Take the drill out of the tailstock when you're done drilling

I leave a center drill bit in a chuck stored in one hole of the collet rack, and I've scraped that thing many times reaching for something else in the rack. I now cover it with a thick doubled piece of rag.
 
While teaching the intro to milling machine class at TechShop, I warned the students of the danger in leaving an end mill in the collet, and as I talked, I gestured over at it, neatly slicing the back of my hand, just enuf to draw a bit of blood and a few chuckles. . .

Ha ha I do that so often I keep the plastic caps that come with a lot of dormer end mills and pop them onto the end mill before I go in to do measuring.

chunks of packaging polystyrene is good to pop onto spiky things to help with visibility and also not spiking ones self :)

Stuart
 
Not only have I learned the hard way to remove whatever is in the tail stock (I use end mills in it too, and they're even deadlier) I ALSO remove the tool on the tool post every time when not in use. Took me a long time to learn that.
 
Better question. Is there anybody that hasn't done this? ;)

Grumpy for a reason
 
While teaching the intro to milling machine class at TechShop, I warned the students of the danger in leaving an end mill in the collet, and as I talked, I gestured over at it, neatly slicing the back of my hand, just enuf to draw a bit of blood and a few chuckles. . .

What I am finally learning is that once you have performed your operation every thing has to be placed somewhere. You use a hammer you set it down (somewhere). The thing to learn is since you have to set it down somewhere set it down in it's place.
Put it back where it belongs!!
 
Well I can say that I have never done anything like that
in my experience....!!

And if you believe that I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale at a smokin good price.....:mooning:
 
I thought of this thread when I was using my turret lathe and encountered a 1/16 drill bit while moving my hand from point a to point b. Gotta be more careful, can't go around removing tools i'm going to use again.
 
STAFF EDIT: [WARNING - this reply is NOT for the faint of heart or the SQUEAMISH!!! Graphic images of serious injury are contained within]

This happened to me on Thursday night about midnight. This was the setup - 3/4” end mill running at 1500 RPM. I had just squared off the end of the small stainless steel part, then loosened the vise, reached around behind the cutter to remove the part (very stupid), and in a flash, my finger was grabbed by the clockwise-rotating end mill which pulled the finger through the 4mm slot between the side of the vise and the cutter.

IMG_6244.jpg

The result is shown below, taken in the ER about an hour later. If you're squimsh, DO NOT click on the photo. I lost a lot of blood and was pretty weak, thankfully my daughter was home and got me to the hospital pronto, not sure how I could have even called 911 alone. The end of my index finger was basically put through a meat grinder, and the last digit bone was crushed into pieces. The fingernail and tissue below it were badly severed and ultimately removed completely in the ER. Joints and tenons appear to be functioning, and nerve damage appears confined to the inner right side of that finger. Not clear what the longer term prognosis is, but I'm expecting the last digit on that finger will have to be amputated.

This was a stupid accident. I was tired, wanted to finish the job and got in a hurry. Lesson learned: turn off the machine before putting your hands anywhere close and if tired or in a hurry, stop and come back tomorrow.

IMG_6526.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you. Warnings of this kind are more likely to get it through our collective thick skulls that you need to be cautious.
Here's hoping that you heal well and quickly.
 
Sorry to hear about your wound David- Working late, tired, in a hurry. Perfect recipe for an accident, whether driving a car or a machine tool.
Mark S.
 
Back
Top