could've been bad

[doug young]

I'm a newbie which will be obvious soon but in case i save anyone from getting hurt in the future here goes. I was glueing up some hardwoods for a bowl to turn and there was a little varnish on one of the boards. I thought no problem It is so thin and clear it won't show. Glued the boards up in the clamps and started turning tonight. I was changing the belts to a higher rpm and turned the lathe on and walked away for just a second. BAM it exploded. I couldn't find one piece to the bowl. then i looked up. A hugely stupid mistake but God thought to watch out for me so i will repeat what i am sure 99.9% know. sand the wood so that the glue will really bond. When my heart slows down i will cautiously get back on the horse and ride into the vortex.
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[Larry Marley]

Wow Doug,
Thank God you were not in the line of fire.
Every glue joint must be perfect and cured. the correct glue is important as well. no CA for this, Titebond 2 is good. It is hard to tell from the pics but it looks like the bowl was glued in halves. Too much force from the tail stock on a weak glue joint can be bad news.
Thanks for sharing this, that is just amazing.

Larry

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Doug...........Somebody was definitely looking out for you! Wow!

[Jon Lanier]

All I could think of when I saw it. "Oh, dude!" :eek:

[Sean Troy]

That would of hurt! Glad your ok.

[Robert McGowen]

Kind of makes you step back and think for a second....... :rolleyes:

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Doug, I'm just glad you are getting back on the horse and riding into the vortex. I could just as easily have been...riding into the sunset.:eek: Glad you're safe Buddy!!:)

[Jeff Bower]

Wow....that is scary:eek: Just think if it hadn't stuck in the ceiling...maybe we do need a hardhat to turn with along with safety glasses and facesheild?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Kind of makes you step back and think for a second....... :rolleyes:

Robert......that's about as long as an attention span most turners can muster, however!:eek: :o :rolleyes: :D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Glad you were out of the line of fire and you are ok.

[Matt Meiser]

Scary! So are you going to leave it where it is as a reminder/conversation piece?

[Steve Kubien]

If it was me, I would spray some sort of adhesive around it so it stays in the ceiling. Heck of a reminder. Hey, didn't Bill send someone into orbit on Big Blue once? I seem to recall the fire dept. having to rescue a turner.

Glad you're ok.

Steve Kubien

[Bill Stevener]

You were quite fortunate with this incident in not receiving any injuries. The learning curve can be a long one at times. They say experience is the best teacher, but drinking 10 beers and then wrecking your car is not the best teacher ether, although it can be quite an experience.
I would highly recommend you seek some education in your passion before your next experiment. Purchase and or the library is a good source for videos and books on woodworking as a whole.
I guess from what your photos show, that is a very unique way to store your projects if you don't have any shelving in your shop.
Wish you well and safe turning. :eek:

[Gary Herrmann]

Oh man, that could have been ugly. Glad you weren't hurt.

[Dennis Peacock]

Very glad you weren't hurt Doug. Always use fresh glue when doing a glued up turning like that. Give the glue 24 hours for setting before turning. I've been hit with some sizable pieces during the turning process and is the primary reason why I wear a leather glove on my left hand when turning as well as a good faceshield. Here's to your safety on all turning days ahead for ya.

[Frank Kobilsek]

Doug,

I too am glad you are OK. I spilt an oak plate one day. Half of it exited over my shoulder, diagonally across our two car garage over my wife's car and out into the lawn about 25 feet, landing in front of my wife on the lawn mower. So that chunk traveled about 50 or 60 feet without hitting anything. Yep, LOML mows while I turn. I had to finish mowing that day. It took a few days of safe items like stoppers and pens before I went back to the plate job.

Frank

[doug young]

thanks for all the kind words. I was telling a guy at work about it and he asked what the rpm was. I am wondering if i was going too fast. Is there any kind of guidelines as far as rotation speed in relation to the diameter of the bowl? As i examined the wood i realize that the other factor may have been that the screws on the faceplate went into the redwood pieces which is real soft. I am not sure what went first. the glue ore the screws. I live up in redding CA and i haven't found any clubs up here to learn from but i think i am going to head down to the bay area for a weekend woodcraft turning course. This trial and error stuff is a little too scary. doug

[Paul Heely]

There is a PDF on the CSUSA website called "Determining Safe Lathe Speeds". Here is a link to it: http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/woodturners/Images/safe_lathe_speeds.pdf

[doug young]

thank you paul. doug

[Brian Weick]

You may want to consider a shield for your lathe- I won't work on pieced material on my lathe without the shield in place, if the piece your working on disperses ,at least you won't get hit directly from the pieces- just think safety, safety- I am glad you are OK- but we may not have seen those pictures of your accident, or your thread for that matter- that is definitely some serious hospital incident or worse- I am so glad that didn't hit you - I hate to hear things like that- I really do- Glad you are OK!
sincerely,
Brian
Happy turning,,hmmmmm-- safe turning!:)