I learnt how to use a spindle moulder using slotted collars and hand ground knives. The on/off switch was at floor level. This was so you could
duck below the level of the table to start the machine in case the knives flew out or hit the deck and shut it down if they went into orbit (as if your reflexes could actually save you anyway). They were held in place solely by the compression force of the spindle nut. Every workshop had shrapnel holes in the wall somewhere with the story to go with it. Fortunately, these have gone and been replaced with better technology and I survived mostly intact. Some of my colleagues did not. There is simply no excuse for not adopting better technology and safer machining practices. Flirt with danger all we want in our own lives, but don't try to normalise it publicly. Cheers
duck below the
Every construction obeys the laws of physics. Whether we like or understand the result is of no interest to the universe.