The Unofficial "Don't Do This" Thread

[Neal Addy]

Just for fun and open to all. Got one to share?

The only rule is it's not fair to ask anyone how they know these! :D

Here's my offering...

After inserting the breaker bar to loosen your chuck and reaching for the spindle lock, don't absent-mindedly hit the power switch.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Don't put unbalanced bowl blank on your Jet Mini.....hit the "On" switch....and then remember the last thing you used the lathe for was Beal buffing....at it's still belted and dialed in for the fastest speed.

[Ron Journeau]

Don't grind gouges below centerline of grinding wheel...if you do, it may help if you duck a bit to the right

[Mark Cothren]

You mean stuff like............don't get in a hurry, forget and leave the lid off your can of gel poly overnight? Or...don't forget to give a big NE a spin with your hand to check for clearance on the tool rest before you hit the power switch? Or...don't forget to watch for the UPS/FedEx truck so you can intercept "surprise" packages before the wife sees them? I could go on and on...:o

[Andy Hoyt]

Don't ever explore woodturning.

An abysseration will surely occur.




Ooooops. Too late:D

[Stephen Hibbs]

never 'tighten' with the tail stock before locking the base down... especially when the piece is big.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Don't try to creep slowly into the abiss...jump head first; it is less painful!:eek:

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

Don't try to creep slowly into the abiss...jump head first; it is less painful!:eek:

Yep Chris! Kinda like removing a band aid!:D

[Neal Addy]

Woodturning is good for the vocabulary too (but we all knew that). I just learned a new word! "Abysseration".

You know you're raising the bar, Andy. Now I'll be watching for more Hoytisms.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Neal.....A word of advice....don't stand too close to Andy.....or let him get behind you......That's the lead inmate that pushed me into the abyss!

[Mark Pruitt]

Don't ever say to yourself, "I've spent all I'm going to spend on woodturning this year." Or month. Or week. Or....

[Neal Addy]

No matter what you tell yourself, CA is not an adequate substitute for stitches.

[Kevin McPeek]

Never say that you have a cheap hobby. Never say that you have enough wood. Never say a lathe is too big.

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

Don't turn wood with vines still attached to the bark because with my luck it's most likely poison ivy! I haven't shaved for two weeks! Don't worry Ken it wasn't the sassafras.:D

[Bobby Perry]

As a newby myself don't test your tools to see if they are sharp by sliding your thumb across them. Now I got a sore thumb.

[George Tokarev]

As a newby myself don't test your tools to see if they are sharp by sliding your thumb across them. Now I got a sore thumb.

Or its cousin, never try to sweep a clog of shavings off your gouge. My big bowl gouge is one of those V flute types that folds shavings.

Parallel cuts on the little finger for me.

[Bob Noles]

Don't apply a CA finish to a pen with the lathe running full speed :eek:

[Bernie Weishapl]

Don't leave town for a week the next day after finishing a couple of projects and leave the Waterlox plus the Minwax Tung oil cans open.

[Mark Pruitt]

Don't walk back into the house without wiping the shavings off your shoes.

[Steve Schlumpf]

If you are getting close to the end of your project and you think to yourself - just one... more... little cut ...

[Jim Underwood]

My favorite "don't do this" of all time has to be:

"Don't ever CA glue yourself to anything larger than you can pick up."


My "don't do this" is:

Don't go "uphill" grainwise with an L-shaped hollowing tool, and if you do, don't keep your fingers anywhere near the tool rest.

[Gary DeWitt]

Not so, Neal. My wife was an operating room nurse, doing many brain surgeries. She says they used CA all the time in people's brains!. It seals up whatever is leaking, and eventually is absorbed by the surrounding tissue and eliminated. Not sure why it hasn't replaced sutures, unless some people are allergic.

Never loose control of your tool, or apply it in a careless manner.


Allright, people, I meant that to mean turning tool.


Really.


No, seriously.


I did!

[Raymond Overman]

Never try to catch a 12# hunk of spalted pecan in your mouth as it comes off the lathe at full speed... you'll miss and it will hit you right below your eye making it clear that you need 7 stitches.

Never test to see if CA is dry by turning on the lathe.

Never leave the indexing pin in the index wheel when turning on the lathe.

Never tell your wife that you'll just be a minute. (Addendum: especially when you have two young children.)

Never shoot pool for money with old men.

Never eat the yellow snow.

Never fight a land war in Asia.

Never underestimate the power of the dark side.

Never think that there is nobody smarter than you. (Which is a corallary to Never shoot pool for money with old men)

[Mark Pruitt]

Another CA "rule":

Never work with CA glue at all without having acetone and a paper towel within reach.

[Mark Cothren]

If you are getting close to the end of your project and you think to yourself - just one... more... little cut ...


Awwwwwwwwwww man... you just HAD to mention that one... :mad: :o

[Neal Addy]

No kidding. And I thought I wrote the book on that one.

[Gordon Seto]

Gee, none of these has happened to me, or any friend of my friends.
I don't remember that I don't remember things.
I can't find my lost tools until I purchase the replacements.
I have lost the table saw for almost a year; I knew I had one. I bought a hand saw several months ago. I still couldn't find the TS. I can get by with the hand saw now. But I really want to find the TS to wax the surface before rust finds it. Help me!

Gordon

[Leigh Costello]

Always, and I mean always, remove your tool from your turning before sneezing. And it's true, CA is not a recommended stitch substitute. Nor will it staunch bloodflow. And, blood will stain your turning, sometimes permanantly. :eek:

[Leigh Costello]

Adding an addendum here...If you do sneeze then bleed then glue and are still bleeding (on your turning no less) do not count on your family to A) not laugh, B) get the band-aids and C) help you remove "that yucky stuff" from your turning!

[Bill Boehme]

My wife was an operating room nurse, doing many brain surgeries. She says they used CA all the time in people's brains!. It seals up whatever is leaking, and eventually is absorbed by the surrounding tissue and eliminated. Not sure why it hasn't replaced sutures, unless some people are allergic.

Gosh, Gary -- they actually let your wife do the brain surgeries? :eek:

The type of CA used in surgery is not quite the same thing as what you use on bowls. And it IS used for sutures in certain situations, but it can't be used just anywhere because it is weak in comparison to sutures or staples or SS wire. The abdominal wall and other areas where there are low pulling and shearing stresses would be candidates for considering glue. My recent back surgery would NOT be one of those areas.

Bill

[Dar Lounsbury]

How far have you shot a drill press chuck key?

[John Hart]

I did this yesterday...again.:o

Big piece of wood mounted to a faceplate on the lathe. Just finished the outer profile....time to turn it around to start hollowing the inside. Unscrew the faceplate from the spindle, gently cradling the piece with my left hand while unscrewing with the right. Forget that the piece weighs 25 pounds....comes off the spindle....WHAM! Left hand fingers smashed into the Ways. Still hurts this morning.

[John Hart]

Oh...and what about that "Quick-Draw-Mcgraw" method of adjusting the tool in your hand to get a better grip on the handle....Sure makes a BOOM as the tool is plunged into the spinning piece, then slams into the toolrest.

[George Tokarev]

Oh...and what about that "Quick-Draw-Mcgraw" method of adjusting the tool in your hand to get a better grip on the handle....Sure makes a BOOM as the tool is plunged into the spinning piece, then slams into the toolrest.

Or not removing the tool from the rest entirely before pivoting to turn off the lathe. Seems the tool follows the hand, which follows the body, which takes a divot the size of the Dead Sea depression out of anything already too thin to turn it away.

[John Miliunas]

Uhhhhh...That guage...The one you made for seeing how deep you've turned on the bowl you've just spent 2 hours working on? USE it! :o :D :cool:

[Mark Pruitt]

Uhhhhh...That guage...The one you made for seeing how deep you've turned on the bowl you've just spent 2 hours working on? USE it! :o :D :cool:
....and while you're at it, don't forget that you still have to reverse chuck the bowl and finish the bottom!

[Tom Sherman]

Make sure your jam chuck has a snug fit not a TIGHT fit before cleaning up the bottom.

[Lee DeRaud]

Don't spend an hour buffing out the finish on a bowl and then drop it on the concrete patio while taking it outside to take pictures.

(Corollary: Don't try to set up the light tent on the patio table when the Santa Ana winds are blowing.)

[Pete Jordan]

And make sure you understand that the chuck must be tight when sanding in reverse or you can chase your Jumbo jaws with bowl attached http://www.oneway.ca/chucks/accessories/jumbo_jaws.htm around the shop.

[Keith Burns]

Don't buy a lathe using cash. Go ahead and take out a second mortgage for tools and accessories as they will cost at least 20 times the cost of the lathe.:eek:

[Mark Pruitt]

When sanding, don't get so excited about moving to the next grit that you eventually realize that you must back-track to pay for your hastiness.

[Lee DeRaud]

Make sure your jam chuck has a snug fit not a TIGHT fit before cleaning up the bottom.I drill a 1/4" hole in the center of mine: unless my air compressor dies, there's no such thing as "too tight". :eek:

[Jonathon Spafford]

Never admire a piece of wood until you are done turning and buffing it!!!

[Jonathon Spafford]

Never say, "Aw, one more sliver off that bead and it will be perfect"... and reach for your skew!

[Bob Noles]

Don't....... own a skew! :eek:

[John Shuk]

Don't touch the tip of a bowl gouge to the wood before supporting it on the the tool rest. Especially if it a friend's Bowl Gouge with a handle turned for him by Michael Hosaluk. Go ahead and ask how I learned this!

[Stephen Hibbs]

If you were to sneeze and so hurt your finger, and if you were to use duct tape to seal a cut, don't touch your turning with that finger as the tape likes to make little blood resovoirs at the tip. Especially if you touch it while varnishing.

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

after final polishing @ 3975rpm, don't try to stop the lathe by grabbing the chuck.

WHOA! THAT'S HOT!....:eek:

[John Hart]

Go ahead and ask how I learned this!

Please John...tell us...How did you learn this?:)

[Earl Reid]

To avoid a trip to ER make sure outbd tool rest is bolted down, Also when using Ca don't glue fingers on both hands to layout table, you will loose skin and it hurts:eek:

Earl

[John Shuk]

Let's just say that the next time I went to his house to turn he had made me a 3 foot handle out of a 2x4 with a little rounded edge to it. Even has my name on it.

[John Miliunas]

Let's just say that the next time I went to his house to turn he had made me a 3 foot handle out of a 2x4 with a little rounded edge to it. Even has my name on it.

He let you back into his house and even turn on his lathe????? :eek: :confused: Man, mighty good friend, me thinks! :D :cool:

[John Shuk]

He let you back into his house and even turn on his lathe????? :eek: :confused: Man, mighty good friend, me thinks! :D :cool:
He is a very generous guy. With his time, his knowledge, and access to his shop. He lets about 5 or 6 turners come over about weekly and collaborate and turn. We all chip in for supplies but it is still very nice. It is also a nice chance to use a VB36 on a regular basis!

Something I heard when I started turning and something I have found to be true is that Woodturners tend to be very sharing people.

[John Miliunas]

Something I heard when I started turning and something I have found to be true is that Woodturners tend to be very sharing people.

Amen to that, my friend! AMEN! :) Found that out a long time ago and, as time has progressed, I have further found that it's the clowns with the spinny things who really excel on that note! :D :cool:

[Bruce Boone]

It's OK to glue a fingernail with CA if it gets split from hitting a chuck. It's NOT OK use accelerant on said CA when gluing a fingernail. :eek:

[Jim Dunn]

It's not Ok to suggest Tofu to Andy. Unless it's moxie coated.

[Jim Underwood]

Don't borrow a friends tool if you even think you might mess it up. (You will.)

Don't let the shavings pile up enough to block the cooling fan on a borrowed lathe that's plugged into an 50' extension cord on a circuit that runs 250 from the house, and then keep lugging it down after you hammered the blank onto the drive center...:eek:

Yeah, it cost me a few bucks. But the owner got a new capacitor and new motor bearings out of the deal. And this is why I think the Jet Mini is such a good machine. It stood up to my abuse and kept on ticking...

In fact, I'm not even sure it was my abuse that blew the capacitor. It was one of the old original blue Minis with a few thousand mile on it. But I was happy to replace the capacitor and bearings just the same. And even more happy that the motor wasn't bad!:cool:

Yup. I learned a lot that night.

[Bill Wyko]

Watch your pinki finger when you're sanding the inside of a vessel your whole hand won't fit in.:eek:

[Lisa Gilbert]

Okay, I thought I was too new at turning to have a "don't do this" but got one yesterday: No matter how cold it is in the garage, never let teenage boys glue up pen blanks at your kitchen island! :eek: (Silly me for thinking they'd put down newspaper first...)

Said boys' response to "Tell me that's not CA glue on my granite," was "Uh, oops?"

Thank goodness for the neighbor who had nail polish remover and saved the boys from an untimely death and their mom from life in the slammer.

[John Hart]

....Thank goodness for the neighbor who had nail polish remover and saved the boys from an untimely death and their mom from life in the slammer.

Ya know...I bet there'd be a lathe in the slammer. Not all would be lost.;) :)

[Tom Sherman]

Lisa, that's a good reason to keep a can of Acetone on hand It will clean up CA glue pretty well. It works great for cleaning out stopped up tips also.

[Lisa Gilbert]

Lisa, that's a good reason to keep a can of Acetone on hand It will clean up CA glue pretty well. It works great for cleaning out stopped up tips also.

I'm gonna have to get me some of that stuff!

[Ernie Nyvall]

If you have a pile of turning stock outside, check for fire ants before you pick up the wood. Fire ant bites behind the belt buckle can get big and last for months.

Oh yea... and if you forget and pick up a piece with ants on it, STEP AWAY FROM THE PILE while you get the ones off your belly.