arm and hand removed by lathe

[bl00]

Here's a rather gruesome post over on Reddit. No pics at the link below, so its safe for the squeamish. Once you get there he has another link to his pics.
http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/1lvfix/this_is_what_happens_when_you_get_your_hand_stuck/

To save you from clicking through a million posts here are some of his comments:

-Thank you and yes the got it back on but the had to take out 2 inches of bone so now im un even
-oh yeah im right handed an that is the one i lost so now im left handed
-I was turning down a steel shaft and a bur caught my glove.
-they did re attach it but i have no nerves connected so i still cant use it my friends call it my zombie hand
-No it got my glove
-I went into shock i didnt feel anything i just wanted water and a ciggarette i didnt feel anythin till the nerve block wore off
-im still in the ealing process right now im at 4 surgerys an i still cant use my right hand because no nerves are connected
-im not sure we just started finding my nerves i have no use of my right hand and i cant feel part of my fore arm
-No, t15 hour surgery and 3 doctors teah they earned it
-he only thing taht got hooked up was the blood vesels my nerves and tendons are still waiting to be hooked up
-It happend on august 23 and it still gets me shaken to thecore
-Where i work at we are under a strick guidline set by the AIB american institute of bakers
-80 percent mobility in 3 to 5 years
-AIB requirements we cant even use scissors without gloves
-we run under a set of standards the tell us we have to i cant even use scissors without gloves
-its coverd by workers comp but my surgery and hospital alone cost 350,000
-There was a bur i did not see







- - - Updated - - -

Just yesterday I was running my lathe when my 8 year old tried to butt in and "help." At the time he didn't quite understand why he got yelled at. I showed him the pics and we're on the same page now.

 

[stern]

Damn that sucks, and is one of the reasons I dont wear gloves ... EVER unless in playing in the mud. People ask me all the time "why dont you wear some gloves while your lugging dirty 6" steel pipe around", why dont you wear gloves while your threading pipe to keep you hands clean".

I have many sets of gloves but siomply DO NOT wear them while working, with the exception of the welding gloves while welding. Yes, I get shards from the mill and lathe in my hands I have to dig out, but far better than having a machine grab the gloves (had a 8" angle grinder grab a welding glove once, didnt hold it but sure woke me up to "dangling dangers". I would rather dig 1/2" steel bits from my hands than have a glove get caught ... and for what ... to keep my hands clean ? seriously, you want clean hands, go work with Lego

The only time I ever wish I had gloves was when I severed my right hand tendons on a stainless steel kitchen hood, (do have a Kevlar set for glass etc) but things happen and gloves would have only prevented me from doing the job. So, i'll take my dirty, oily, filthy hands with shard galore any day.

 

[HMF]

That is a real shame, and it should be a safety warning to everyone about gloves, ties, long hair not tied back, and other things that can get caught. On the home page of this site we have the following, and I will repeat it here:

HOBBY-MACHINIST.COM SAFETY WARNING - PLEASE READ THIS!
Use caution when using machinery, power equipment and tools to reduce the risk of personal injury. Always use safety equipment. Always wear safety glasses or approved eye protection. Dust mask, non-skid safety shoes, hard hat or hearing protection should be
worn for appropriate conditions. Read and understand all instructions. Keep your work area clean and well lit. Cluttered work environments and poor lighting may cause accidents. Do not operate power tools around explosive materials. Be aware of flammable liquids, gases or dust. Power tools can create sparks which may ignite the dust or fumes. Keep bystanders, children and visitors out of the work area. Always be aware of your surroundings. Machines have no conscience. To avoid distractions that could cause injury to you or others, all visitors should be kept away from the work area. Do not operate power tools while tired or under the influence of drugs, alcohol or medication. A moment of inattention may result in serious personal injury. Loose clothing, jewelry or long hair can be caught in moving parts. Do not overreach. Proper footing and balance enables better control of the tool. Store idle tools and machinery out of reach of children or other untrained persons. Machinery and tools are dangerous in the hands of untrained users.


My wife always wonders why my hands are always bruised, and I refuse to wear gloves. Gloves can get pulled into even common power tools like drills, sawzalls, saws (chop saws, compound miter saws), causing 10x worse injury than if your hand makes contact with the moving parts without gloves.

Be safe out there guys

 

[artyart]

Wow!, gloves around moving machines are bad news..... like others I would rather have my hands bruised,nicked scarred, and greasy than get caught in in a turning piece of machinery.Not that I don't use them (and other safety gear other places), just not there. He has a long hard road ahead of him, that is really rough.

 

[epanzella]

Wow, it's amazing that his arm let go before any vital body parts were dragged into the chuck. Search "lathe accidents" and you'll see guy whose arm just wrapped around the chuck until it milled half his head off. Yeah, he's dead as a beaver hat. As sad and gory as this stuff is. it's important to see these pictures now and then so that we never forget that the spinning parts right under our noses can kill if not given proper respect.

 

[TOOLMASTER]

we had a girl get scalped in woodshop...(70's)....long hair got caught..next thing you know. flop flop flop...

 

[onecut jimmy]

Wow!, gloves around moving machines are bad news..... like others I would rather have my hands bruised,nicked scarred, and greasy than get caught in in a turning piece of machinery.Not that I don't use them (and other safety gear other places), just not there. He has a long hard road ahead of him, that is really rough.

When I was an aprentice running a #4 Turret lathe I put on gloves, to manage the stainless steel chips I was making.

Talk about a dumb move. The chips cut through the gloves and my finger like razors. Gloves should never be worn in machine shops.
Only machinist should be alloed in the shop.
Also when I was an aprentice , I was running a lathe with a 48" swing. The chips comming off were blue. The plant manager was showing the Board of directors through the shop and they stoped to see the big lathe.

A female director said," Oh! look at the pretty cuttings and reach for one of the chips. I knocked her hand away and yelled don't do that.
One of the men in the group got ****** at me and started chewing me out.
The plant manager told him to go ahead and take one of the chips for her.
The guy reached out to pick one up and when he touched it , he screamed like a banshee. Then he was really ******. The plant manger simply said," I told you not to touch anything."

The lady turned to me and said, "Thank you I am sorry. "
The next day a notice was posted on all plant bulletin boards, saying. Only shop employees are allowed in the shop during working hours.

 

[markknx]

I have seen close calls from wearing gloves around the spinning things, and a couple bad ones. Yet I still have to argue with people that say they will not wear glove at all. Yes they should never be worn around the spinning things! Ever!! but they are to easy to put on and take back off to not be used at times like matterial handling, using sharp hand tools, any time you are involved in hot work. and many other times. I have a personal story about this.

I was about 18-19 years old and I was working in a fab shop, I was hired on to paint, blast, run small machines, and general labor. well the foreman called me from the paint area to come down by him, I was painting so I did not have my gloves on when I got down there he told me he needed a hand putting a 25' angle in a welding jig. well he flipped it in without warning me he was going to and my hand got caught between the jig and angle. I came real close to losing my thumb but some 6 hour of surgery saved it. Moral, if I had been wearing good gloves it would have only been bruised.

Please do not pick and choose on saftey!

 

[silence dogood]

Think of it this way. A healthy man is able to produce app. 1/10 hp, more in a short time. The motor on that little lathe maybe rated 1/3 hp or more. You don't have a chance. Before I turn on that machine, I think of what I'm going to do and how.
Mark

 

[Cheeseking]

Not sure why but I downloaded those photos of the poor guy that basically got eaten by a lathe. Very grisly and hard to look at. I wont post em unless admins here feel theres a good reason to. I show them to anyone in our shop that argues with me about wearing gloves around machines. We do however wear them for material handling etc. that is what they are for!!