..

Oh, man you've got the wrong kind of coveralls. Get some of those oil field coveralls. They have access slits in the pockets. Officially, because they're meant to go over other clothes, so you can reach through the pocket access slit inside the pocket, into the pants pocket under the pocket, but we know what it's really there for.

Or you could just modify the ones you have...

 

[CobyRupert]

Wonder if it will be hard to get the irons to the right temperature where they don’t melt the cooler?

Why not put a metal holding rack or box on the exhaust manifold to hold your gloves?

 

[Oaktree]

Our woodstove has side grate extensions that are perfect for warming gloves (or defrosting food for that matter). As pmsmechanic noted, I'll keep a spare pair on them if I'm going to be out in cold weather for a long time, or doing something where they're likely to get wet.

As far as hand/finger dexterity unfortunately a lot of that's already gone regardless of temperature.

 

[Paddy]

I fight the same issue of cold fingers and toes. Mine turn white and I'm done until I get circulation again. Warm, not hot water helps. But I have found if I flick my hands down for several minuets, it forces the blood to my finger ends.

This never happens during hard work, just sitting on the tractor or even holding a cold steering wheel in my truck.


Raynaud's (ray-NOSE) disease causes some areas of the body — such as fingers and toes — to feel numb and cold in response to cold temperatures or stress. In Raynaud's disease, smaller arteries that supply blood to the skin narrow. This limits blood flow to affected areas, which is called vasospasm.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Wonder if it will be hard to get the irons to the right temperature where they don’t melt the cooler?

Why not put a metal holding rack or box on the exhaust manifold to hold your gloves?

Not a problem. Towel on the bottom of the cooler protects it and only on the stove for maybe 2 minutes. Then put on top of the leather gloves for the first go round and the cooler is even better protected. Doesn't take a lot of heat inside to keep the cooler warm for hours. Hot water bottle would work too, as long as it's sealed tight. Soda bottle or such would do well. Very handy, especially when in the woods a distance from house.