Do You Use Your Guard?

[Rich Aldrich]

How many of us use the guard on your lathe the way it was meant to be used? I certainly don't, but in light of Joan Kelly's accident, I am going to try it again. This could be the first line of defense if the wood explodes. Of course a face shield would be the second line of defense.

I don't like the guard, but maybe I can get comfortable with it. Recently, I use mine for a shelf making it more of a hazard than just leaving it open.

[Greg Ketell]

I use it on anything big. But see my post "Turning Protection". I think I'll be using it all the time after this week.

[Jake Helmboldt]

I used it at first but found it got in the way so I took it off.

[ray hampton]

my metal lathe will not work without the the guard in place

[Curt Fuller]

For mosts older lathes (mine is pushing 60 years old, right along with me) there are no guards or provisions for a guard. In fact, for the little knowledge I have of standard equipment on newer lathes, the PM3520 and the larger model are the only ones I've seen guards on. Never having used one, I wonder how they work when using a hollowing system, dust collection, and many of the other things we do with out lathes now days that goes beyond the standard table legs and balusters.

[Tim Thiebaut]

My Jet 1220 dosnt have one either.

[Roger Chandler]

I have not seen a guard except on the PM3520b and the Jet16/42 which are both manufactured by the same company. I think their lawyers require it for a hedge against lawsuits.

My big lathe [Grizzly 18/47] is in many respects a bigger version of the Jet 16/42 but it does not have a cage [guard] and if it did I doubt that I would use it anyway, except maybe on a larger out of balance blank. I think it is important to properly prepare a blank the best you possibly can before putting it on the lathe, as that will help eliminate some of the danger of larger pieces.

Also using a face plate at first on large blanks will hold them better than most chucks, unless of course you have some of the large jaw sets like the powergrip jaws [which I have] for the SN2 or similar ones from other makers like Oneway, etc. Once a blank is brought into balance, and a tenon formed then transfer over to the chuck.

[Jeff Nicol]

I have never used mine and most of them do not get used as they do get in the way more than they should, but like most things the very first line of defense is the operator. If you are not accustomed o turning large blanks, and are just in the beginning stages of wood turning the guard may be very important, I say this because many folks buy a bigger lathe and mount a much larger hunk of wood than they have ever turned and find the lathe bouncing across the floor and wood bouncing off the walls! Knowledge is key to using any power tools and reading all the safety brochures and doing everything in your power to follow tried and true proceedures. If you begin believing that working with big power tools is no big deal you are destined to get hurt, if you don't have a healthy respect for them this is when things can get out of hand. Still with all the best laid plans, bad things can happen to good people. With that being said if you are not prepared or ready to use the tool at hand, start slow and work your way through the basics and become proficient with each one with safety the very first thing you think about before turning on the switch.


Again I ramble on, but one can never have toomuch information about safe shop practices!

Jeff

[Roy Turbett]

I have two Powermatic 90's that are at right angles to each other. My stock machine is perpendicular to the wall. My custom machine is parallel to the wall. I use the factory guard on my stock machine. The upper guard is mounted upside down so it doesn't offer any protection to the turner. I put it that way because the plastic is 30 years old and hard to see through and it gets in the way from time to time when I use my longer handled tools. I keep it on the lathe because I frequently have friends come by for woodworking and it protects spectators who watch from the back side of the lathe. It also keeps the wood chips out of the coffee pot. I do not have a guard on my custom machine because the factory guard won't fit with the 3" riser blocks.

My PM 90's have a mechanical variable speed dial that has a speed limiting feature that I have never used. When these machines were used in school shops the instructor could limit the maximum speed by moving a set screw to a different slot. In light of Joan's accident, I plan to use this feature in the future, especially when I'm teaching someone new to turn. I will be following the speed guidelines that came with the lathe and also be conscious of the mass.

The PM 90's also have another safety feature that isn't found on my Jet mini lathe. There is a switch that prevents the lathe from being started at any speed other than the slowest speed possible. Many people disconnect this feature because it is somewhat of a pain to turn the speed dial back and forth. I liken it to driving a car without power steering. The motors on my lathes are not soft start and I would be asking for trouble if the speed dial was at high speed with a large out of round blank.

[Keith E Byrd]

Nova DVR XP doesn't have one.

[dave toney]

My lathe has a patent date of 1890, what's a guard?
Dave

[John Hart]

I voted "Never use the guard" but my lathe didn't come with one

[ray hampton]

I wonder if the turners use their guard more often than they use their seat belts---about 60 or 70 percent of car drivers use seat belts--do you consider your car to be more safety than your lathe

[mickey cassiba]

I voted "Never use the guard" but my lathe didn't come with oneMy little lathe has no guard as well...so 'No' As to Rays comment about seat belts...as far as I know there are no otheer lathes running in my vicinity(I always use my seatbelt)

[Harry Robinette]

My Vega 2600 has a guard and I use it. Now !! I use it all the time when I'm doing large work and it really doesn't bother me,Most of the time I'm at the end of the lathe it's just there to stop large chunks from flying around. I don't use it if things get smaller then 14 or 16" but with all this stuff going on I'm thinking about it.I think we all need to think about safety a little more. I know it's been a wake-up call for me, my Uvex is hanging on the tool rest so I have to move it before I start the lathe