Incident with Jet Drum Sander-Gore Warning!

[munruben]

Wow! bad luck Rod hope it all heals real quick for you. Looking at those pics, I could feel the pain, made me shudder but fair warning to us all. Thanks for sharing with us. It could have been a lot worse mate.

[beer is good]

OUCH!!
Best wishes Rod - looks like a very nasty (and painful) wound. Good to hear that RPH are looking after you.

[John Saxton]

Hi Rod ,hope you heal real good and that you're back in the shed soon.

Thanx for the courageous reminder that all types of machinery is inherently dangerous given half the chance.

All the best.

Cheers

[Rattrap]

Hi Rod, dam mate real sorry to read about your accident, sure hope your fingers heal soon & u can get back to the shed.

[Shedhand]

Jeez mate, I thought I was cursed. I'll never forget the day I was replacing an axe handle. Was trying to belt a wedge in with a 16lb sledge- hammer head. Unfortunately, my right hand little finger got between the 16lb and the axe head. I cried a lot... and a lot more. The bad news is that I was on the railway in the middle of the Nullabor. The good news was that I was the Ganger and had control of the morphine in the medical kit....don't remember much after the morphine except it took 10 hours to get to hospital. Get well soon mate.

[Andy Mac]

Owww!! 3 pages of replies later and I'm still shuddering from those images! Hope your recovery goes well, Rod.
I'm also wondering why that machine requires seperate switches for the 2 motors... is it likely only one motor would be actually used in service, like feeding timber through a stationary drum!! Why not a single switch, through a relay to both??

Cheers,

[rod1949]

I'm also wondering why that machine requires seperate switches for the 2 motors... is it likely only one motor would be actually used in service, like feeding timber through a stationary drum!! Why not a single switch, through a relay to both??

Andy the to seperate switches is one of my safety concerns also, there are some other issues as well. These may be applicable to all of these types fo drum sanders.

The local supplier is coming around next week when I'll be pointing out the safety issues I see. I made contact with the supplier when I got out of hospital and they weren't really interested until I emailed them the pictures.

And thanks to all for your kind comments and support.

Cheers Rod

[Tisorp]

Rod1949 wrote:

Andy the to seperate switches is one of my safety concerns also, there are some other issues as well. These may be applicable to all of these types fo drum sanders.

One other issue is that, especially when a nearby dust collector is running, it is extremely difficult to determine if the drum is rotating. There is no indication from the drum on/off switch itself (Jet 16-32 Plus) as to whether it is on or off.

There is a need for some sort of visual cue (such as a red light) to warn that the drum is revolving with the potential to drag one in ....and a large safety switch which disables both belt and drum if it does.
I trust healing is proceeding according to plan.
Cheers, Jeff

[Shedhand]

Andy the to seperate switches is one of my safety concerns also, there are some other issues as well. These may be applicable to all of these types fo drum sanders.

The local supplier is coming around next week when I'll be pointing out the safety issues I see. I made contact with the supplier when I got out of hospital and they weren't really interested until I emailed them the pictures.

And thanks to all for your kind comments and support.

Cheers Rod

You could always ditch the finger muncher and I'd lend you my Stanley 8C...

[ian]

Rod
Hope the healing is going well

I've got one of those sanders and I've got to comment on the safety issues.

I have a Jet 22-44 and never really considered it a machine to be wary of, that first photo of yours is indelibly imprinted in my head.

I haven't bought any 40 grit paper yet, maybe I won't now.

Keeping away from 40 grit paper wont help.
There's enough energy in that drum for 240 grit to pull your hand in

Rod1949 wrote:One other issue is that, especially when a nearby dust collector is running, it is extremely difficult to determine if the drum is rotating. There is no indication from the drum on/off switch itself (Jet 16-32 Plus) as to whether it is on or off.

There is a need for some sort of visual cue (such as a red light) to warn that the drum is revolving with the potential to drag one in ....and a large safety switch which disables both belt and drum if it does.
Cheers, Jeff

Andy the to seperate switches is one of my safety concerns also, there are some other issues as well. These may be applicable to all of these types fo drum sanders.

The local supplier is coming around next week when I'll be pointing out the safety issues I see. I made contact with the supplier when I got out of hospital and they weren't really interested until I emailed them the pictures.

Cheers Rod

Rod and Jeff, but more for others reading this thread
It's interesting to compare your drum sander injury with table saw injuries and the debate about the merits or otherwise of the saw stop mechanism.

As I said I have one of these sanders.

The area that most concerns me is the exposed drum and I can't see how to shield it and keep the width capacity.

For the help of others with similar sanders, My practice is
1) adjust the height of the drum with both motors off so that the piece is just clear of the pressure rollers
2) turn on the feed belt with the drum off and feed the piece through as I slowly lower the drum till it just starts to turn -- I look at the drum's end bearing on which I've painted a red line
3) make sure every thing is clear of the sanding drum
4) turn the drum on and place the piece on the feed belt -- listen for the paper making contact and adjust the drum height as necessary
5) when finished sanding turn the drum off then turn the feed belt off
6) check that the drum has stopped -- by looking at the end bearing before making any adjustments.

Always use support blocks with tall thin pieces
Always use a push stick with short pieces that might get caught under the drum

[TP1]

Two separate switches for drum motor and conveyor? That is not a good design idea - my Carbatec wide drum sander which looks identical to the Jet/Performax 16-32 has a single switch for both motors. I wonder if the others can be modified to do the same?

I had a minor scare with mine when I first got it - I was fiddling after I turned it off and it sounded quiet. It turned out that the drum was still spinning down (power off) but fortunately my reflexes were up to it but I still managed to get a touch of the slow moving drum. No harm done but I guess it may have been a lot worse if the drum was going on full power like Rod's.

I have also been using the same procedure as Ian in terms of lowering the sander onto the work - it makes the initial setup a breeze and is quite safe as well.

[ian]

Personally I don't like the idea of a single switch controlling both motors.
Being able to check how the item will feed through the drum and the body movements needed to control the piece is to me an important safety issus that one switch to both motors would not allow

[TP1]

Personally I don't like the idea of a single switch controlling both motors.
Being able to check how the item will feed through the drum and the body movements needed to control the piece is to me an important safety issus that one switch to both motors would not allow

I don't seem to have a problem with that at all. I will usually do a static test followed by a dry run with the drum raised clear of the piece. I guess it's a case of using what you have to the best advantage for each scenario.

The Carbatec model is capable of being switched separately however, as both motors have separate cords ( with one being plugged into a switched outlet on the machine). For my way of doing things, it's simple.

[BozInOz]

nasty nasty

[dasha]

Just want to say a lovely lady has a similar machine in our shed (we can use it) and she often put's through very small Huon Pine limb boards. She has on at least 2 occasions got her fingers under the sanding area and on one of these occasions got her fingers caught under the board with a loss of some skin. This machine was not designed for use on such small boards.

We have tried to warn her that it is dangerous but being a farm owner in South Africa and use to working with machinery it falls on deaf ears. So we are going to show her your thread and hope it makes her realise how dangerous it is.

Make a speedy recovery and like falling of a horse you need to get back to it.