WHACK!!! This one got me!

[Roger Chandler]

I had high hopes for this crotch piece from the sycamore we cut a couple of weeks ago. This is about 15+ inches as you see it here in the pics. This was a piece originally about 25" across the widest part, and I cut it on the bandsaw this morning to 16 inches round for a starting point ........put a faceplate on it and made a tenon on one side to use in my HTC-125 chuck.

This blank was really unbalanced, because if you will notice in the pics, there is wet wood on one side where the feather grain is, and then some punky spalting on the other side............talk about low speeds and I also had to turn down a bit because of a bit of wedge shape left by the chainsaw. My lathe was rockin' & rollin' & doin' the twist!

Got it to an acceptable medium and had the rpms at 420..........then it happened..........WHACK! The biggest piece flew off [totally unexpected, to be sure] and hit me in the chin and upper chest area. I had on my Trend Airshield Pro and boy am I glad I did!

The two smaller pieces came off as I was getting it true on the outside diameter but they were not concerning to me at the time......now that I look back maybe there was weakness in the layers on this piece.......being a crotch piece from the center of this fork in the tree, maybe what happened was it got a bit punky on the one branch that came off and was still very wet on the main trunk section..........at any rate, I now suspect some windshake and layer separation in retrospect.

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This is a reminder to always use proper safety equipment and especially a quality faceshield!!! I could be headed to the emergency room for stitches and broken teeth instead of typing this post had I not been practicing proper safety at the lathe. Even though I was off to the side on the cut and what is considered out of the line of fire, this one came off in a way that it's trajectory flew right to my face!

This piece probably weighs a little over a pound...........I am glad I had on the Trend...........not a scratch, just some pause and reflect for me.............thankfully!!! Be careful out there........it can happen to novice and experienced turners alike!!!

[ray hampton]

you are a lucky turner

[Mike Goetzke]

Wow that looks like quite a chunk - did you escape injury free?

I'm a new turner. Is there a way to prevent or detect this weakness ahead of time?



Mike

[charlie knighton]

glad you are ok.....do you suspect the rest of the sycamore will be the same?

[Jak Kelly]

Glad to hear you made it through that okay.
Hang in there..............
Did't know I needed Evil Knievel blood for this to!!!!!!!

[Roger Chandler]

Wow that looks like quite a chunk - did you escape injury free?

I'm a new turner. Is there a way to prevent or detect this weakness ahead of time?



Mike

No injuries!!! I am an experienced turner of several years..............this piece of wood was just a surprise.........I was using "best practices" and was safety oriented in my position and had on the faceshield protection.........just one of those things that can happen and did this time.........goes to show you that each and every time we go to the lathe we need to have safety in the forefront of our thinking!

[Roger Chandler]

glad you are ok.....do you suspect the rest of the sycamore will be the same?

I sure hope not Charlie..........I think this crotch piece had some funny things going on with it........not noticeable up front..........but you can be sure each piece of this wood will be inspected before mounting on the lathe!

[Roger Chandler]

Glad to hear you made it through that okay.
Hang in there..............
Did't know I needed Evil Knievel blood for this to!!!!!!!

Well.........Evil Knieval did plan and prepare and still got injuries........I don't think woodturning can be equally compared to jumping a motorcycle over 25 cars, but it does indeed have its concerns..........therefore each turner must realize it can be and is dangerous, but with proper care and practices, and wearing proper safety equipment and using breathing protection, it can be a hobby that the dangers are mitigated to an acceptable level of risk.

All of life has risks.........every time we drive an automobile on the highway there are risks..........driving safely and defensively can mitigate enough risk that we are willing to take the car out and go to Walmart.........the same is true for woodturning........we can use good safety practices and equipment and most of the time come home just fine!

[Bob Bergstrom]

I went 35 years without a piece blowing up, then a piece of hard maple crotch hit me in the sternum and knocked the face shield out of my Bionic unit. I now insert a form stadium cushion under my shirt as protection to my chest area. My sternum was sore for over 3 weeks.

[Doug Ladendorf]

Following on Bob's comment, I wonder if 10 years from now turning smocks will come with a built in chest protector like some use in baseball: http://www.sportsunlimitedinc.com/ev...=CSE-shopzilla

[Doug Herzberg]

Ouch! Sounds like you'll be sore for awhile. Glad you're okay, Roger.

[Reed Gray]

I am glad you were not hurt very badly. The risk factor on that piece would be at least a 5 on the 10 point scale just to start. When a couple of small pieces came off, that factor goes up to 8 or 9. This is the main reason why I ALWAYS stand out of the line of fire. If I do have a chip come off (I don't get concerned about bark because it always comes off unless you want it to come off and then it sticks like cockle burrs), I will make a finish cut and look for more cracks or weak spots. Perhaps it is time to review my standing out of the line of fire clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4qIM_-Jzgk

robo hippy

[Jon Nuckles]

Glad you are ok, Roger. While this can happen with any type of wood, I wonder if sycamore is more prone to coming apart. I got a lot of sycamore from a giant tree about a year and a half ago. The center of the tree, up to about 10" from the pith, could be pulled loose by hand from the outer layers. It wasn't just one ring that was loose, either; you could separate the rings from several years. It may have been that the center was starting to die and rot in my case, as it did have a distinctively darker color and a bit of an odor. The rest of the wood was fine, though it did tend to crack when drying even when I anchorsealed and bagged my roughouts. Hope your sycamore fares better.

[Roger Chandler]

I am glad you were not hurt very badly. The risk factor on that piece would be at least a 5 on the 10 point scale just to start. When a couple of small pieces came off, that factor goes up to 8 or 9. This is the main reason why I ALWAYS stand out of the line of fire. If I do have a chip come off (I don't get concerned about bark because it always comes off unless you want it to come off and then it sticks like cockle burrs), I will make a finish cut and look for more cracks or weak spots. Perhaps it is time to review my standing out of the line of fire clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4qIM_-Jzgk

robo hippy

I was not hurt at all, Reed........and I was indeed "out of the line of fire" as you show in your video.......as a matter of fact, whenever I can I make push cuts away from me to defect the direction of the chips and curlees..........this one just happened to break at an angle and with the force of my push cut, it came back in my direction.

Those first two pieces were almost like bark.......just underneath..........did not think much about it at the time, but I guess I should have stopped and inspected..........now that I think about it!

Good video on the "out of the line of fire" especially for newer turners.....I had watched it the last time you posted it............I was practicing what you show there, as I am usually want to do, but this one still got me..........I guess even the most experienced among us can have an "oops moment" once in a while!

[Roger Chandler]

Glad you are ok, Roger. While this can happen with any type of wood, I wonder if sycamore is more prone to coming apart. I got a lot of sycamore from a giant tree about a year and a half ago. The center of the tree, up to about 10" from the pith, could be pulled loose by hand from the outer layers. It wasn't just one ring that was loose, either; you could separate the rings from several years. It may have been that the center was starting to die and rot in my case, as it did have a distinctively darker color and a bit of an odor. The rest of the wood was fine, though it did tend to crack when drying even when I anchorsealed and bagged my roughouts. Hope your sycamore fares better.

Thanks for this info, Jon........this tree is my first go round with sycamore...........I had hoped to get some because I like the lacy grain and when an opportunity arose, I took advantage of it. I wonder if what you mention is a common characteristic of sycamore? If others would chime in and tell us what their experience is with sycamore, that would be great!