Old Habit = Cut Finger

I've never made springs but watched a young guy bragging how fast he could wind up a spring with .040 stainless steel wire on an arbor, dont know what he did but when he said ouch he lifted up his arm and that little spring had made about 3 coils right through his wrist.. I had kinda a week stomach back then and started to throw up...Boy, those were the good old day..
 
I have heard it said that chance knows no history so best to use some sort of chip hook.
 
macardoso said:
I have had a bad habit of using my hand in the shape of an OK sign to guide a long stringy aluminum chip from a light finishing cut on the lathe to the floor. I started doing this in college to prevent a birds nest and always knew it probably wasn't a good idea. But hey aluminum is a soft metal right?

Nope!

Today I was doing the same thing I always have and the chip got pinched between the tool and a shoulder on the workpiece and started to pull the chip back into the part through my hand. I am fortunate that I was quick to ESTOP the lathe AND the chip broke, but I got a very deep 3/4" long cut into my finger. Had things gone differently (thicker chip, steel, wrapped around my hand, etc.) I easily could have gotten my hand pulled into the lathe.

The lesson I learned: Just because you've never been hurt by a bad habit doesn't mean it is safe to do. I will always use a metal rod to guide chips away from me when they are not breaking in a cut.

Please be safe out there. - Mike
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darkzero said:
When I worked as a mechanic, my mentor stabbed his finger with a pick & it went all the way through! Whenever I use my picks I'm scared of them cause I have that same exact Snap-On set that he poked his finger with. My set is over 15 yrs old but they still look new because of the fear of using them. I think I should get a new set so that memory doesn't pop into my head everytime I pull that set out of the drawer. :D
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KBeitz said:
If you think chip strings are bad. Try making springs on the lathe....
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There are many ways to make springs on a lathe, most of them are not safe.
 
I can't even imagine inserting one's finger in a rotating Morse,BS,Jarno, etc taper. Chance has no history.
 
This thread mentions chuck keys and college. Back when I knew everything, I needed to make some roundish parts, so it seemed like a lathe was the tool to use. I told the shop teacher I could run a lathe (yep, I read a book). I looked at the South Bend for a minute, found the on switch, flipped it on, and to my horror the chuck key flew across the room and smashed into the wall. The shop teacher said “bet you will never do that again”. He was correct, so far.
 
I learned that in High School. Still have the scar to prove it!
Aaron
 
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