Thought I would jump on the wagon and show what can happen when you try to move the tool rest without stopping the lathe. (Yeah, I knew better...)
I had moved the rest out of the way for sanding, but decided to take "one more pass" with the gouge.
I had a real (too) sharp edge on the cookie cutter - which I was planning to dull during sanding.
When I started to slide the tool rest over, it stuck, then released and slid with my hand into the spinning wood. I felt a bump, but continued to adjust the rest. Once I had it set, I looked at my finger and noticed a gash across the joint. No blood until I tried to close it - then I inspected the cut and determined that there was no way to keep the gap closed for healing (due to the location across the joint). The worst part was I had to wake up my wife (around midnight) to let her know that I would be going to ER for stitches. She would not let me go alone even though I thought it would be fine and she had to get up early for work. Got three stitches and my first (probably not the last) turning scar.
Gave the cookie cutter to my son's new wife and we made cookies with it at Thanksgiving! I was thankful that I only needed 3 stitches.