Things I just now remembered

[Brian Kent]

I just remembered several things in a very quick moment:

1) Always stay out of the line of fire. (I did)

2) Always wear a face mask. (I did)

3) Never spin a plate at 10,000 rpm. (OK, it was a wee bit slower than that.)

4) After the plate explodes, sit down and write about it before re-loading (I mean mounting another turning blank.)

All is well because of #1 and #2.

[Mark Greenbaum]

5) Life is too short to turn bad wood. (Don't ask how I know.)

[Sparky Paessler]

Been there and done that! It does make you think about where you stand from then on.

[Pat Scott]

Why did the plate explode? Bad wood or spinning too fast?

[Mike Peace]

I can relate. I had a platter explode recently while making a YouTube video. It was exciting. I was not spinning too fast and the wood was a kiln dried exotic. It was not what I would consider "bad" wood. Sometimes things just happen. You can see the video here. https://youtu.be/QXHEAfG7VHc

[Brian Kent]

Pat, I was turning one of a series of reed-pattern plates. It broke along a glue line so something was not glued or clamped correctly. Also, I was turning it was too fast, like I might do with a 5" plate or bowl.

The photo is of one like it that is finished. It is the first of the series that I have managed to explode.