Don't leave the key in the lathe chuck

I'm glad I hate lawns, lawn care, yard work, tree trimming etc. If you will run that thing I got some serious edging to be done in spring. Ill have EMS standing by. LOL
 
Very first mistake I made when I started running a lathe for the first time. I fired up the lathe and all I heard was something smack the wall about 20 feet away. Come to find out, it was the lathe key. I thought "woah!! if that hit my face I could have been hurt bad" :eek:. Never did that again.
I still consider myself a rookie hobbyist, but in my prior professional life, I worked at valuing risk for large corporations. Over the years, I've found that that training has caused me to subconsciously consider ways to identify and reduce risk in all facets of life - including hobbies. I've never had the pleasure of soiling myself because I inadvertently left a chuck key in a lathe, but I recognized the danger early on. A while back, I bought a Harrison M300 lathe that needed a lot of work. (My philosophy has always been the best way to learn how to 'use' a piece of equipment is to learn how to work on it.). I quickly noticed the hazard of a flying chuck key on that lathe, and it seemed to me a good machining and wiring project for a rookie would be to fabricate a lathe cover/cut-off switch for it. Attached is a picture of the result. I intentionally made it short enough to not cover the business end of the chuck in case I ever wanted to turn an oversized part. Bottom line is I CAN'T make that mistake on this 1979 model M300. It ain't pretty, but it works!

Regards
IMG_1274.JPG
 
I'll start out by saying that I like and appreciate EVERY ONE of the "safety interlock" ides that have been presented here. But I've hesitated doing this. I personally prefer to always be conscious and careful, and not get dependent on external devices. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'm concerned that I could get complacent, especially if if I'm at somebody else's tool that's not similarly equipped.

My good habits were brought home to me one day at work. I was carrying a cordless drill across the production floor, and happened to notice that I was practicing good gun safety - trigger finger placed along the side of the drill, rather than on the trigger :)

Be safe, everybody!
"...I personally prefer to always be conscious and careful..." You must be young.

Regards
 
Seems to me that if we could all actually rely on habit, muscle memory and self discipline to keep us out of trouble, not one of us would have ever lost our car keys, mislaid our eye glasses, or stood feeling stupid at a checkout with no money in our pocket.
 
"...I personally prefer to always be conscious and careful..." You must be young.
Regards
Just turned 70 last year. Can't say I was that way (c&c) in years past ... musta been lucky instead :)
 
I do not get that mag, but remember it thus either on here or youtube or something.

I saw a you tube video recently where the owner of a bench lathe mounted a limit switch below the bench top next to a through hole. It was a small lathe and he wired the limit switch in line with the hot motor lead.
 
I actually like the idea of using a magnetic safety interloc that prevents the lathe from starting without the chuck safely stowed....Having been trained by the formerly politically incorrect Navy on machine shop safety practices, they were not kind nor polite, nor politically correct on what they would do during training if I EVER got caught leaving that chuck key in the chuck.... I have little fear over a few things, my Lord, my father and that First Class Petty Officer if he was p'od..
 
Just turned 70 last year. Can't say I was that way (c&c) in years past ... musta been lucky instead :)
I knew it!!! Just a kid (at heart).
 
Back in HS shop class, Mr. Bishop (RIP) was quick to expel anyone from shop class for any shop safety violations especially chuck keys left in the chuck. He also had that famous poster of the long haired (hippie idiot as he called it) guy with a large portion of his hair missing after getting it caught in the drill press. Anyone remember that poster from the 70's? Anyway, I was conditioned long ago to never violate shop rules.
On the four jaw scroll chuck, I use mini magnetic keys to dial in stock requiring them to be left in place, but the machine's power is off and in neutral.
I still have all my digits approaching four decades of shop work (I need them for counting;)). Another thing I see in postings are folks wearing open toe footwear in shops:confusion:.
I'm not really judgmental as we're all grown dudes but lets use some common sense and self perseverance to continue to enjoy the hobby we so love and enjoy. I'm not a fan of safety gimmicks like the spring loaded chick key, a interlocking switch maybe but nothing substitutes good practice.
Ok, off my soap box, Turn and Burn fellas (safely).

Paco
 
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