Almost a catastrophe!

[Phil Hamel]

Went down into the shop to package up a cigar holder and get it out to the mail. Decided I should throw on another coat of wax before boxing.

I wasn't wearing proper clothing. I was tired and sore from shoveling! I wasn't paying attention as I was still looking for a proper size box! I was in a rush!

These chuck jaws are super sharp where the screws go in. Before I could even blink they grabbed my loose sweat shirt sleeve and sucked me into the machine!! Thank god I was only spinning at 4 or 5 hundred RPM. At least I followed one rule of safety and had the on/off box right at my finger tips.
Tore the shirt all to hell! Twisted my arm around pretty good but no serious damage.

Moral to the story:
Be careful out there! Always follow the safety rules!
Chuck jaws will no longer be used. I ordered replacements.

 

[Webb Willmott]

Hope you were wearing brown pants. Glad you weren’t seriously injured.

 

[Gabriel Hoff]

Wow Phil! Glad you are ok. The holes around the screws on the jaws look really sharp, almost like teeth, did it come like that or did you modify it?

 

[R Henrickson]

Glad you escaped. The jaw design is terrible. Which brand? And loose sleeves are never a good idea.

 

[Kirk Amidon]

Glad you are ok! Sounds super scary!

 

[robo hippy]

Yup, glad you are okay. Some days you should only clean up the shop.....

robo hippy

 

[Aaron Harris]

Glad you escaped without serious damage, Phil! I have learned to NEVER turn when I am tired, stressed, frustrated or some other negative feeling. Better to just leave it for another day. I too got to learn a hard lesson at the lathe recently without too much damage.

 

[Phil Hamel]

These were cheap jaws I got on Ebay or Amazon. Should have kept my money!
Sucks that they would work with a 5/8 hole. Can't find any others to fit my Nova chucks.
Might try to grind them smooth. If not they will go in the recycle bin!

 

[John K Jordan]

These chuck jaws are super sharp where the screws go in.

Thank you for posting this - a good reminder.
So glad it wasn't a a serious injury. I think about that hazard when I go into the shop with long sleeves! I'm thankful for good heat for turning on cold days.

Looking at those jaws... Do you usually leave them on that chuck or change them often? If left on the chuck, could wooden plugs be turned to fit the holes to the screws to eliminate the sharp corners? Otherwise, I like the idea of modifying the jaws if they are otherwise useful, perhaps grinding with a dremel. I've also modified/reshaped steel chuck jaws by turning them down with a 1/2" scraper (Thompson steel, sharpened a bit like a metal-cutting tool bit.) It wasn't fast nor fun but worked.

Another thing some do is wrap tape around the sharp parts of jaws after mounting. I like the Scotch 2060, sticks well to almost anything. I also say someone stretch short section of rubber inner tube around jaws - allows for loosening and tightening the jaws - something like a piece of inner tube from a bicycle tire might work.

I've never seen that type of jaws, look useful for holding small diameter tenons or small recesses. Have you tried the Nova pin jaws? - I have several sets of small jaws in several diameters that might do - 17mm, 25mm, 31mm, etc.

FWIW, I like the new Nova dome jaw set (6091) - has a small dovetail for a recess and will hold a very small diameter tenon, dowel, etc. These might not fit that project but the access they provide on the headstock end has been helpful for several projects.