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Respect the "Kill Zone"

Rick Urban

Rick Urban

Joined
Dec 23, 2015
Messages
65
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173
Location
Ringgold, Georgia
Website
www.rickurbanwoodturner.com
I have for years emphasized the need to respect what I have called the "Kill Zone," that plane passing through the spinning object and perpendicular to the axis of rotation. I would remove the audience chairs in that plane. Suggest turners use the push cut when they can. Learn to turn both handed. And generally not linger in the zone when not necessary. Until a couple of months ago I had never heard of another turner expressing the same sentiment. I cannot do that now, because I stumbled onto Richard Rafan's AAW journal article "On Demonstrating" in which he does. It is AW3402p31-35.pdf which appears in the American Woodturner, April 2019.
 
We have emphasized "the line of fire" in our high school demos and teaching for many years. Not sure who came up with the thought or when exactly.
 
I did a video some years back dedicated to 'Standing out of the line of fire'. Most important video I ever did. Drives me crazy to see demonstrators standing right over the work when turning. Bowls especially.

robo hippy
 
After a small incident when I first started out on the wood lathe. I set out from that to teach myself to spend as little time as possible anywhere near the "line of fire". As a result of this, I have not had an incident, oh I have had the odd piece fly out of the chuck, but they have always gone where they should, straight past me.
 
Indeed, fortunately I have always been ambidextrous from a young age so it was an easy move
 
Michael Anderson said:
This is one of the most valuable pieces of advice I ever received. Ambidextrous turning is a game changer. Being able to turn in reverse is up there as well. Aside from other things, both can help with staying out of the line of fire.
Click to expand...
Turning in reverse is a great skill to have in your bag of tricks. Whenever I introduce someone to it I ALWAYS remind them of the importance of the set screw to keep it from unscrewing from the spindle, which can happen quite quickly.
 
Quoting Yogi Berra, "It's 90% mental, and 10% in your head." This applies to using both sides. In turning, the idea is to hold the tool close to your body, and tool control comes from moving with your body rather than with your arms. This is more difficult with a long bed lathe than a short bed lathe/pivoting headstock lathe. This makes me think of Ashley Harwood, who can only platform sharpen on one side of the grinder....

robo hippy
 
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