How do you feel about the safety issues? Should it be allowed?

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I like the wooden handles on the chuck key.
I'm curious as to why he rubs 'swarfe' on after sanding - is it to remove the dust? :unsure:
 
I like the wooden handles on the chuck key.
I'm curious as to why he rubs 'swarfe' on after sanding - is it to remove the dust? :unsure:
Rubbing shavings on a finished piece is burnishing - the friction resulting from the contact of the shavings with the rotating wood produces a smooth polished surface (need to be careful as the shavings can get rather warm !) ...
 
In a similar vein, I guess at least some forum members will have seen the video of the woodturner plying his trade in the medina of old Marrakech. With just one tool, (a skew chisel), he turns a chess piece on a bow lathe (if you can call it a 'lathe'), using right had to work the bow, and his right foot to do the turning, sat on the pavement.



I couldn't do that with my hands, stood at my lathe!
 
SAFE or UNSAFE?
I won't give you the full tale of woe I've recently experienced in buying a new bench drill fresh out of China. The good news is that I got to return it and a full refund without too much trouble.
My point here is that the machine sported a 'fully interlocked, failsafe safety screen'. This consisted of a visor that could be swung out of the way to allow access to the chuck. It had a microswitch which detected the visor's position and was interlocked with the motor thus deeming the m/c UNSAFE if not in position.
Now I ask you, how many of you drill with a safety screen in position? I thought not.
Now here is the really stupid bit. If the new owner of one of these drills decides that he can't live with this arrangement he'll just leave it off. But 'what about the microswitch?' I hear you say. Well the ironic factor here is that the switch can be operated WITHOUT the screen being present at all😲. So not exactly failsafe.
How much better it would be if there were no interlock and the operator decides for himself when to use the screen.
Brian

PS I've now bought a nice old Fobco. No safety screen of course but I can live with that
.
 
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It's always tricky making any statements about safety and in these days of compulsory outrage its often better to keep mute on all sorts of issues. In the main however most tools and machines are safer now than they used to be due to guards and mechanical safety features. That said we seem to have let go of an older approach to safety by expecting that all risk has been manufactured out. That older system was about knowing what you were doing so in effect using the device in a safe way. The 2 caddy makers look like they do know what they are doing and I dare say they think its safe for them to operate. Be a different matter if they employed someone else who has no say in the matter.
Regards
John
 
It's always tricky making any statements about safety and in these days of compulsory outrage its often better to keep mute on all sorts of issues. In the main however most tools and machines are safer now than they used to be due to guards and mechanical safety features. That said we seem to have let go of an older approach to safety by expecting that all risk has been manufactured out. That older system was about knowing what you were doing so in effect using the device in a safe way. The 2 caddy makers look like they do know what they are doing and I dare say they think its safe for them to operate. Be a different matter if they employed someone else who has no say in the matter.
Regards
John
Same as traffic lights failing. I read a serious report a few years back where accidents fell sharply when lights were out as drivers were forced to think for themselves (Note.... NOT all BMW drivers are the same!)
 
Same as traffic lights failing. I read a serious report a few years back where accidents fell sharply when lights were out as drivers were forced to think for themselves (Note.... NOT all BMW drivers are the same!)
In my area at a particular roundabou with traffic lights lots of drivers ignore the red light if the oncoming side havnt started to move !!!
 
Using microswitches to assist in machine safety is often just very basic, often crude and something a manufacturer can boast about but they are not always adding safety as you have found out. To do this properly the safety system should be independant of the normal control circuit which also includes having an independant main safety contactor and relays which are SET / RESET on safety cycles but in the home workshop you are really on your own and left to your own devices, no one is going to get in trouble if you modify anything but don't expect any sympathy if you are no longer able to stick your finger up because it is no longer attached.
 
What you don't see with the lathe is the "variable speed" drive which works by slipping the belt with a foot operated lever to give different speeds.
I believe what you’re seeing is the forward and reverse mechanism.

If you look closely a lot of the turning is done in an anti clockwise direction. I’ve watched a few Japanese turning videos and I used to think the inside and outside were turned in different directions but it’s not as simple as that.
 

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