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A lesson learned the hard way

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A lesson learned the hard way

#1

A lesson learned the hard way

Duane C.Leach

>I learned to listen to my inner voice again yesterday. The lesson learned was speed and turning don't mix.

Sunday at our club meeting I agreed to hold a contest. The contest-- Three teams of two turners each would get twenty minutes per team to turn a piece to as near to completion as possible. The wining team would be the team that turned the best piece.

The problem-- Some of the contestants had never turned on this large of lathe before ( a Jet 1642).They were used to turning on a midi lathe. Some were un familiar with this lathe, the speed control, the on off switch, the chuck. And worst of all. Each of the turners were in to big a hurry. Trying to get as much done in the time limit. And to many people to close to the lathe trying to see better.

What happened.-- The second team started. They mounted the 10" wet bowl blank to the lathe and turned it on. At 1800 rpm the unbalanced and poorly secured blank came flying off the lathe. At this point it is un clear wither the turner had a catch or the bark came loose. The blank flew up and back, over our heads, hit the wall some 8' behind the lathe, and bounced off the wall and hit me on the head. Knocked me unconscious. It left me with a concussion and 7 staples in my scalp. Thank God for those who helped stop the bleeding and get me up.

The lessons learned.

1. Turning is not an activity where speed of anything but the lathe rpm should be of importance.

2. Take the time to know the lathe and tools you are going to work with.

3. Take all efforts to secure the blank to the lathe.

4. By standers should be kept at a safe distance from the running lathe at all times.

5. If you have any doubts then don't it, turning or leading.

I don't blame anyone for this accident but myself. I new better than to hold a compition of speed. But wanted to keep other folks happy.

I hope this will help you with your next demonstration,club meeting, or at home.

Turning is fun, hospital emergency rooms are not.

Thanks for reading.

Duane Leach

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#2

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

jeff jilg

>I'm sorry to hear about the accident Duane, but happy to hear that it wasn't worse...and no permanent damage.

I've never understood why grown men would want to have speed competitions with running machinery, and especially lathes. Your story reinforces my doubts about lathe speed competitions.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#3

Keith Tompkins

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

Keith Tompkins

>Duane, So glad you're OK, my friend! Let's be thankful it wasn't any worse...Keith

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#4

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

Sean Troy

>Glad you seem to be ok. Do take a good rest for several days and let the body heal itself the way it is supposed to. Take care, Sean

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#5

JL

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

JL

>Glad to hear you are as best can be expected. Sounds like the guard on the 1642 is a good idea. I've had mine in the garage rather than the shop. I now think it would be a good idea to put in on the lathe.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#6

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

Mike Schwing from Md.

>WOW! Glad to hear that things weren't worse.

You just reminded me to get the remote stop switch for my PM as the button is on the wrong side in an emergency. So perhaps your story saved me an injury, thank you.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#7

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

Duane C.Leach

>Accidents happen. But if we think through our plans before taking action then maybe the accidents will be reduced.

At last month's meeting I had someone buy the club a first aid kit. It came in handy Sunday. But I didn't think it would be used on me.

I have already started thinking of new safty rules for our club. I now some people don't like rules but rules are for a good reason.

Happy turning

Duane

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#8

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

Ron in Drums PA

>I'm happy in the end all turned out ok and you are home.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#9

A suggestion

Ray Thompson - Middletown,IN

>First glad you are ok.

How about a safety committee of two or three folks who review any club activity for safety procedures beforehand. Especially when doing demos out in the public sector, might save some greif down the road.

Ray

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#10

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

John K Jordan

>>I have already started thinking of new

>safty rules for our club

Something that always worries me at demos or even around anyone turning is being in the "line of fire". One club I visited had a large clear shield on a stand that was positioned just in front of the lathe. It wouldn't help with things bouncing off the walls, though.

JKJ in East TN

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#11

Re: A suggestion

Duane C.Leach

>Thanks Ray. Good Idea. One idea I have been thinking about. The turner who is going to demonstrate at the meeting, have him come in like two hours early so he can become familiar with the lathe.And the safty cordinator can check him for safty.

Thanks Ray

Duane

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#12

Re: There's a lot we don't know about this acciden

Al Crandall --NE of Indy--

>There are a lot of varibles involved with this incident which combined to make the unfortunate outcome. I won't say I was an eyewitness, because it happened so quickly that I'm not sure what I actually saw. I was in a small group of people near Duane, behind the lathe and to the left of the headstock. I heard the lathe start, and from the noise it was making it was obvious that the load was unbalanced. As I glanced in the direction of the lathe I saw a hand turn the speed control knob the wrong way. In the length of time it took my brain to think, "Oh crap!", there was a loud thud on the block wall above our heads and Duane was sinking to the floor. The speed at which it happened was astonishing.

I've had two days to contemplate what happened to my friend and what might have been. Here are some of my thoughts about what might have contributed to this situation. I don't know the answers to these questions.

Was the demonstrator not at ease in front of a large crowd? It's hard to concentrate when you're nervous. Was he unfamiliar with the club's lathe? It's fairly new to the club and not many have had the opportunity to turn on it yet. There had to be an instant when he realized that he had started the out of balance blank at too high rpm, and he knew he needed to do something fast. Did he think he was hitting the on-off switch, or did he just turn the speed control knob the wrong direction? Was he familiar with the drive center being provided for him? It was a 2" diameter 2 spur center which was held in the chuck. A lot of people are not familiar with this particular drive and he might have oriented the spurs across the grain instead of with the grain. Did he know to lock the spindle and rock the blank back and forth while applying pressure with the tailstock spindle to firmly seat the drive spurs into the blank? Would a cage on the lathe or a Lexan shield in front of the lathe have prevented this? The cage adds another unfamiliar element to an already stessful atmosphere of a competition or demonstration, and a shield is hard to keep clean enough for a crowd to see through. Besides, the blank launched backward and upward from its mounting. We have cameras for closeups and a tv monitor for the club. At what point do safety considerations and the use of cameras make the demonstration like it was happening in another city and you are watching a live broadcast instead of a live demo?

There are a lot of questions about what contributed and what might have been done to alter the outcome, and I don't have the answers. I'm just thankful Duane is no worse off than he is. I wouldn't want to trade places with him.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#13

If you don't see this coming...

Rod Peterson -- Ormond Beach

>> I saw a hand turn the speed control knob the wrong way. In the length of time it took my brain to think, "Oh crap!", there was a loud thud on the block wall above our heads and Duane was sinking to the floor.

You had one job and you failed miserably.

If I believed in emoticons, I would put a huge one here. Now you know how I felt...and Duane knows how you felt...

Rod

P.S. To any readers that think I'm being cavalier and insensitive about the accident, I assure you I'm not. This post is the latest in a long line of exchanges Al and I have had over the last two years relating to our mutual involvement in an incident with some of the same elements as this one. Please judge me in that light.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#14

Re: If you don't see this coming...

ruth in So. Cal

>Rod, given what you have explained, I think it would have been better to continue your off-line conversation with Al rather than smack him in public without the public knowing what he has been smacked for.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#15

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

Barry N. Turner

>A speed competition of any sort involving power tools of any kind is a disaster waiting for a place to happen. (The voice of 20/20 hindsight speaking) I'm glad you are okay now.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#16

You're hard to keep ahead of. Ball's in my court!

Al Crandall --NE of Indy--

>

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#17

Re: We assumed Everyone already knew, Ruth.

Al Crandall --NE of Indy--

>Back in the Badger Pond days Jennifer threw a shindig at which I demo'ed making a lathe tool and hardening it. While I was heating the tool to cherry red with a mapp gas torch, Rod graciously volunteered to stabilize the other end of the drill rod. At one point I deemed it necessary to roll the tool over and in a instant I had grabbed the steel with my bare hand just beyond the red part. Rod stated that it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion and he was helpless to stop it. The blame for this incident is entirely mine, but passing the blame has become a good-natured game of hot potato between Rod and me. Please don't judge Rod harshly. We forgot that this community is much larger than B.P. and not everyone cares about our private silliness. Al

(Rod, no fair quoting any portion of this admission in the future.)

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#18

Re: There's a lot we don't know about this acciden

Bruce Wiseman

>Well, I was on the other side of the lathe near the tail stock, and Al is right the whole thing happened soooo fast. I didn't see any speed adjustment, only the lathe getting turned on and the wood flying. I am very glad Duane is alright. Also, true to his nature as a teacher, he has gone public with this and is trying to use it to help us all be better turners. Maybe instead of 20/20 hindsight on this event, we should be use this to develop foresight everytime we approach the lathe.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#19

Re: If you don't see this coming...

Rod Peterson -- Ormond Beach

>I can assure you that Al doesn't feel smacked. And it's one of those community things that several people are in on, and we presume enjoy the occasional repartee.

I don't suppose you care, but the background is that three years ago (I erred in my other post) I attended the then Pond-O-Rama held at Jennifer Shirley's home. Al was going to demonstrate heat treating a steel rod for some lathe purpose. He enlisted me to position the bar with vise grips while he applied heat to the bar.

At one point, to my horror, he sort of absentmindedly reached up to twist the bar slightly for a better angle. I saw what was coming but could not get a word out before he grabbed the bar far too close to where he had been heating it. Did I mention bare-handed?

Since, when the opportunity, such as this one, presents, one or the other will fire a shot, as it were. Last week he said that I had one job (presumably to keep him from burning himself) and I failed miserably.

I, of course, took no offense, it being, as I said, part of a running gag. There would be absolutely no satisfaction whatsoever in conducting the running gag by email, particularly when there were other witnesses to the proceedings. Moreover, the tale gets progressively richer in the telling.

Of course if I were to learn that Al didn't want to participate I would stop immediately, however his response doesn't seem to so indicate.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it.

Rod

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#20

Re: We assumed Everyone already knew, Ruth.

ruth in So. Cal

>Thanks for the explanation....and what the heck is Badger pond....without wanting to steal the thread.

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#21

Badger Pond  *LINK*

John K Jordan

>


some background on Badger Pond

Re: A lesson learned the hard way

#22

Thanks John. That was timely!

ruth in So. Cal

>

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