Another Lathe accident turns fatal

[John Hart]

Sad news indeed. I am a member of that club and to think I've did two demos for the Mid-South Woodturners Guild and did not wear a faceshield either time!! That situation will change in future demos. Joan was a very sweet person, always a smile, just a joy to know. She will be sadly missed.

I just read an article that she wrote about you Jim in a past issue of the Mid-South Newsletter. I thought about you. I am sorry for your loss.

[Justin Stephen]

Here is a video from last year of Ms. Kelly. Watching it may make you even more sad but I will link it just in case anyone wants to see a little more of who she was:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7PCfMr4gUM

Edit: also a picture of her in this older issue of the Mid-South Woodturner's newsletter:

http://www.midsouthwoodturners.com/N...s/1106talk.pdf

[Richard Kennedy UK]

Terrible news my thoughts are with her family.

[Glenn Barber]

Wayne- You are correct about the dryer sheet trick. I was told to use only used dryer sheets to prevent the scratching and smudges.

Very sad events indeed.

Glenn

[Roland Martin]

This is unbelievably sad news indeed, my prayers go out to her family and friends. Thank you John H. for the facesheild info, this turner is also getting one ordered before the day is out.

[Keith Burns]

Joan was one of the special ones and will be missed by all. She has always stepped up to the plate to help our club. She has served on our club's board. She wrote for our newsletter. As I have said she was a passionate artist. She absolutely loved turning and she was always willing to share her knowledge. She always had an infectious smile on her face. She will be missed. I know the family appreciates all of the thoughts and prayers .

[John Fabre]

My thoughts and prayers are with the family, makes me rethink buying a better faceshield. Does anyone know of a better faceshield for kids?

[David DeCristoforo]

This has just bummed my whole day. I didn't even know this person and I keep telling myself that this sort of thing happens everyday, people get hurt or die and life goes on. But for some reason, I feel like I just lost my mother or something. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way...

[Roger Chandler]

This has just bummed my whole day. I didn't even know this person and I keep telling myself that this sort of thing happens everyday, people get hurt or die and life goes on. But for some reason, I feel like I just lost my mother or something. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way...

Not trying to psycho-analyze, but I think we all feel a bit this way because this happened to one who loved and engaged in the same craft we love and engage in almost daily ourselves........then we become circumspect about all the things we take for granted as we approach this use of machinery and its associated risks...........we feel saddened, oh so very saddened........and also realize it could happen to us, and all the close calls we have endured.........then we feel so fortunate to have come out of those close calls with little or no harm..........makes us wonder about tomorrow.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

So much has been said about the dangers associated with woodworking. The conversation usually centers around the loss of a finger or worse caused by the table saw. I know several people who have been wounded or disfigured that way but I never heard of a death by table saw. This hobby we have chosen is certainly a source of pleasure and an outlet for creativity but it is apparently life threatening. It is easy to forget how dangerous something we do daily without incident can be.
I'm sorry we lost a fellow human to such a tragic accident. I hope we never see that again.
faust

[Ed Morgano]

This has just bummed my whole day. I didn't even know this person and I keep telling myself that this sort of thing happens everyday, people get hurt or die and life goes on. But for some reason, I feel like I just lost my mother or something. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way...

David,
I've sorta been feeling the same way. This is indeed sad news. I'm just getting into this and now I'm really thinking about this safety issue. I have turned some big chunks before (9" x about 24" between centers for a table) but frankly, they scare the H out of me. My prayers go out to her family and friends. Thank you John H. for the face shied info, I just ordered one and I WILL use it.

[Roger Wilson]

My condolences to the family, this is a terrible accident.

More detail about what safety shield etc. she was wearing would be helpful. I'm thinking that maybe a hard hat may also be required to be safe. The 3M Airstream that Bill Grumbine wears looks like it has an integral hard hat. Can anyone who uses it confirm that?

[ray hampton]

forgot key word

So much has been said about the dangers associated with woodworking. The conversation usually centers around the loss of a finger or worse caused by the table saw. I know several people who have been wounded or disfigured that way but I never heard of a death by table saw. This hobby we have chosen is certainly a source of pleasure and an outlet for creativity but it is apparently life threatening. It is easy to forget how dangerous something we do daily without incident can be.
I'm sorry we lost a fellow human to such a tragic accident. I hope we never see that again.
faust

a Hard hat is a good idea, a local student in my area were kill a number of years ago by a piece of wood that got caught in the blade and throw across the room and smack the poor student

[John Hart]

For those who are interested in a full hard hat, there is an option for $30 made by Jackson Safety. It is a configuration that is used by the company I work for (and they are quite anal about safety). The configuration involves buying three pieces...the hard hat, the visor frame, and the shield (window). I have all the part numbers and pricing and source at work....so I'll get that for you tomorrow. But this is basically what it looks like

2033-1_lrg__38543_zoom.jpg

I requested one from our safety director so I could try it out. It was pretty comfortable, the shield meets ANSI Z87+ and there's plenty of room for a respirator. I thought the price was very reasonable. I haven't turned with it yet, but I'll use it tomorrow night and do a full review.

[John Hart]

This has just bummed my whole day. I didn't even know this person and I keep telling myself that this sort of thing happens everyday, people get hurt or die and life goes on. But for some reason, I feel like I just lost my mother or something. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way...

I spent most of my afternoon thinking about what you said earlier....about life itself being dangerous. So true. I reflected on that fragile precipice that we seem to teeter on. And here we are engaging in a hobby that, frankly, puts us into a precarious situation just for the pleasure of making a cool looking thing.

I also thought about the bowl that exploded on me two weeks ago, and how cavalier I was..."Whew...that was close!" and then I completely disregarded that if I had been three inches to the right, a spear traveling at 50 miles and hour would have hit me in the face.

Then Joan two days later. I said, "My God....That was me just two days ago".

Our fragile existence...determined by inches, circumstance, timing, and common sense.

I'm not a banner-waver. I don't protest, and I don't launch crusades. But Joan taught me something. I think I'm indebted to her.