lathe face mask

[Sprog]

One day I decided I better make this safety guard work. Fixed it....put it back on....and because suddenly I no longer saw those whirling blades it gave me a false sense of security.
I became complacient and ended up dropping the tip of my finger into the blades. Took the top 1/4" off. That wouldn't have happened, if that guard was never put back on. Certain of it.

It wouldn't have happened if your were using the correct technique. You should have been using push blocks then your hand or fingers would not have been any where near the blade.

[JDarvall]

It wouldn't have happened if your were using the correct technique. You should have been using push blocks then your hand or fingers would not have been any where near the blade.

I WAS using them. The bloody machine chewed straight through the push block and ate up my finger ....................... ... no, joking.

Yes, it wouldn't have happened if I was using push blocks. I was an idiot that day no doubt. tied; in a rush; feeding just one little bit through and I'm 'finished finally' etc.

I've always used push blocks,,,,,in fact , I had made up a couple of my own at the time in addition to the ones that came with the machine.
Its just that I know I would have used a push block, in fact, would have never attempted pushing such a small piece through in the first place, if those whirling blades were in sight, no matter how tied I was.
Just one look at those spinning blades and you tip toe around the machine without thought. Ironically the safety guard disguised that fact.

[gatiep]

Maybe I'm a sissy, but I use an Airshield at least when roughing down and sanding on the lathe. I didn't use it for 1.5 days while doing a demo at this years Pert WWW show, because I forgot the PA system and I ended up 2 weeks off work with bronchitis and sinusitis. That really made me realise how vulnerable a turner is....................only one pair of lungs and after my 2 cancer ops I definately try and avoid visits to the operating theatre.

The cool filtered air blowing over one's face from the fan in the face shield is pleasant, stops sweating of the face and eliminates fogging of the shield and glasses. It is very light and one becomes used to wearing it very soon. The battery lasts 4 hours before a recharge and I use it in place of a regular mask when doing other dusty kind of work, but not for grinding on the bench grinder.
At about $500 its a bit pricey but in the long run it is worth it. I am very sensitive to pine dust so I make sure that I wear it during the basic turning course that I teach. It's become second nature wearing it.....like wearing glasses......you hate it to start with but eventually you don't even realise that you wear it. Also no need for a room air filter in my shed

Have a great weekend all!

[Tiger]

I apologise to Tiger if I seemed to come on strong there, but my first impression was definitely "BAD advice." I think he could've worded it a bit better...[/QUOTE]

No apology necessary, but I do think the majority of woodturners don't wear much in the way of protection (note I'm not advocating that you don't wear protection, but it can be difficult concentrating on the subtleties of technique needed for woodturning when wearing awkward protection).

As a minimum, at least wear safety glasses. In fairness to the club that I mentioned before, they were turning small objects, not sure how they feel about bowls etc.

[Captain Chaos]

I'll go along with Joe in regards to using an Airshield when woodturning & cutting on the bandsaw & sanding etc. I love my woodwork but have found that wood dust is having negative effects on my respiratory system, so for me an Airshield is the absolute mimimum! I've become quite used to it. The only problem for me is cleaning the dust off of the visor. Fortunately I have an air compressor close handy so I just remove the mask & gently blow the dust off with compressed air.
Regards,
Barry.

[bobsreturn2003]

hi had a problem 6 or so years ago a bowl spinning at 900 rpm exploded as i walked past with a scraper . was going to do a finishing cut ,on a wet turned bowl about 300 dia . result metal plate in arm,and on off switch at tail stock end so i dont pass spining bowls. and a lot of respect for the energy the timber has when released suddenly . have several masks and usually wear one when sanding .still love my woodwork but pay more attention to safety . best regards bob

[rrich]

Adrian,
In another life, I rode a motorcycle. My helmet had a a full face bubble shield. I found that using a good paste wax on the bubble shield increased its useful life from a month or two to six or eight months. You may want to try that on your old lathe face shield.

[keith53]

I got by without using any sort of face/eye protection for some years. A few months ago, I was finishing off the bottom of a camphor laurel bowl which was jam-chucked to a face plate. I was almost finished when the bloody thing exploded (at 3000 rpm) and whistled past my face before coming to a halt against the side of my chisel trolley.

It wasn't till after the event that you realise how lucky you've been. I subsequently bought a Triton respirator at the Brisbane WWW show and am very pleased with it. It does a pretty good job of air circulation, isn't that uncomfortable and, most of all, gives me confidence that I'm as protected as I can be. The front shield can be raised so that its not necessary to take the whole unit off your head.

Being a smoker (I'm trying to quit) I'm also worried about the fine dust particles that inevitably occur as the sanding paper gets finer and finer. I'm confident I'm protected here as well because of the double filtration system.

At about $260 I think it was worth the expense.

Cheers,
Keith

[Cliff Rogers]

It's an old thread but worth trotting out again ('cos it hasn't be hijacked yet)

I got a Triton helmet for lathe work. Paid about $270 at Bunnies.
I bought a second power pack for it 'cos it goes flat just when I need it most.... sanding.
I bought the second power pack directly from http://www.triton.com.au
It cost about $100 with freight.
Worth every $.
My sinuses clog up from just about anything.
I drilled about 30 holes in a concrete wall this morning without a mask.
My nose is stuffed solid now.
Dopey buga that I am, I put my glasses & ear muffs on & didn't think anout the dust.

I also have a very good 3M mask, cost about $90 4 or 5 years ago & the filters are about $20 a set.
It is good to wear, fits very well without air leaks but a bit hot in the tropics.

[savage]

I have only started with my lathe (home made) and not only am I warey of the timber that is placed in it, but also of my "engineering" ability. So far the machine has held up very well but I've had 1 piece explode even before putting a chisel to it. Found out after it was a natural hairline split in thr timber that had been glued with resin and was only exposed on it fracturing. So to answer the question yes I wear safety glasses and full face, yes at the same time. This way I've found that when the shield is full of dust and you can't see, I just naturally lift the shield up to see (not thinking) and at least I have some eye protection. I find that most "accidents" happen while engrossed in what ever you are doing at the time, and safety goes out the window.