Doug W Swanson
01-31-2013, 11:50 AM
Hey all,
I guess it was my turn to have a close call at the lathe yesterday:eek:. It started with the making of some finials for a quilt rack for above our closet. I had glued up some 4/4 Red Oak to make three finials. One of which I had needed to split in half.
The block I was turning was about 4"x4"x7". I had split it down the middle and glued a piece of paper between them. Since I did not have a lot of wood to spare with the design I was using, I drilled a 2" recess (instead of using a tenon) for the jaws of my chuck. I figured this would be safe since I was using the the head stock as support until the very end. I had stopped the lathe to check for flat spots when I noticed the chuck was a little loose so I went ahead and tightened up the chuck. I was going to start turning again so I turned on the lathe when 'it' happened. The block of wood split into two pieces and one of them smacked me in the face:eek:. Fortunately the wood just bounced off my respirator and landed on the floor.
I was NOT wearing a face shield not because I don't have one (I actually have three) but because I have been wearing my respirator lately to protect my lungs. I feel pretty lucky considering the block of wood would have hit me in the cheek/nose area had I not been wearing my respirator.
If I had been wearing a face shield then it wouldn't have been a big deal but there are still some lessons learned: Use a tenon and don't use too much pressure on your chuck!
I guess it was my turn to have a close call at the lathe yesterday:eek:. It started with the making of some finials for a quilt rack for above our closet. I had glued up some 4/4 Red Oak to make three finials. One of which I had needed to split in half.
The block I was turning was about 4"x4"x7". I had split it down the middle and glued a piece of paper between them. Since I did not have a lot of wood to spare with the design I was using, I drilled a 2" recess (instead of using a tenon) for the jaws of my chuck. I figured this would be safe since I was using the the head stock as support until the very end. I had stopped the lathe to check for flat spots when I noticed the chuck was a little loose so I went ahead and tightened up the chuck. I was going to start turning again so I turned on the lathe when 'it' happened. The block of wood split into two pieces and one of them smacked me in the face:eek:. Fortunately the wood just bounced off my respirator and landed on the floor.
I was NOT wearing a face shield not because I don't have one (I actually have three) but because I have been wearing my respirator lately to protect my lungs. I feel pretty lucky considering the block of wood would have hit me in the cheek/nose area had I not been wearing my respirator.
If I had been wearing a face shield then it wouldn't have been a big deal but there are still some lessons learned: Use a tenon and don't use too much pressure on your chuck!