I need some help. I am giving a presentation at the Rod Builders Guild symposium in Minneapolis next year on Lathe safety. I would appreciate any resources that someone could steer me to and also any personal experiences that you may have that I could put in the presentation. If you have photos, you could mail them to me at muskypete@frontiernet.net. I have started to look at all the back issues of the AAW magazine and also on this web site to gather info. on lathe safety, both using the lathe and tools and also on Wood Toxiology.
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Lathe Safety
- Thread starter muskypete
- Start date
Hey Pete,
You're gonna find a couple of basic safety tips come at you again and again.
1. Wear your safety equipment any time the lathe is on (face shield, not goggles)
2. Pay attention.
Most accidents aren't really accidents. They are usually flat out mistakes made when we're tired, overconfident, drunk, distracted, having a "bad day", rushing it, doing something we know we shouldn't but think we can get away with, etc. If we respect our limits and pay at least moderately consistant attention, most injuries can be avoided.
As to safety equipment, goggles are fine for shavings but when that chunk of wood breaks loose and smacks you in the face, they don't do much more than save your eyesight. Inexpensive polycarbonite face shields are excellent insurance against facial reconstructive surgery.
When sanding, keep the faceshield on as you don't know when that wood's gonna chase your nose. Just add a dust mask/respirator. Once again, a $30 investment in a 3M half mask with cartridge filters is an excellent investment. Any wood dust can be problematic and the stuff we generate when turning is both copious and very fine. The cloth dust masks help but still let alot of the tiny stuff through. Though less comfortable, the respirators work much better. Best of all is a dust collection and filtration system for your whole shop.
That about covers the major safety points from my end. Everything else is detail.
Oh, and when working with CA glue, never glue yourself to something to large to lift.
Have fun with your presentation.
Dietrich
You're gonna find a couple of basic safety tips come at you again and again.
1. Wear your safety equipment any time the lathe is on (face shield, not goggles)
2. Pay attention.
Most accidents aren't really accidents. They are usually flat out mistakes made when we're tired, overconfident, drunk, distracted, having a "bad day", rushing it, doing something we know we shouldn't but think we can get away with, etc. If we respect our limits and pay at least moderately consistant attention, most injuries can be avoided.
As to safety equipment, goggles are fine for shavings but when that chunk of wood breaks loose and smacks you in the face, they don't do much more than save your eyesight. Inexpensive polycarbonite face shields are excellent insurance against facial reconstructive surgery.
When sanding, keep the faceshield on as you don't know when that wood's gonna chase your nose. Just add a dust mask/respirator. Once again, a $30 investment in a 3M half mask with cartridge filters is an excellent investment. Any wood dust can be problematic and the stuff we generate when turning is both copious and very fine. The cloth dust masks help but still let alot of the tiny stuff through. Though less comfortable, the respirators work much better. Best of all is a dust collection and filtration system for your whole shop.
That about covers the major safety points from my end. Everything else is detail.
Oh, and when working with CA glue, never glue yourself to something to large to lift.
Have fun with your presentation.
Dietrich
A few things to add to Dietrichs excellent advise. (presented in no particular order!)
No loose clothing. Bad idea around any power tools, lathes especially.
Some folks wear a glove on the hand that is by the toolrest, especially when rounding a log. Try to use close fitting gloves and cut off the fingers (the gloves fingers, not your own <grin>) closest to the spinning wood so it doesn't get caught in the spinning wood and carry your fingers down between the wood and tool rest.
Avoid extending your tools way out over the toolrest unless they are designed for that. Take the time to adjust your toolrest often with this in mind. And along that same line of thought, keep the lathe corrosion free and lubricated so things adjust easily and smoothly. You will adjust things more often if you don't have to fight them.
Some tasks create more noise than you realize. Think about hearing protection for noisy tasks. My dust collection is modestly noisy for example.
When you are doing a long or tricky cut think about doing a dry run with the lathe off to insure you will have good body position throughout. You can cut down on catches that way, and generally get a better cut and have lower stress on your body parts.
Use sharp tools.
Use good lighting.
Rotate your wood by hand to be sure it clears the toolrest before turning the lathe on.
Keep checking the quality of your mount, whether it is faceflate or chuck or other options. And always recheck the tightness of moving parts like the head and tail stock, ram, banjo and toolrest, etc.
Check your RPM's before turning the lathe on.
Turn between centers when possible, especially when roughing.
Pay attention to your body. Stiffness, soreness, cramps, etc may be a sign that you are not positioning yourself well, or you are working too long at a stretch. Have someone knowledgable look at your body position. Small changes can make big improvements and affect your overall comfort and safety. For example....my friend kept reverting to a hunched position as he worked and got a stiff neck and back all the time. After watching him awhile I asked if he wore glasses. Turns out he did, but not at the lathe. He started wearing them and immedietly stopped hunching. No more back and neck pain, and his turning got better.
Hope all these off the cuff ideas help.
Dave
No loose clothing. Bad idea around any power tools, lathes especially.
Some folks wear a glove on the hand that is by the toolrest, especially when rounding a log. Try to use close fitting gloves and cut off the fingers (the gloves fingers, not your own <grin>) closest to the spinning wood so it doesn't get caught in the spinning wood and carry your fingers down between the wood and tool rest.
Avoid extending your tools way out over the toolrest unless they are designed for that. Take the time to adjust your toolrest often with this in mind. And along that same line of thought, keep the lathe corrosion free and lubricated so things adjust easily and smoothly. You will adjust things more often if you don't have to fight them.
Some tasks create more noise than you realize. Think about hearing protection for noisy tasks. My dust collection is modestly noisy for example.
When you are doing a long or tricky cut think about doing a dry run with the lathe off to insure you will have good body position throughout. You can cut down on catches that way, and generally get a better cut and have lower stress on your body parts.
Use sharp tools.
Use good lighting.
Rotate your wood by hand to be sure it clears the toolrest before turning the lathe on.
Keep checking the quality of your mount, whether it is faceflate or chuck or other options. And always recheck the tightness of moving parts like the head and tail stock, ram, banjo and toolrest, etc.
Check your RPM's before turning the lathe on.
Turn between centers when possible, especially when roughing.
Pay attention to your body. Stiffness, soreness, cramps, etc may be a sign that you are not positioning yourself well, or you are working too long at a stretch. Have someone knowledgable look at your body position. Small changes can make big improvements and affect your overall comfort and safety. For example....my friend kept reverting to a hunched position as he worked and got a stiff neck and back all the time. After watching him awhile I asked if he wore glasses. Turns out he did, but not at the lathe. He started wearing them and immedietly stopped hunching. No more back and neck pain, and his turning got better.
Hope all these off the cuff ideas help.
Dave
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Turn the machine off when adjusting or moving the tool rest.
Bill
Bill
Stand off to the side (near headstock or tailstock) when starting an odd-shaped lump of wood.
Wear examination gloves, latex or nitrile (aka "proctologist gloves"), when using CA or problematic finishes. Peel off easier than your skin.
Joe
Wear examination gloves, latex or nitrile (aka "proctologist gloves"), when using CA or problematic finishes. Peel off easier than your skin.
Joe
If your back is to a door be sure your family knows not to sneak up on you, between the noise and concentration while turning it is hard to notice others in the room. I put a small wide angle mirror on the wall above lathe so I can see people if they enter the shop.
woodwish said:
And lets not forget the horrible Feng Shui aspects of having your back to a door while you work! The inappropriate flow of Chi that resulted would be devastating!!!! <GRIN>
Dave....who lives in Hawaii.....land of excessive Feng Shui!