Bluffton duo makes face shields from boat covers to protect workers from coronavirus
Two retired Lowcountry dentists have joined the on-the ground fight against the coronavirus and they’re taking their inspiration from the boat window covers they normally build.
Leonard Davidson and Jim Springer are working to make face shields to protect Beaufort County first responders and health care workers.
Spring is typically the busy season for Doc’s Canvas Loft, Davidson and Springer’s business. They create covers and enclosures for boats.
But in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, the two noticed the clear vinyl material used for boat window protection can also be used to make 10-inch long face shields.
“We’re both retired dentists and we used to wear these in our practice,” Davidson said. “When we heard there was a need, it just clicked like ‘hey we can make those things.’”
The face shields different from face masks, which other Beaufort County groups have stepped up to make for local doctors, nurses and surgeons. Face shields prevent splatter and protect more of the health care worker’s face from coughs and sneezes.
Davidson and Springer have made about 150 masks so far and have donated them to Volunteers in Medicine (where Davidson volunteers as a dentist on Wednesdays) and to Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue.
Each shield is made from 10 inches of clear vinyl that reaches beyond the wearer’s chin. A piece of foam typically used to cushion the boat cover becomes a headband.
One shield takes about 10 minutes to make using an industrial sewing machine in their workshop.
Currently, operations are on hold as the pair wait for more vinyl to arrive.
Davidson and Springer, although a two-man operation, join an unlikely network of local sewing groups, Texas whiskey distilleries and crafty parents who have stepped up to create personal protective equipment and sanitizing solutions for the coronavirus response effort.
For the two, though, the face shield effort may offer something more than protection.
The masks likely provide some sense of calm, which “seems like what everybody really needs right now,” Davidson said.
