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Still Stupid after all these years.

Ironman

Ultra Member
On the lathe the other day, it was a crispy morning, so I was wearing my heavy flannel shirt, I felt a tug and looked down to see the shirt tail wrapped around the feed screw. I reached over in time and shut down the lathe, then reversed it to unwind myself. I know better, never wear loose clothing around a lathe. So, after all this reminders, I punched out the taper pin, which was .218 on the big end, and drilled it to 1/4" and machined a shear pin out of aluminum and drove it in. now if I ever do this again and don't react in time the shear pin will save my ass.
 

Darren

Ultra Member
Premium Member
That shear pin won't save your ass.

Lathes kill people every day. The only thing saving your ass is this close call. It will make you and others think , and be more cautious. I hope everyone reads this. I am just as guilty. When its cold, i wear a sweatshirt. But i stay the hell away from anything moving. 1hp or 10hp, it will wrap your whole body up and maim or kill you.

Loose fitting clothing, gloves, long hair, jewellery etc is all dangerous.

Guy I worked with had his arm ripped off by a machine at the lumber mill. Wearing gloves, which we were required to wear. The machine didnt care.
 
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YotaBota

Mike
Premium Member
A while back there was a thread about a guy getting sucked into his lathe by the glove he was wearing. Apparently his his hand and arm got fairly beat up but he's alive.

We all get complacent when we think we know what we're doing. Stay safe people.

Clothing kills, machine naked!
 

TorontoBuilder

Ultra Member
A while back there was a thread about a guy getting sucked into his lathe by the glove he was wearing. Apparently his his hand and arm got fairly beat up but he's alive.

We all get complacent when we think we know what we're doing. Stay safe people.

Clothing kills, machine naked!

how chip to the groin would make you think twice.

as an aside, when I was in the reserves and used the indoor range with an FNC1A1 with the .22 caliber conversion kits the shell casings always ejected on a trajectory that made the scalding hot casing fly right at my neck and get caught between the collar of my uniform and my bare skin. I'd have at least a half dozen 2nd degree burns after every range day.... I almost quit it became so annoying.
 

Doggggboy

Ultra Member
So...shooting naked would have been safer, right?
Right!
I'll add shooting to my Things To Do Naked List.
So far...
Machining
Shooting
Swimming (at home)(no jellyfish in my pool)(and the water isn't cold)
 

Bandit

Well-Known Member
Well generly, the shells eject sideways. Lever action, some upwards. A large v-neck not always recommended, unless distraction to win is part of the game. Now completely sideways. LOL.
Lucklely I have never seen anyone get wrapped up in their work, only heard about it. A fairly common happening in farming operations every year. Tractor PTOs. We won't go to balers, augers etc.
If you do not wish to enjoy these activities in the nude, single ply toilet paper could help, hmm, maybe not swimming.
You were lucky, very lucky, Ironman. Sometimes even a kill switch does not help unless there is a braking system for an immediate stop.
 

DPittman

Ultra Member
Premium Member
On the lathe the other day, it was a crispy morning, so I was wearing my heavy flannel shirt, I felt a tug and looked down to see the shirt tail wrapped around the feed screw. I reached over in time and shut down the lathe, then reversed it to unwind myself. I know better, never wear loose clothing around a lathe. So, after all this reminders, I punched out the taper pin, which was .218 on the big end, and drilled it to 1/4" and machined a shear pin out of aluminum and drove it in. now if I ever do this again and don't react in time the shear pin will save my ass.
Well unfortunately it's too easy to make such mistakes however instead of thinking of being "still stupid after all these years" think "still alive after all these years" Avoiding injuries is no accident, it takes thought and planning.
 

TorontoBuilder

Ultra Member
So...shooting naked would have been safer, right?
Right!
I'll add shooting to my Things To Do Naked List.
So far...
Machining
Shooting
Swimming (at home)(no jellyfish in my pool)(and the water isn't cold)
no, a scarf would have been more apropos.

Few people will catch what I did there.
 

Chicken lights

Forum Pony Express Driver
I used my little shop loader to yank my 5th wheel yesterday. It doesn’t have one functioning brake on it, parking or stopping, nothing. No lights, no seatbelt, the seat isn’t bolted down, no horn, just most of a slow moving vehicle sign. You can run the loader standing beside it, no seat safeties. I think the only safety item is a clutch switch for the starter. By any modern standards it’s a death trap but Ive driven it through town a handful of times, without issues. Usually with a chase vehicle :D

It’s as safe or unsafe as the operator makes it to be
 

Doggggboy

Ultra Member
On the lathe the other day, it was a crispy morning, so I was wearing my heavy flannel shirt, I felt a tug and looked down to see the shirt tail wrapped around the feed screw. I reached over in time and shut down the lathe, then reversed it to unwind myself. I know better, never wear loose clothing around a lathe. So, after all this reminders, I punched out the taper pin, which was .218 on the big end, and drilled it to 1/4" and machined a shear pin out of aluminum and drove it in. now if I ever do this again and don't react in time the shear pin will save my ass.
Just to aim this back on topic, is this something that could be prevented with one of those coil-over screw covers?
I've always assumed they were more for protecting the screw from swarf than protecting us from ourselves.
 

DPittman

Ultra Member
Premium Member
Just to aim this back on topic, is this something that could be prevented with one of those coil-over screw covers?
I've always assumed they were more for protecting the screw from swarf than protecting us from ourselves.
Yes definitely that would prevent that, I have the covers on mg lead screw and love them.
 

Janger

(John)
Administrator
Vendor
Yes definitely that would prevent that, I have the covers on mg lead screw and love them.
What are those covers called exactly and where do you buy them? and once you have them installed how do you oil the lead screw?
 

Ironman

Ultra Member
What are those covers called exactly and where do you buy them? and once you have them installed how do you oil the lead screw?
I have them, one is installed on the headstock side. After having my apron stumble to a stop, and finding the gearbox and oil reservoir filled with chips, I bought them. They are about 5 bucks a piece. https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...offerlist.normal_offer.d_title.406c21716AYmzt
If I had an aluminum shear pin, it would have popped, but instead it broke a taper pin. Not good.
So I bought these shields and if you feel the urge to oil the lead screw, you grab the shield spring and pull it back from the collar and squirt away. The instructions do say to spray lube on the shield regularly. I used Fluid Film on installation and really haven't seen any need to do it again.
The Tailstock side may take a bit of head scratching to mount it, as the thread counter is there, and I will get a Roundtuit someday.
 

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