wood turning

Lathe Safety

November 20, 2014 /

As someone who has worked on lathes for many years thinking about lathe safety is second nature to me. I know I’ll be off work for a long time with a broken finger and I’d never be so good with only one eye. Also, I heard of a young woman who was killed when her hair got caught in a lathe. You can read the full story here .

It was interesting introducing the lathe safety to someone and verbalising what I instinctively practice. So, when I was showing Phil how to turn his first bowls I made sure that he was aware of the basic lathe safety rules. For anyone starting wood turning here is a summary of what I told Phil;

My Lathe Safety Rules

1.       Never wear loose clothing when wood turning. You must not have anything that could get tangled with the lathe or the piece of wood on it. So, no ties or dangling jewellery. Tie long hair back. Always take a second to think about what could get caught in the lathe before you start. That second could save you from a serious injury.

2.       Before you start the lathe always check it to ensure that nothing is on the lathe that should not be there. Keep chuck keys, tommy bars, brushes away from the lathe. Better yet use shadow boards to ensure that everything is in the right place and safely away from the lathe.

3.       Protective clothing is essential. Safety glasses and dust masks should be worn when using the lathe. A splinter in the eye is not a good thing!

4.       When you have put a new job on the lathe rotate it by hand so that you can see that it is not snagging on anything. Then start the lathe at its lowest speed. That will show you that it is secure on the lathe. Also, stand to one side when you start the lathe. If the piece is not secure and flies off it will go sideways and miss you!

There is one more really important safety rule. Make sure that you have read the manual that came with the lathe. I know it is boring and that like me you just want to get on with it but you must do it! You must be familiar with the controls and settings. No two lathes are the same.

 Safety is paramount, nothing that you can make on a lathe, however beautiful, is worth injuring yourself for.