Incident with Jet Drum Sander-Gore Warning!

[rsser]

Good.

Not hard to knock up a sled for small pieces.

Cheaper than the alternatives.

[soundman]

That certainly is the nastiest picture I have seen for a while.

AHH 40 gritt......it asks no questions and tells no lies.


I think there are a couple of problems with these machines.

Firstly there seem to be less respect for abrasive machines that those with blades.... it is plain and obvious that a machine with a rotating blade can do damage....but there is a false sense of security arround rotating abrasives.

Truth is that a rotating abrasive is very likley to drag you in or be dragged into you....

people also dramaticaly underestimate the cutting ability of abrasives.

I know bloke who nearly cut his own foot off with a 9" angle grinder...( no kidding no exageration, I've seen the scar)..and it only took a fraction of a second.

Secodly there is no popular safety mantra evolved arround these drum sanders.
People have been chopping bits off themselves for decades with table saws and jointers.....there are common safety mantras evolved arround them.
But these drum snaders are relativly new and truth to tell this is the first nasty story I have heard involving them.

BUT a couple of iron rules still apply.

Keep you fingers and hands AWAY from anything that rotates and cuts ( this includes abrasives.

Always make sure the thing has actualy stopped, before doing anything to it.

Always use jigs or push sticks as appropriate on small work....and some things are just too small.

We need to start a safety mantra for these machines.

Remember this is why we post these grusome pictures....to warn others.

Hope it all heels well.

cheers

PS... I have just changed my tag line after this one..and a couple of other stories I have heard.

[Dave Greorgeson]

Sounds awful! The reason I wanted to know is that I have one myself and want to know what to avoid doing.
I had a similar close call with a dust extractor. I turned off the table saw and then turned off the extractor. I thought that some longish thin offcuts had beed pulled into the impeller so I uncapped the spare inlet and was putting my hand in to check while, at the same time, pulling my hearing protection off with the other hand. At that point I realised I could hear that the impeller was still spinning, and spinning fast. Enough to warrent a cuppa and a good lie down.
It just takes a moments inattention or distraction.

Don

Holy sh... Lieutenant That made me cringe and my fingers tingle! My advice Mate is from school days. NEVER place your hands near machinery, moving or not,unless you are certain it's unplugged. My sander's a Hafco which has a speed controller and one switch for the drum and conveyor belt. The main drum motor can be unplugged and the belt run on it's own but the drum cannot be run on it's own. I do wish it had an emergency stop button. Hope your digits are OK Mate! at least you still have them.

[Pops]

Hi Rod,

Like some others said, I too was not going to look. Photo one almost had my monitor sprayed with coffee. Knew I should not have looked.

Hope the healing is rapid. Top effort posting with an injury like that by the way.

Cheers
Pops

[rod1949]

...Photo one almost had my monitor sprayed with coffee. Knew I should not have looked.

Pops ya made me do this

[Pops]

Hi Rod,

Am impressed you can still laugh mate. Back in the shed soon for you I hope.

Oh yes, P.S. Luckily I had put down my coffee when I read the bit about the 2 white lines on the sandpaper being the skin off your fingers, (stomach turning again).

All the best.

Cheers
Pops

[Gerbilsquasher]

I thought about calling out to the Missus (but she wouldn't of heard me) to get the fire brigade but they probably would have wanted to destroy the machine, and I wasn't going to have that.

....skin usually heals quicker than machinery, may you have 10,000 points for your calm demeanor and looking after your gear, even after it bit you!

I have been thinking about getting a drum sander for a while, and if/when I do I will be extra careful now I have seen the damage they can cause. It is the extreme stuff which teaches us the hard lessons.

My last major scare was with a 9" angle grinder when I was 12. I was cleaning the mortar off bricks with a wire brush attachment, a job I was doing for my brother. He showed me how but neglected to tell me to button up my flannellete shirt. Either he was very stupid or very smart- when the wire brush inevitably tangled itself in my shirt and nearly eviscerated me, I learnt a valuable lesson about power tools.

I was recently in hospital too, after back surgery. The first week I was without the internet and it was the worst week of my life, no doubt this was a hard lesson I should have learnt about lifting things that are too heavy. And the cheeky young nurses know you can't enjoy a sponge bath with a catheter.....

Hope you're back in your shed soon.

[ian]

snip
I think there are a couple of problems with these machines.

Firstly there seem to be less respect for abrasive machines that those with blades.... it is plain and obvious that a machine with a rotating blade can do damage....but there is a false sense of security arround rotating abrasives.

Truth is that a rotating abrasive is very likley to drag you in or be dragged into you....

people also dramaticaly underestimate the cutting ability of abrasives.

I know bloke who nearly cut his own foot off with a 9" angle grinder...( no kidding no exageration, I've seen the scar)..and it only took a fraction of a second.

Secodly there is no popular safety mantra evolved arround these drum sanders.
People have been chopping bits off themselves for decades with table saws and jointers.....there are common safety mantras evolved arround them.
But these drum snaders are relativly new and truth to tell this is the first nasty story I have heard involving them.

BUT a couple of iron rules still apply.

Keep you fingers and hands AWAY from anything that rotates and cuts ( this includes abrasives.

Always make sure the thing has actualy stopped, before doing anything to it.

Always use jigs or push sticks as appropriate on small work....and some things are just too small.

We need to start a safety mantra for these machines.

Soundman
I think it's more than a safety mantra

with the shift of manufacturing to China, a lot of previously industrial scale machinery is now available to the home or hobby woodworker.

Unfortunately, what we don't have is a system of training for home WWs.

How many on here are hobbists who knew little if anything about machinery or cutting and shaping wood when they started ? -- my hand is up
who learnt to do things better after initially having barely a clue ? -- my hand is up
who read books, watch videos and correspond here for knowledge ? -- my hand is up

Workshop safety?
I can but reflect on the various saw stop debates that have played out on this forum


I'm not saying that industry training avoids instances like this one, but currently home workshops are exempt from OH&S requirements -- I wonder for how much longer ...

[soundman]

There definitely is a problem with untrained uninformed amateurs using all these cheaply and easily available power tools.

It has been raised as an issue by the medical profession in the media.

There are those of us that make it our business to find out what they need to know about safely using machine...and those of us that have an understanding and sympathy for powertools and machines..

But there are those who simply can not be bothered finding out and expect to use stuff before they learn how it works.

then there are those who simply will not be told.

I doubt very much that the government can or will do anything about safety in home workshops.....it would be simply imposible to enforce....they struggle to inforce OH&S rules in industry.

I do believe there is a market and a need for safety instruction for home users.

cheers

[Gerbilsquasher]

There definitely is a problem with untrained uninformed amateurs using all these cheaply and easily available power tools.

It has been raised as an issue by the medical profession in the media.

There are those of us that make it our business to find out what they need to know about safely using machine...and those of us that have an understanding and sympathy for powertools and machines..

But there are those who simply can not be bothered finding out and expect to use stuff before they learn how it works.

then there are those who simply will not be told.

I doubt very much that the government can or will do anything about safety in home workshops.....it would be simply imposible to enforce....they struggle to inforce OH&S rules in industry.

I do believe there is a market and a need for safety instruction for home users.

cheers

I don't think it is a question of scale of machinery- your $20 angle grinder from Supercheap Auto will cause just as much damage as the 15Kw three phase drum sander from a closed down woodworking business, if used improperly.

Perhaps it is more to do with the explosion in home renovation and the way it is portrayed in the media, TV shows like Better Homes and Gardens, Backyard Blitz etc. Here you have trained experienced tradies showing the general population how easy it is to use a power saw or angle grinder. Monkey see, monkey do....

Not much time is spent on safety. They have to fit the ads in somewhere...

I have several large and dangerous machines, mostly metal working stuff like lathes, milling machines and welders. I went to TAFE to learn how to use them.

My biggest concern is the open pulleys on my home built compressor- I can work around this but now I have children I cringe every time I see them go near it. This can whip off a small finger even when the pulleys are rotated by hand. I need to put a guard on it. NOW!

A lot of home workshops are low budget and time poor. However unlike your workplace, you have absolute power over the decisions made within that workshop, and don't have to deal with the bureaucracy of management in regards to safety issues. You can make changes before the injury happens, instead of after, which sadly happens in too many workplaces (if at all).

The other side of the coin is complete regulation, such as what the ETU tried to do a few years ago. They tried to stop people going down to Bunnings or Middys and buying a plug top or a light switch- only registerd electrical contractors would be allowed to buy electrical gear. Methinks it also had something to do with sparkies losing the ability to mark up raw materials because customers could buy them cheaper.

Can you imagine not being able to buy a new electric drill unless you were the member of a special club?

[Woodteacher]

Rod

I appreciate you posting your mishap on the Wood Teachers forum so that we can be extra safe in instructing our students in safe habits- - and be extra deligent in reading and applying all of the instructins the manufacturer has on their machines

I have had a jet 16/32 sander for 10 years which my students use regulary -

I also have another 25" drum sander which only has one switch to control the feed and the drum - however when I turn it off, the drum continues to spin for 20 secs or longer

I hope you recover quickly

[soundman]

I agree that the size of the machine is not the problem but the cheap availability is.....in the past only "handy people" or people with a trade background got into DIY...these days there are people buying tools that have no experience in handling them.

Back when I baught my first grinder....all tools were relativly expensive....my little Ryobi 4" ( the domestic one not the trade one) cost me $60 or something and that was in 80's money....that was a reasonable chunk of my pay.....I only baught it because I could justify its use & I was borrowing one too often

These days powertools are soo cheap..yeh you can get a grinder for $20..and people don't think twice about buying one.....the problem is they don't think twice when using it either.

Aparantly DIY grinders figure in a large number of emergency ward visits.

Statisticaly the 4" grinder is one of the most dangereous tools.

cheers

[ian]

What I "fear" is that it will come down to a question of scale

if you are not safety conscious with a $20 4" angle grinder you'll likely suffer severe lacerations
if you not safety conscious with a 9" one you'll likely cut an arm or leg off

I can see a future where the ubiquitous hardware store carries cheap, low powered toys for the weekend warrior,
large toys -- like drum sanders, table saws, jointers, etc -- are only available through specialist merchants AND you have to prove competence before being allowed to buy one.
for a precident look at the history of buying explosive powered tools

[rod1949]

I was back in hospital yesterday (Monday) for the operation to seperate my hand from my chest. What a relief to be able to straighten my arm out again but my hand and wrist is bandaged up like a boxing glove and as a result of in-activity and lost muscle tone I have to use my other hand to lift up and bend the bung one, but will all come good in time. The seperation of the two fingers graft is still to happen sometime in the future.

[tea lady]

That would be such such relief Rod. I guess the muscles will come back eventually.