Lathe safety article

[cowtown_eric]

would appreciate perspectives on this article

https://lynneyamaguchi.com/Yamaguchi_SafetyMatters.pdf
Eric on Calgary

 

[clogs]

Eric
I read your stated safety attachment fully......
life is a risk what ever we do.....but calculated is the way to go.........

As a note, elf n safety standards are generally a joke.....
How can any lathe manufacturer sell a machine where you have to pass/reach around a spinning object to turn it off....
They really need a remote stop start/speed switch where aplicable on a lead accessable from the tailstock end of the machine.....
Main reason for this mistake is that the morons running H/S dont know how to use the machines and the manufacturers are just interested in profit......

anyway.....

When my 2 lathe are up and running, fixed speed via belts.....they will both get a foot safety switch.....
If you faint/fall over, walk away etc the machine will stop.....
The other useful addition to a standard lathe or mill would be a panic bar....You hit it and everything stops....
This mod is very easy n CHEAP to add on...........
biggest prob with the bigger turned objects is inertia.....they should be stopped by a gradual reduction in speed and the reverse on start up.....

I have watched a lot of hours of turning from some of the nutters on utube to proff's......and except for specialised turnings the out of round and high speed initial start ups for trueing up, it's amazing more people are not killed.....
Silly little lathes that are not heavy or strong enough let alone bolted down spinning the out of balanced objects is just plain asking for trouble....
But I guess it the DARWIN effect......

PS, I also have a metal machine shop and well used to turning heavy metal objects so I guess it's easy for me.......
for interest, just the 4 jaw chuck alone weigh's in at around 45kgs.....the lathe is almost a ton....but it's a little'un......hahaha.....

Be carefull out there........

 

[TRITON]

A respirator face shield like the trend, versaflo or even JSP from axminster would be the best thing than having a respirator and separate shield.

How can any lathe manufacturer sell a machine where you have to pass/reach around a spinning object to turn it off....

I thought most engineering lathes had a foot switch. Though I suppose its more an emergency thing than being used as an on/off, and each you you'd need to reset at the control panel.

Still...

 

[Fergie 307]

Have to say having viewed the attachment I was surprised to see in the picture how close she has her left hand to a potentially unstable piece being turned. I would want to keep it well out of the way. It may just be the angle of the picture, but it looks as though her hand is positioned exactly where any debris from a disintegrating piece would exit below the guard. Certainly food for thought though, the injuries were pretty horrific. I rarely turn wood and certainly nothing like this lady's work, which is well beyond my skill level. Much prefer metal, rather more predictable stuff. You can have much worse accidents with a metal lathe, much more power and torque, but they will invariably be because you have done something daft, rather than because the material itself decided to disintegrate!

 

[Jacob]

That guard looks a good idea.
I've read enough accounts of lathe accidents to make me very cautious, especially about high speeds and/or irregular/cracked pieces.
Particularly my eyes - which I keep out of line with the actual cut, on lathe and other machine such as TS.
Am intending to fit a no load cut off switch in a safer position so I can reach it without leaning close to the action. I'll do it this afternoon - every little helps!

 

[Paul Hannaby]

Relying on a guard or face shield is admitting you haven't addressed the hazard or mitigated against it. I'm not suggesting you don't use one but I would say the first rule would be to avoid turning any wood with cracks in it. The second rule would be to keep out of the firing line. At no point during turning a bowl do you need to stand in line with it. Rule 3 would be to limit the turning speed to sensible levels. Far too many people are suggesting it's ok to turn things at ridiculously high speeds. All the emergency stops in the world won't keep you safe if you don't pay heed to these three points.

 

[Fergie 307]

I suppose the lady would argue that turning wood with large faults and cracks is rather the point of the style of object she is making. But I have to agree it's not something I would want to do. The attraction of something like her finished product, with large faults in a dramatically contrasting colour, is lost on me I have to say, so for me certainly not worth the danger involved in creating it. But each to their own.

 

[Fergie 307]

A respirator face shield like the trend, versaflo or even JSP from axminster would be the best thing than having a respirator and separate shield.


I thought most engineering lathes had a foot switch. Though I suppose its more an emergency thing than being used as an on/off, and each you you'd need to reset at the control panel.

Still...

I think the biggest difference with an engineering lathe is that the bigger ones, those with the greatest potential to kill or maim you, invariably have power feeds. The result is you actually spend very little time over the machine in many cases. Once you have set the cut up you can stand at a safe distance and drink tea whilst the machine gets on with it. You are also never in the position you are on a wood lathe, where the tool doing the cutting is being held in your hand, with all the potential dangers that entails. As for emergency stops, I have no idea when they were introduced but many older lathes certainly didn't have them. My 1961 Harrison left the factory with just a red and a green button for on and off, positioned on the cabinet and certainly not that readily accessible in an emergency. It really has no safety devices at all. Even a chuck guard was an optional extra. I would guess it was later in the sixties that emergency stop buttons and kick brakes etc started to appear. Of course you would be a fool not to add an emergency stop to one in use today, although if you have one with a screw on chuck you need to be careful as too violent a stop, especially at speed, could unscrew it, which might prove even more exciting! These were in use well into the sixties, before various collar and taper or cam locking systems became the norm, and screw on chucks still seem to be pretty standard on wood lathes. I
Mine is the L00 type, where the chuck fits onto a keyed taper on the spindle and is retained by a large threaded collar.

 

[clogs]

Hi Fergie,
just wish I could do more with power feeds but all my work is of the small nature...
antique vehicle parts.....most have to be hand sized/ fitted....
No CNC for me, it's all done the old way.....wouldn't know how to use CNC anyway let alone Auto Cad etc....
My safety screen is made from 6mm Laminated glass......plastic just fogs up/scratches too quick.....
Never seen a foot operated stop switch, most have a panic bar running along the full length of the machine, level with the suds tray or the milling table.......

Dont think either of my wood lathes have been run flat out, really just dont see the need.......perhaps I'm just a scaredy cat.....

Safety need to be brought up more often on all forums......it's a never ending story......

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I haven't a safety switch as such, but I wired the power in from the end of the bed through a switched cable outlet to another switched cable outlet in the centre of the bed then to the motor. I can turn the thing off easily when long hole boring or working with the head turned so I don't need to reach around the workpiece. Cheap, effective and simple.

 

[Fergie 307]

Hi Fergie,
just wish I could do more with power feeds but all my work is of the small nature...
antique vehicle parts.....most have to be hand sized/ fitted....
No CNC for me, it's all done the old way.....wouldn't know how to use CNC anyway let alone Auto Cad etc....
My safety screen is made from 6mm Laminated glass......plastic just fogs up/scratches too quick.....
Never seen a foot operated stop switch, most have a panic bar running along the full length of the machine, level with the suds tray or the milling table.......

Dont think either of my wood lathes have been run flat out, really just dont see the need.......perhaps I'm just a scaredy cat.....

Safety need to be brought up more often on all forums......it's a never ending story......

I also make a lot of parts where Power feed is not really suitable, but they are usually pretty small stuff. Quite a few later lathes have a footbrake. So an M300 for example has the usual big red button at chip tray level at the headstock end, but also a full width bar across the bottom of the cabinet front. Stamp on that and it performs the same function, and of course nowadays switches everywhere so it won't run if a door is open somewhere, or the guard isn't in position. The current ones have an big electro magnetic brake behind the chuck which will stop it dead from 3000 rpm in an emergency. Know what you mean about the plastic chuck guards. I tend to only use mine when I'm doing brass work. I try to save up any brass jobs and do them all in one session so I can then clean the whole machine down afterwards. Lovely stuff in many ways but the chips are horrid.

 

[Torx]

Stresses change in any timber as parts of it are removed, the sort of workpieces she’s describing are completely unpredictable especially when centrifugal force comes into play. It sounds about as much fun as those lumberjacks who cut up deadfall ‘widowmakers’. I think if I had an affinity for materials like that and didn’t want to soak them in resin I’d just do all the work at very, very low speed and finish by hand. No need to put fear into any conventional wood turner.

 

[cmoops2]

If you look closely at the paragraph to the right of the photograph, you'll see the words: "The piece, which has multiple cracks ...."

Didn't bother reading the rest of the article as the turner is a good candidate for the Darwin Award ...