To derail your polishing machine plan, I've done more potential dammage to myself on polishing machines than the lathe.
I used to work for a small company who repaired surgical instruments. After repairing a towel clamp
yes, those points are as sharp as they look.
i was trying to touch up the brushed look in the throat on a cloth abrasive wheel. i leaned over to get eye level with the wheel to just to touch the wheel precisely. i had a weird feeling, stood up, went and got my safety glasses. came back, repositioned myself and the second i touched the clamp to the wheel one of the points grabbed the side of the cloth wheel, ripped it from my hands, did a 360 around the wheel and ejected it directly into my glasses. lol. left a sizable dent/chip in my glasses. terrified, i sat back down at my bench and took a breather for a moment. that funny feeling i got? who the heck knows... but it definitely saved my right eye, no question. haha
the grinders were mounted infront of vacuum hoods. i dont know how many instruments i lose down the blower chute because the wheel took it from my hands.
we used a lot of silicon carbide wheels cause the clamps of needle holders are carbide inserts.
we always did a ring test, but when youre going through a 5/8" wheel a week, your odds of having a fly apart are high. we had common practice to stand to the side and start the wheel and walk away for 5 minutes. every so often, BAAAM, clang, clunk, doink. a chunk of a wheel would come walking, bouncing, out of the grinding room across the shop floor.
sorry for the thread hijack, bruce.
