Safety First

[deltaenterprizes]

In another thread I pointed out a safety issue in a pic where the pic was taken with a spinning lathe chuck and the operator wearing long sleeves.
Another member posted that this was "off topic".

There are a lot of newbies here and are unaware of unsafe practices.
We should teach by example as many learn by observation.

My teacher had a former student get pulled into a lathe up to his shoulder because of wearing a long sleeved shirt and will never work again.
There also was a student that got his whole shirt ripped from his body in the class, he only received brush burns on his back.
There was a graphic photo on this site and on the web of a worker killed because of getting pulled into the chuck from wearing a sweater while operating a lathe.

Is pointing out a safety issue "off topic"?

Mistakes = Experience = Wisdom
Learn by the mistakes of others so you do not repeat them!

[vpt]

I live in a cold climate and wear sweaters and jackets all the time while using the lathe. It is less safe I admit. I am a very aware person though and I am always aware of my surroundings and myself.

[38_Cal]

Late spring through much of the fall I can wear short sleeves in the shop. The rest of the year, I'm either wearing long sleeve shirts with snug sleeves/cuffs or relatively tight fitting sweatshirts. This winter has been pretty bad, with longer stretches of very cold weather than average. I use an electric heater overnight in the shop, and a Kerosun single burner heater when I'm out there...even so, there have been many mornings this winter when the interior temp is under 30*F.

David

[Boucher]

Saftey is never off thread. I warned a employee about the dangers of running a large welding grinder with a wire brush while wearing a long tailed over shirt. He ignored the warning. Ruined a good shirt and lost a little hide but he is more carefull now. After that he paid more attention whem the old man told him something. Lots of old cable tool drilling rigs had live running cat heads. Loose clothes and careless attitudes killed several.

A word of warning is allways appropiate with the things we work with.

[KINGWELD]

X2 for safety never being off topic. The first rule of safety is.......fallow ALL safety rules. Some people don't think about the fact that there are people on this forum because this is all they have for information. So Delta, you did exactly what you should have.I'd have done the same.Jim

[Pete F]

Since this is a safety thread, let me ask a question. Every time I go out to the shop, I take off my wedding ring and put it by the phone in the kitchen. I do this because I've read to take off all jewelry when working with machine tools, but I don't really know what the underlying reason is. I get loose clothing, gloves, necklaces and whatnot, things that may not be close to the body, but if my ring is in danger of catching on something, I've already got a problem. Is it just that having a ring on makes the problem worse?

I'm still going to follow the rules, and I guess I kinda understand this one, but I don't get the same heebie-jeebie about it that I would wearing floppy sleeves at a lathe or trying to flick swarf off a part with my finger while the mill is running. Maybe if I did, I'd be less likely to forget to take it off. Which has happened .

-Pete

[Punkinhead]

Since this is a safety thread, let me ask a question. Every time I go out to the shop, I take off my wedding ring and put it by the phone in the kitchen. I do this because I've read to take off all jewelry when working with machine tools, but I don't really know what the underlying reason is.

I've seen two nasty things happen with wedding rings. First is that it shorts between a positive battery terminal and ground, causing a severe burn. Second, it gets crushed. Yes, your finger would get crushed anyway, but now you have a smooshed ring cutting off circulation which increases the chance you'll lose the finger. I've heard of rings getting caught on things and taking the finger off, but I haven't personally witnessed that one.

[Dr Stan]

I've heard of rings getting caught on things and taking the finger off, but I haven't personally witnessed that one.

When I was in high school and working as a stock boy in a Ben Franklin I caught my class ring on a box and sliced open my finger.

[oil mac]

Even for more experienced workers, There is something that gives me the heebie -jeebies, That is the fact ,the older we get, the slower our reaction time, also forgetfullness can creep in, as also at any age loss of concentration, I always on occasions remind myself, that machinery never loses its concentration, It is always waiting to bite the unwary

Enjoy your workshop activities guys, but remember safety, without being like a pal of mine, who has safety gadgets on safety gadgets, numerous safety posters etc, but still has a predilictioin to cause himself serious injury, one of which was life threatening some years back,, I guess the guy had so much safety gizmos etc, he lost sight of the elementary hazhards, which he overlooked.

[websterz]

My first grade teacher (MANY years ago) lost her wedding ring finger while loading a horse into a trailer. She was holding a gate chain with her left hand when the horse got spooked and lurched back. Her ring caught and pulled the finger right off.

[Dave S.]

When we bought our wedding rings 29 years ago I ask the jeweler to cut mine so it was not a complete circle. He ask why I would want him to do that and I said that the work I do I run the risk of catching it and having it pull my finger off. He cut it no charge. I have had several time where I cought it and it would open. Just have to take it off and reshape it. I don't do batteries.

Dave

[deltaenterprizes]

Rings and wrist watches are just like long sleeves, something for a turning part to grab and pull you into the machine or rip off a body part.
It is kind of hard to put them back on and get them to work right again.
My wife worked as an Emergency Room nurse and saw plenty of industrial accidents.

[SpyGuy]

When we bought our wedding rings 29 years ago I ask the jeweler to cut mine so it was not a complete circle. He ask why I would want him to do that and I said that the work I do I run the risk of catching it and having it pull my finger off.

Actually, it should be cut in three places around the inside circumference, 120 degrees apart. Two of the cuts should be about 60-75% through the thickness of the ring and the third cut should be 100%. That will allow the ring to expand and pull away from your finger without taking your finger with it.

In the Navy, I would often read stories (with graphic photos) of guys getting their fingers ripped off or denuded (the flesh of the finger stripped off the bone) from mishaps involving wedding bands and other rings. Even something common like slipping on a step and trying to catch ones fall.

[dp]

Tiffie is the HSM patron saint of topic purity and is quite often right on the money. These forums don't make it easy to discuss all that happens in a thread while within that thread, and the result is topic creep/hijacking. That particular topic, as pointed out, is rather pure and immensely popular, and worth working at to preserve that, and surely there is no intention on Tiffie's part to be anything but advisory - hence, hopefully, no hurt feelings.

I agree the safety issue is important and have been lambasted here for bringing it up in the past, too. This new thread on the subject is probably the best way to accomplish both topic purity there and safety awareness generally.

I'm glad you stayed at it.

[oldtiffie]

Safety

Thanks Dennis.

It certainly was me - and I make no apology for it.

The OP's remarks was a about a pic - which I can no longer find - of a long sleeve - looked like a "Flying Jacket" - that had a tight elasticised cuff - being used on a lathe:
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/sho...&postcount=559

Long sleeves around a spinning lathe chuck can have disasterous results!
SAFETY FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the first reply:

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/sho...&postcount=560

Long loose sleeve I might add..
Iv allways wondered, are there 'lathe' vests with tearaway sleaves?
Like the front of the sleeve held on by velcro so it would rip away easily if it ever got caught.

That said.. Im guilty of wearing a long sleeve jacket at the lathe when doing high surface speed steel turning (Aka: scalding hot chips everywhere).. But it has buttons at the end of the sleeve to keep it tight to my wrist, and I allways stay well away from the rotating parts. I don't even brush my tool off while the work is spining. latheaccident.jpg keeps me safe and aware. Never forget latheaccident.jpg, that was a true tragity. (Do not search filename unless you wanna see something akin to lathe used as a meat grinder)

Here is my reply - the one that the OP refers to in this thread:
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/sho...&postcount=561

"Accidents" and similar are side or non-issues and are a hi-jack/OT as regards the topic of this thread - and should be the subjects/ of seperate thread/s.

"Shop made tools" - the topic of this thread - has been stuck to remarkably well thus far.

So, let's keep the "on topic" and "purity levels" up and just stick to "shop made tools" as a lot of people - me, very much included - are getting a lot of value out of/from it.

I am sure - certainly hope so - that there is more "shop made tool" "mileage" in this thread yet.

I am glad to see that the OP followed my suggestion of this new thread on the "safety" issue.

I have yet to see where wearing long sleeves - year-round - is banned and that wearing short sleeves is mandatory.

When I was in shops in earlier days, long-sleeved "boiler suits" and steel-capped boots were the minimum standard. No loose clothing was allowed. Long hair (most of us were "short back and sides") had to have a (woman's) hair-net over it.

I'd like to see any OH&S posters and "rules" posted here for information.

I'd be more concerned about distractions such as other people talking or radios or TV's in the shop. There are none of these in my shop - at all. If there is any talking that needs doing, the machine is switched off. Talking or listening or being distracted while you are using a machine is just as dangerous as using a cell-phone in a vehicle. It is probably just as if not more dangerous when the actual conversation etc. has finished and you are thinking about what was said - and distracting yourself - while using a machine.

It is probably fair to to say that self-distraction, boredom, and tiredness, carelessness etc. are the biggest contributors to and causes of shop "accidents".

If I am tired or distracted before I go into the shop - I stay out of it. If I get tired or distracted in the shop, I switch off and/or leave until the distraction or tiredness is dealt with or passes.