General Category > General Discussion

Risks ..

(1/3) > >>

woodndesign:

... are we only safe when we're asleep .. Life is a risk ... The likelihood of Ison hitting Us over the next day or so is never .. but Earth passes near the orbit and the mass dragged behind it could create a meteor shower or too ...

So our turning risks, just opening the door to the workshop .. not it falling off .. we all work alone .. how do you cover yourself, whistles, bells, lights, phone call !!! when you're out cold on the floor .. can you rely on the wife/someone looking in should it appear quiet, but what's quiet with the lathe/extractor still running, the wife tells me she hears no noise at all should I be working.

I recently read 'what if you super glued yourself to the lathe/workpiece and the de-bonder was across the shop' .. if you even have some .. :o .. have it next to the glue with the lid off, it's not a one handed job to remove if it happens.

The risks involved with any equipment or tool in our shops is enough, if not for safety and guards, but only so much as we know can be guarded, Jet lathes have a form of guard it comes with a price, but the lathe, as we know it, if not the whole lot we work with could be banded on risk ... everything to be automated .. Copy and CNC turning lathes are out there.

We need to be aware of the dangers before we turn on any tool .. even for that 5 minute job .. that's the one that gets you.

Feed for thought...  David

The Bowler Hatted Turner:
Hi David,
          the fact that our members are talking about it shows that they are managing or looking at managing the risks involved with wood turning. But risk assessment is not a new phenomenon, think of the green cross code, that was a risk assessment by any other name.
 I have just done a RA for a forthcoming project that I am involved with, part of that includes the kettle!! ::) Now don't laugh,there must be one or two of us that can remember when kettles had whistles, who though, will admit to nearly lifting the lid ,once it had boiled,on an electric kettle? I know I did. For those of you that demonstrate around the clubs, who hasn't gone for the off switch on the wrong end of the lathe because theirs is on the other end?
     I can remember a few years ago tripping over backwards in my workshop and ending up wedged between the lathe and a pile of wood, unable to reach my mobile to call for help, even if I could have stopped laughing.
But I was young and fit in those days, now,if something similar happened it could end with more serious results.
     So we will never have,and I don't think want,a risk free environment.( I used to be a rock climber) But what we can do, and probably do do,is risk assess subconsciously all day long. I will be wending my way to the workshop any minute now and I know that the leaves on the path are treacherous when wet, I will still walk down the path though but I will insist that SHMBO reassesses the H&S implications of herleaves on my path!!
Keep safe
Regards
John BHT

Richard Findley:
Health and Safety. What a minefield!

I come from woodworking industry and because I worked for my Dad, I was working on and off there (in school holidays etc) from the age of about 12. It was made very clear however that several of the machines could not be used until I reached the grand old age of 18, for insurance purposes. I was then sent to college to learn how to use them properly.

When I started turning as a hobby and got my first Axminster catalogue I was amazed that you could buy all these potentially dangerous machines with no training and just go and use them!

I know the implications of safe practices all too well. Picking someone's fingers off a machine bed is not something I am in any hurry to do again, and I certainly have no intentions of those fingers being mine!

I think the most powerful tool we can all have in our workshops in knowledge. Knowledge is power as they say. By full understanding how machines work and what can go wrong and the reasons behind this, we are able to make better decisions about how we work and look after ourselves.

Richard

The Bowler Hatted Turner:
 It was made very clear however that several of the machines could not be used until I reached the grand old age of 18, for insurance purposes. I was then sent to college to learn how to use them properly.
Richard I could not agree more, how long did you have to do before being allowed to operate a spindle moulder, and just look what you can just go out and buy now! With no training required!! ::)
Regards
John BHT

Bryan Milham:

--- Quote from: woodndesign on November 06, 2013, 12:47:41 AM ---We need to be aware of the dangers before we turn on any tool .. even for that 5 minute job .. that's the one that gets you.

--- End quote ---

David, my father said it differently 'Familiarity breeds contempt.' I've always tried to remember that when doing a simple job that I've done a thousand times before... they are the ones that will most likely bite you.

Thank you for making us think about it again.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page