Machinist-Style Haircut???

Yes, an excellent reminder periodically is something I need. The tip to file left-handed is one I will adopt.

Been around machines my whole life (farming, airplanes with big fans on the front) but I am confused here by the left handed filing statement. I don't understand. Could someone elaborate a little on that?
 
"Original" source (Post #14 in this thread):
Safety Glasses, No Loose clothing, Sleeves rolled Up, No Jewelry and File Left Handed. Learned that in Junior High school.
Imagine you're at the lathe, holding a file in your right hand, with your left hand at the tip to steady it. This puts your left arm, sleeve, cuff etc. above the spinning chuck.
Now imagine holding the file in your left hand, with your right hand on the far end. Both arms are now well away from the chuck.
 
"Original" source (Post #14 in this thread):

Imagine you're at the lathe, holding a file in your right hand, with your left hand at the tip to steady it. This puts your left arm, sleeve, cuff etc. above the spinning chuck.
Now imagine holding the file in your left hand, with your right hand on the far end. Both arms are now well away from the chuck.

Ahhh, got it. Thank you for the explanation. ;)
 
I had an interesting experience two days ago. I am repurposing some steel that I built a shed frame out of som 30 years ago. The shed was dismantled last year in preparation for a new build this coming year. When I built it it was middle of Winter and I was dodging rain. Now I picked up some of the purlins that I had used and one was quite heavy and I could hear water? sloshing back and forth. This was very strange as I had welded end caps on. We are in the start of Summer now and it was a very hot day. I sloshed the liquid back and forth, propped the beam this way and that but could find no leak anywhere. I can't use it like this methinks so I decided to lop one endcap off and drain it.
Now I have a habit of never using an angle grinder without a jacket, leather apron, stout gloves and a full face shield along with hearing protection and a dust mask. This is due to having seen a few disks explode over the years.
Now it was a very hot day so I wore a forestry helmet which is a hard hat with attached mesh grill, ear muffs and a splash guard down the back of the neck. I find this great in Summer as the mesh gives protection and does not steam up. I wear safety glasses as well. The only thing I was not wearing was a dust mask as I had stuck the box in the safe place that my grandkids or an archeologist will find.
I used a Lennox Diamond 115 mm cut-off wheel on a small grinder. As the wheel penetrated the end of the beam there was a very brief hissing sound and a sheet of flame rushed out. Luckily I do not stand directly over where I am cutting so the worst of it missed me but some of it hit my right chest and shoulder and licked up the side of my face.
I now have a very close beard trim on that side, no eyelash, only a bit of eyebrow and slightly singed skin. The way it happened I think it would have been worse if I had been wearing the Lexan face shield I sometime wear.
What I poured out was a Black tacky substance that smelled like a stagnant swamp so I will assume it was a Methane gas BLEVE.
I have no Idea what the substance was but since I built the original structure between rain storms in Winter over a period of about three weeks I am wondering if something had crawled into the beam or nested in it and got trapped when I capped it.
This was certainly unexpected and I was glad I had decided to wear all the gear even though it was only a small quick job as it could have been much worse.
Yes folks if there is a next time I will do it properly and drill a hole first but I honestly thought it would only be water. Just goes to show you never know so wear the gear.

Probably H2S you were smelling deadly stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Let's see your whole scalp- wouldn't be a few more little spots here and there would there???? :grin big:


I did the same thing but with a 3 foot drill bit. That feeling of hair being pulled out of the scalp is still with me today many years later.
 
Another safety incident . My co-worker suffered an accident this past Wed .

A forklift driver was removing a heavy box from a very high industrial shelving unit . The fork lifted the front brace out of the frame and became jammed . My co-worker climbed up on a ladder trying to fix the brace but it snapped out and whacked him in his face . He and the ladder came down hard and he was out cold . By the time the paramedics got here his head was swelled up like basketball . He had brain surgery immediately and is now in an induced coma .

Think first and BE SAFE .
 
Last edited:
Company I worked for made an acquisition and I went up during the week and ran the business. One of the things I was really a stickler on was safety glasses. I used to really give people a hard time when they didnt have them on out in the shop. One of the guys was packing up some parts to send to a customer and the 2 component foam in place bag he was getting ready to use for the parts and the bag let loose. Sprayed him in the face, his safety glasses got a full dose though. He looked me up later and thanked me for insisting that they wear their safety glasses.

You cant be too careful in a shop.....
 
My dad was a high school shop teacher and would remark that a good day was when no one was hurt. He had two students injured during his career, fortunately nothing really serious. First one was a student who made a shift knob for his car and drilled out the hole for the tap at the major diameter. My dad suggested he fill the hole with lead, drill and tap. He had just washed the aluminum knob and had some water in the bottom of the hole. Poured in the lead which instantly turned the water to steam and spattered the lead on the kid's hands. Few minor burns.

Other one could have been bad. Kid was turning some stock in the lathe and had a long length sticking out of the head stock. My dad had outboard "V" supports for long stock, but the student didn't use it. The rod buckled at the back side of the head stock, whipped around and hit him on the shoulder. Really lucky it wasn't to his head. Made an 800 lbs. Clausing lathe do a dance until he hit the master power.

He did help out the home ec teacher when a boy with really long hair got it wrapped up in a mixmaster. Cut the beaters with side cutters to free him up.

He recalls the worst one being a fellow shop teacher. He was mixing polyester resin in a coffee can using a paint mixer on a drill press (?!!?). He'd done a pour and was mixing a 2nd batch. He plunged into the mix, went to the bottom of the car and stuck the mixer in the setting up first mix. Locked the can to the mixer, so now the can started spinning, throwing new polyester resin out of the can. The teacher grabbed onto the can at the top . . . Nothing lethal, but he sliced up his palms pretty well and had polyester resin in the cuts. Dad cleaned them out with lacquer thinner which probably hurt more than the cuts.

They say all accidents are preventable, but sometimes stuff happens regardless. I still wear long sleeves while working in the shop but make sure the cuffs are buttoned tight or I wear kevlar sleeves over top my shirt. Hopefully I'm not documenting one of my mishaps here.

Bruce
 
Ouch that must have hurt,lucky guy cold have been an awful lot worse.
 
For almost 3 months now the General (wife) has been nagging at me to get my haircut. I didn’t think it was a big deal (never have) & it most certainly wasn’t high on my priority list…in fact, I don’t recall it being on my list at all, to be honest.

Anyways, I was in the process of turning down some 5/8” o/d x 6” long 1144 rod when I apparently must have thought that this would be a good time to trim my hair, a-la “machinist-style”….I don’t recommend it.

View attachment 261981

....and there is a lot more than what you see sticking up wound around between live center & end of bar...:cower:

Scared the bejeezus out of me at first, then stared in disbelief for a minute at my handywork , then giggled for a bit at my stupidity & then finally thought about what could have transpired, which stopped the giggling immediately.

Being the type that, 1) learns best from a hand's-on approach, & 2) usually a quick learner, I've combined these two skills & come to the conclusion that you really do need to pay attention to your surroundings ALL of the time around a lathe... :grin:

I promised the wife I will get a haircut on my way home tomorrow!

Safety isn't a hands on, OJT experience. It's preparation and observance. I'm not a safety nazi, like safety glasses have worsened what should have been minor incidents.
Plenty of info on shop safety available, inescapable really. Find a shop safety guide, unplug everything, until nature of each machine is understood, clearly.
With over 100,000 paid industrial and credited hours, plus 26 years military; never a single question wrong in any manner of safety test, all my appendages, and remaining hair not claimed by mothers family, I'm still not complacent.
You could try some short cuts.
Or not.
Housed in a shed, doesn't reduce the implications of aberrant practices.
Mike Rowe says "Safety 3rd". Examine the first two.
 
Back
Top