plexi-glass shield and guard for wood lathe

[James A. Brown]

I am a little different than most here being a machinist and toolmaker and for over 40 years worked with metal, much of it on lathes of all sizes. I always used safety glasses and sometimes used a face shield but that was very rare, usually only if using a "tool post grinder." When I started very few people ever used a face shield and no one ever heard of some sort of a guard on a lathe. Now after having a wood lathe for about 10 years at home I do things the same way. I guess it is just what you learn and are comfortable with. Jim.

[John K Jordan]

Ok all appreciate the advice.

I actually misspoke calling it plexiglass, it just looks like plexi, but I have no way of knowing. Its designed and constructed very well. I was asking because from both the class I took on beginning turning a few yeas back and all the vids I've watched on line and on fine woodworking, I've never seen one used. Of course it would get in the way of any decent camera angles and the like.

A safety shield made correctly would probably be made from polycarbonate (lexan), not plexiglass, although I suspect very thick plexiglass might work OK. I've used both and can tell by drawing the point of a knife across the surface - plexiglass will scratch easily but the lexan will feel softer and tend to deform, at least the lexan I've had in hand. Another way is to support the plastic with a piece of wood or something in the corner and try to drive a nail through the corner close to the edge. If it cracks or shatters it is not lexan and I would not trust it to protect from a significant impact. A nail on lexan would just make a dent and probably bounce back. (I once shot a 9mm bullet at a piece of about 1/4" lexan and the impact deformed the plastic but did not break it or go through. The lexan absorbed the impact and the bullet actually bounced back a little, leaving a big depression on one side and a raised hump on the back side.)

JKJ

[Joe Shanaphy]

I've wondered about either making or buying a shroud for my G0766 ... does anyone know if there is any aftermarket shroud/protector available?

[Paul Gilbert]

I am curious about shroud usage. Mine (from a PM 3520B) got hidden behind the dust collector immediately upon uncrating the lathe. I have been to numerous symposiums and other turners shops, but I have never seen one actually in use.

[Don Bunce]

Joe,
As Paul just mentioned,there are many PM3520 owners out there that don't use the guard. A WTB In the classified should find someone in your area that would be willing to part with theirs.

[John Welty]

A beginning wood turner here.
I am using the face guard made by Stihl for chainsaw work. Its a heavy screen as compared to lexan. My line of thinking is, no scratching, no static, no fogging and in my mind a chainsaw face guard should be pretty safe for protection. And the price wasn't bad, think I paid maybe $45 for it with ear protection when I do the dreaded chainsaw work on a downed tree.
Anyone else tried one or think its safe enough for lathe work??

[John K Jordan]

A beginning wood turner here.
I am using the face guard made by Stihl for chainsaw work. Its a heavy screen as compared to lexan. My line of thinking is, no scratching, no static, no fogging and in my mind a chainsaw face guard should be pretty safe for protection. And the price wasn't bad, think I paid maybe $45 for it with ear protection when I do the dreaded chainsaw work on a downed tree.
Anyone else tried one or think its safe enough for lathe work??

Those are great, extremely quick to put on and off, good hard hat and hearing protection. I have three with the Stihl name and don't start a chainsaw without wearing one. I had the hard hat on one save my noggin from a good smack from a branch. For those unfamiliar with these, a picture:

helmet2.jpg

I imagine the wire screen will protect well from chips and light impact. I think the screen is more flexible than the face shields I use at the lathe so it might deform more from a hard impact. The brim of the hard hat may help a lot. (I did not compare mine with a face shield by smacking them with a 2x4!)

Dust will still come through and around the screen. If I remember correctly, Stihl recommends wearing safety glasses underneath. Good safety glasses might also save an eye from a hard impact. I admit to omitting the safety glasses for most chain sawing.

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

Joe,
As Paul just mentioned,there are many PM3520 owners out there that don't use the guard. A WTB In the classified should find someone in your area that would be willing to part with theirs.

I might have a few surplus Jet 1642 cages in a storage shed or barn. I'm not interested in selling but I might give one away to someone interested in protecting his/her face (assuming I can locate it!) Should work with any lathe; mounting would require making a bracket.

[Paul Gilbert]

Yes, me too. Any one who wants to drive to Allen, TX (a suburb of Dallas) is welcome to mine.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

You think a face shield would have helped him, or a more reasonable speed while turning ??

High speed turning accident.jpg

[Bill Boehme]

..... I have the Bionic with the + and I can flex the shield easily between a thumb and one finger. About the same resistance as a paper file folder but it can help deflect or keep items out of the eye. The frame of the Bionic should help a lot but I did see one posting where the upper frame itself broke from the impact.

Most people assume that a polycarbonate face shield that is thin and flexes easily isn't as good as a thicker and more rigid shield. That seems like a logical assumption. However, just the opposite is true. A shield that flexes slows the speed of the impact down and stretches out the time of the impact so that the total energy is spread out over a longer period of time which means that the peak force will be lower that using a thick rigid faceshield. An analogy would be the crumple zones in an automobile that slow down a collision, spreading the total energy out over a longer period of time, and reducing the peak force of an impact.

However, the protection that a faceshield can provide is basically against small objects. It's not much better even with the helmets like the 3M Airstream or Versaflo. The moral of the story is don't make your face shield your first line of defense. It should be the last ditch hope to possiblyreduce the damage when all else fails.