A little accident

[Roger Bell]

It was just a small walnut bowl, about 3" diameter x maybe 4" high.....not much of anything, really, except a bit of interesting spalting in the creamy sapwood. It was rough turned a few months ago and I was finish turning the outside using a Talon chuck and a 3/8 gouge. No tailstock support. Tool rest up close.

I had just started a very light shear scraping, presenting a near vertical edge...about 1200-1400 rpm's and the gouge must have hit a tiny crack or something and then whamola. Hit me square in the face....hard. Eye level. Hard enough to knock my head back...whiplash style. Like they say in the martial arts "where the head goes the body goes". It nearly put me down. Pretty amazing for a tiny piece of not-much. I still don't get the physics of it. Mass wasn't nothing, must have been the square of the velocity.

Good thing I was wearing my HF face shield...believe it or not, it didn't crack. You see, I don't always. It's too hot, it fogs up, yady-yady-yadda. Almost never for spindle work and very seldom for small stuff, such as this. Perhaps I have cause to reconsider my attitude.

Thank you, Harbor Freight.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Roger - stuff happens while turning! Glad you weren't seriously injured!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Glad you weren't seriously hurt!

[Bill Bolen]

Glad you are OK....I must say you got me thinking! I wear my faceshield about like you. Might think better of it now...Bill...

[Bernie Weishapl]

Glad you weren't hurt. I wear my shield all the time. It only takes one hit to get your attention.

[jason lambert]

look at it this way a bullet will stop a person dead in there tracks and knock them over. It is amazing how little it takes. especially if you are standing still. You also probably also flinched away from the fast flying object it is only natural which added to your momentum.

Glad your ok though.

[Bill Wyko]

Good to know your face shield protected you. I don't even have safty glasses in the shop. This forces me to use the shield.

[curtis rosche]

lucky you i had in another thread where i got hit with a peice. 15lbs of maple while roughing it with no face sheild hit me in the nose that hurts the only reason we could figure it didnt brak my cheek bone and shater my nose was because i was standing to the side and it just pushed my nose to the side

[Barry Elder]

Roger, glad you weren't hurt. There is no such thing as "small" on the lathe turning that fast, as your face shield will testify!

[robert hainstock]

it is great you wern't hurt, and thanks for sharing an important lesson with us.
Bob

[Gerold Griffin]

Sure am glad you where wearing full face protection. Jason's remark got me to thinking. A lot of these lathes are spinning faster than the muzzle velocity of many guns. Had a router bit break once and it put a small dent in the wall. I hate a faceshield with a passion but they do the job. Some guys on really hazordous jobs use safety glasses and a face shield, but thats rare.
Gerold

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Glad you were smart and humble enough to use Safety equipment! Just goes to show how important it is to do the little things!

Bruce

[Don Eddard]

Glad you weren't hurt any worse than you were. Like Bernie said, all it takes is one good hit to make you a believer.

lucky you i had in another thread where i got hit with a peice. 15lbs of maple while roughing it with no face sheild hit me in the nose that hurts the only reason we could figure it didnt brak my cheek bone and shater my nose was because i was standing to the side and it just pushed my nose to the side

Ah, to be young, bulletproof, and ignorant again. Those were the days.