After reviewing the video, my gut tells me there are safer ways to turn a large piece.
Am with you 100%. I should have said I love his work but don't intend to copy his techniques. Was a bit too effusive in my praise ... becoming a habit as I age. But I really do love his simple bowls. Made the mistake of showing the video to my wife and was telling her how he made the lathe and tools. She said: "So you don't really need all that fancy stuff you've been buying?" Ah, well, you see, I can't really make that stuff ... and ... But she knows I just like the toys ... I mean tools ... and thinks it's great.
Am getting consistent input from you guys on faceplate size and will go with the 6" Oneway ... adequate with tailstock support and versatile. 8" is a little big for my 16"-18" natural edge stuff and too small (maybe) for the huge stuff. Will get a bigger one if a special huge piece of wood comes along maybe. And I always use tailstock support until I get the chuck on, but will use it even working the bowl inside as much as I can on this big stuff. My 3" steel will go out the door with the Powermatic. I understand the AB comes with a 3.5" aluminum ... can't say I'm excited about aluminum ... but can use on small stuff.
[Warning: the following accident/incident report is not for the faint of heart ... but is for woodturners.]
Why did my piece come off the lathe? Because I did not pay attention to or take action to mitigate the following accident precursors:
- Lack of knowledge. I had turned a couple of bowls before ... one in 8th grade shop class, eons ago ... and one at a group session at Highland Woodworking. But I was working beyond my knowledge base in turning a natural edge bowl out of a blank I cut from a huge ornamental pear on a friends property. The piece was very hard wood and severely out of balance (chainsaw cut ... didn't have a bandsaw) but some of that was by design because I wanted an a-symmetrical piece. Thought I was being artistic. Frankly, I was unaware of the level of risk I was taking and how to manage it or avoid it. There are four things one can do with risk: Treat, Transfer, Tolerate, or Terminate. Lacking knowledge of the risk I did none of those.
- Overconfidence. I had just turned a similar piece successfully and got a little cocky.
- Self-imposed schedule pressure. It was time for dinner and I was hungry ... usually am. But, said I, "I'll just knock one more out just like the last one". Now, this little lathe didn't have variable speed. I turned on the lathe and realized I had left it on the high speed belt setting. But, hey, I need to get 'er done and can handle this (see item 2 above). I realized afterward that I had also failed to fully lock down the toolrest. Getting "antcy" reading this? I am. So, anyway, I touched the bowl gouge to the piece without good tool control (see item 1 above).
The result was that when that tool touched the piece, it dug in and moved the toolrest. The protruding edge of the blank (about 10-15lbs) struck the toolrest violently. The spinning blank, gaining traction on the toolrest, freed itself from between centers (the spur center was not in a recess ... see Item 1 above) and went airborne. By my calculations the piece had a tangential angular velocity of about 30mph (10" diameter at about 1000 rpm). I was standing in the line of fire (see Item 1 above). It was like getting hit in the head by a bowling ball thrown out of a truck window.
The next thing I remember is seeing stars ... literally. I did manage to stay upright. When my senses came back I realized my faceshield was on the floor and that blank was spinning against the wall ... still spinning. Now, I've been a competitive martial artist. I've "caught" 80lb German Shepherds charging me at 30+ mph. I had never been hit that hard. I took stock of the situation. Thought everything was cool ... and then saw the blood running down my shirt. I'm a crisis management guy ... didn't panic. Went and looked in the mirror and found I had driven a tooth right through my lower lip. The faceshield (basic variety with a 4mm shield) saved my facial bones and teeth. Got a few stitches and later finished that bowl. Couldn't let it beat me.
That was 12 years ago. I bought a Powermatic 3520 after that ... liked the cage and the sliding headstock .. and have turned a good deal since then, some bowls up to 18" with natural edge. I researched proper lathe procedure and turning techniques and have had no further incidents. I continue to learn how to do this stuff safer and to improve technique ... thus this thread.
In accident prevention "common sense" and "paying attention" are never enough. If they were, we would never have had the sinking of the Titanic or the meltdown at TMI-2. Among other things, we need proper training and a safety mindset. We also need to learn from our own mistakes and those of others. I think the woodturning community could do a much better job of the latter.
At this point I feel like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day" ... "I'm sorry, did you want to talk about the weather? Or were you just making conversation?"
Be safe and thanks for the input.
