Another PSA for safety
Steve Antonucci
>I had a great day yesterday with a large cherry crotch. It started at 15" round x 9" deep. The hollowform I turned had a bark inclusion that released as I got thinner.
Right as I got to parting, a little voice told me that I needed to wear my faceshield (I mean that literally!). I was alone, and normally I part to a small tenon and finish with a hand saw. Never got to down to where I'd get the saw,since the bark inclusion ran through my tenon.
The work split and became airborn at 700 RPM. I was struck in the face(shield, thankfully) with a 12" X 1/4" X 9" hollowform half. It sounded like a gunshot (not sure if it was the half that hit me or the wall), and it tore the faceshield clear off of my head. I stood there stunned for a second, then glanced at the lathe (nothing left). Scared s-less, but still pretty, not a mark on me.
Now I need another shield. The other one is not broken, but has seen it's share of active duty. It's hard to see out of (which is why I don't ALWAYS wear it.) Yesterday was a great example of why safety should always come first.
In an attempt to learn from every mistake, I also realized that I made another "rookie" mistake. I knew that the piece had structural issues, and I should have put the belt on the slowest speed, but I was stupid, lazy and tired from standing at the lathe for 5 hours. The worst part is, I was directly in the Line of Fire, which I constantly warn my son about. For any new turners out there, the LOF is where the piece would go if it wasn't attached to the lathe. Parting will almost always put you in the LOF.
In my case, parting a large, bark included, slightly off balance, cherry hollow to a 1" tenon should have been a parade or warnings in my head. Slowing down to 200 RPM, I could have reduced the risk, and all but elimated the danger I put myself in yesterday.
Steve