Very close call

[odawa]

Hi

I have a collection of "chicken sticks" I have a chicken stick for pushing wood through the table saw and I have chicken sticks with double back tape that hold the sandpaper when sanding on the lathe.

Glade to hear you didn't lose any meat.

Mark T

We really should call them smart sticks. I remember being teased when I wanted to use a 'chicken stick' to prop my model engines. Always had a healthy respect for fast spinning pieces of wood and metal. I once worked in a machine shop when I was going to college and I was the only one with all my fingers but the boss and he had a plate in his head. Oh, I still have my fingers.

 

[Rocket Man]

We all make mistakes and if we are lucky we keep all our fingers and live to tell about it. I once was smooth the surface of a part with a file being careful not to bump the file into the chuck then bumped it anyway I ended up with the point end of the file punched 2" into my hand. I have learned that a tiny part in the chuck does not hold the chuck tight enough pull the lever to spin up the chuck to speed it can unscrew the insides of the chuck and release the part. I had a part in the chuck it needed to be polished when the chuck spun up to 1200 rpm it released the part and the part flew out like a missile completely threw the wall and into the parking lot. At works turn off and lock out machines so they can not be used during lunch or after work. Once during lunch the production foreman put an 8 ft long 1" diameter cold roll rod in the lathe chuck with no center and turned it on RPMs were too high the 1" rod bent then hit the lathe and bent several more times and kept hitting the lathe it sounded like a jack hammer. The steel rod some how snagged the guys shirt and ripped it almost completely off of him and he never got hurt, the guy was white as ghost. It is amazing he did not get killed, it almost killed the 14x43 lathe the ways had dents 1/4" deep in several places. I guess the lathe was made of good steel not cast iron it would have destroyed a cast iron lathe. It took a while to smooth out the dents we used the lathe another 20 years. I have 27 stitches from not paying attention we all make mistakes keep away from things that are spinning.

 

[neilw20]

As we get older, experience (might) make(s) me very wary of working on my own.
Rarely get any injuries now, using CNC, lathe (all without guards).
Never stand or have part of your body tangent to anything spinning.
When things get ejected, they never hit you then.
Most dangerous tool is now my soldering iron and heatshrink gun.
Always wear some leather when welding, especially when wearing Chinese safety boots (thongs, go aheads).
Have legs apart when lifting heavy things. They drop between your feet that way.

 

[nel2lar]

Yesterday I had a small aluminium piece about 1" in diameter, like a small cylinder head, and I needed to clean up and lightly polish the end after parting. The whole part was only about 3/4" in length so it was barely sticking out of the chuck at all.

Al
Accidents happen so quick and the 4 jaw is the bad part. Too many things sticking out to catch you. I am glad you are able to talk about it. I've seen some very bad results. One more thing to look to heaven and say thank you Lord.
Nelson

 

[razor7177]

Yesterday I had a small aluminium piece about 1" in diameter, like a small cylinder head, and I needed to clean up and lightly polish the end after parting. The whole part was only about 3/4" in length so it was barely sticking out of the chuck at all.

I successfully took a light facing cut and proceeded to begin sanding it with some wet and dry at about 600 RPM (the speed the lathe was set to for the facing operation). I was cautious of the chuck jaws and tried to make sure I was using only light pressure and staying to the bottom of the piece.

It turns out I wasn't cautious enough and I'm guessing I strayed above the centreline of the part, which generates different forces on the wet and dry and requires different counterforces from the operator. I didn't have time to realise my mistake before the part grabbed the paper and threw my pointer finger into the 4 jaw chuck. The end of my finger jammed nicely between two of the jaws and in 1/20th of a second had twisted 180 degrees around the chuck, taking my hand/wrist to their maximum twist angle as well, then luckily ejected it into my chest, still attached to rest of me, although a little sore from it's adventure.

The ending was pure luck and could just as easily have ended with me only being able to count to nine. I know it was my fault, and I know exactly what I did wrong (nearly everything in this case) but I thought I'd write it up as a warning for others to listen closely to that little voice in your head that says "Don't do it, it's dangerous, you're being stupid". I got away with it this time but it scared the heck out of me...

Inside voices are a blessing in disguise. Listen to it, you live. Ignore it, bet your arse you gonna pay the price. My inside voice kicked in too late, price paid: B-class shock absober to the jaw. Second time kicked in early, missed getting squashed by a M-class SUV. So it pays listening to your inside voice.

 

[Hopsteiner]

Yesterday I had a small aluminium piece about 1" in diameter, like a small cylinder head, and I needed to clean up and lightly polish the end after parting. The whole part was only about 3/4" in length so it was barely sticking out of the chuck at all.

I successfully took a light facing cut and proceeded to begin sanding it with some wet and dry at about 600 RPM (the speed the lathe was set to for the facing operation). I was cautious of the chuck jaws and tried to make sure I was using only light pressure and staying to the bottom of the piece.

It turns out I wasn't cautious enough and I'm guessing I strayed above the centreline of the part, which generates different forces on the wet and dry and requires different counterforces from the operator. I didn't have time to realise my mistake before the part grabbed the paper and threw my pointer finger into the 4 jaw chuck. The end of my finger jammed nicely between two of the jaws and in 1/20th of a second had twisted 180 degrees around the chuck, taking my hand/wrist to their maximum twist angle as well, then luckily ejected it into my chest, still attached to rest of me, although a little sore from it's adventure.

The ending was pure luck and could just as easily have ended with me only being able to count to nine. I know it was my fault, and I know exactly what I did wrong (nearly everything in this case) but I thought I'd write it up as a warning for others to listen closely to that little voice in your head that says "Don't do it, it's dangerous, you're being stupid". I got away with it this time but it scared the heck out of me...

Holding small pieces so you can machine them is always a challenge. I recently bought a set of sleeves which go down to 1/2 inch and up to 2 inches. I had a hard time justifying the cost but I was tired of trying to hold a small piece in a three or four jaw to machine it. Your accident should all give us pause. Not putting our safety glasses for that momentary tool touch up on the grinder. We all know when we're taking chances. Don't, the machines we all use are very powerful.