Do any of your shop tools scare you?

[woodscavenger]

I branched out, felt rich and loaded up with some Gentleman's RB kits with the bushing, drill bits, blanks and extra tubes. I got the Norseman 37/64 bit from BB. I was in awe. It looked like something out of the orthopedic surgery OR suites I used to haunt as a med students. It looked like surgical steel.

I put it off for a while then cut the blanks and clamped them in my drill centering jig. I remember how large the BEB jumbo blanks looked when doing a slimline, cigar, or even a Baron but up against this bit I was shaking in my boots. For the first time I opened up my drill press and checked the pulley settings to get the slowest speed.

That thing cuts amazingly well. I could have slammed that bit through the entire blank in one stroke if I wanted to. I had three blanks. Two of them made it. A beautiful cocobolo blank disintegrated before my eyes with a loud and scary CRAKKK!

I think that bit still gives me the creeps. I hope the kits turn out well. I will keep you posted.

 

[Gary]

Those Norseman bits are extremely sharp which is exactly what you want. Just clamp firmly and go SLOW...let the bit do the work. You don't need a cheater bar![]

 

[pipemaker]

I found the Norseman bits to be some of the best available. I have had very good results using a slightly higher rpm than I normally use.
Using soapy water as a lubricant, they also work well when drilling acrylic at low speeds.
To answer your original question, even a sheet of sandpaper scares me.[]

 

[Old Griz]

If your smart, ALL of your shop tools should scare you... LOL ... them suckers can do some damage.. LOL
I agree about the drill bits... when you start doing larger pens and the blanks just don't look that big anymore you can get a real "Am I sure I want to do this" attitude...

 

[Rifleman1776]

I make duck and game calls which require boring a 3/4" hole end grain in hardwoods, much like pen blanks except much larger. The very first one was a dangerous flop. Then I invested in a drill press vice and later a better one with cross-slide capabilities. My work is clamped, even pen blanks, and my hands no where near the drill or wood. Yes, as Old Griz says, all shop tools are potentially dangerous. I have had a recent scare with the table saw and drawn blood twice in recent weeks. The blood came from [1] my sharpening wheel, fingers don't grind too good. [xx(] and [2] pinching my finger in the gears of a large chuck I was trying to open while holding in my hand instead of mounted on lathe or drill press. That really hurt. [:0] My rule is to stay a little bit afraid of my tools and don't use them when tired. If the body is tired, then the mind probably is also. [|)]

 

[ryannmphs]

I agree with Griz, all my tools scare me, just a little. While I have never had (knock on wood) a serious shop injury, anytime I have a lapse in judgement that causes me to think "that could've hurt". I stop for a few minutes and work on cleaning or some other task that does not invove shop tools.

One thing I don't want to get is too complacent with power tools, when that happens, injuries happen.

Ryan

 

[Edward Miller]

I agree with Griz and Ryan. I'm not sure if "scared" is the correct word but, respect for what they can do at a minimum anyway.

Ed

 

[btboone]

Hi Ed, welcome to the group. My thoughts exactly. Not so much scared, as things that need full concentration and respect. I am very apprehensive when running a new program on the CNC lathe. If something is going to crash, it will be then. I have to be "in the zone" in concentration level because things will happen faster than you can react. Another thing is the grinding wheels and 10" polisher. They can whip something out of your hand before you ever have a chance to react. I always stand to the side, and my polisher has a plastic enclosure around it for that reason. Another one of those tools that demands respect is my shear. I slice off little strips of metal from a sheet for inlaying into rings, and it could lop off a finger before you knew what happened. The same goes for the saws; table saw, bandsaw, chop saw, and radial arm saw. Any of them is plenty dangerous if you get distracted. Another item worthy of due respect is my bandsaw blades. I was either folding or unfolding one once, and the back side of the blade somehow cut my finger to the bone. I NEVER handle a blade without gloves now. Gotta always consider what can happen and keep focus to avoid accidents.

 

[MDWine]

... Gentleman's RB kits with the bushing, ... 37/64 bit from BB.

OK, what is "RB" and "BB" ???

Is there a glossary thread somewhere? (I did a search, but didn't find one.)

Thanks in advance!

Michael

 

[PenWorks]

RB-roller ball. BB- Bill Baumbeck from AZ Silhouette, a distributor of fine pen products

 

[PenWorks]

All tools need your full undivided attention. [B)]
Just think how many times you slashed your fingers of hands with just
a sharp utility knife. [V]

But of all the tools, using a router, gives me the heeby jeevies []
I think the noise has allot to do with it. Besieds the pieces that go flying every now & then. []

 

[Tom McMillan]

In high school woodshop (well over 40 years ago)I cut my thumb pretty good on a jointer---so, I stayed away from woodworking after that. Then I got the bug to make a woodstrip canoe---and the bug hit hard after making a couple. I've learned to appreciate that most of my tools can cause serious harm if safety cautions aren't followed.

 

[pastorbill1952]

I am now nursing a left thumb that lost an argument with my TS when I was cutting some green wood. [B)] I am thankful that it only took a small chunk rather than a section or more. The really bad thing was that I had been thinking just a few minutes before that if my hand would slip that I would be in real trouble.

 

[Doghouse]

I don't know about scared, but I have deep respect for all of my machines. I started to get careless with the jet mini as "its only 3/4 of a horse". Well to save time I tossed the Nova Titan on there instead of using my nova. I had finished what I was doing and turned the lathe off, reached up and grabbed the hand wheel to slow it down...

The piece I was working on and the titan quickly came unscrewed and jumpped off the lathebed right up my arm and luckily was stopped by my faceshield. (I still caught it on the way back down.)

Moral:
NEVER STOP BELEIVING A TOOL CAN HURT YOU!
NEVER THINK I'LL JUST DO THIS REAL QUICK!

Both can realy cause you problems!

 

[JimGo]

Here's the acronym list (now glossary) that was started a while ago:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4227

Pastor Bill, that's usually my cue that its time to re-think what I'm doing. I can't tell you how many times I thought to myself, "gee if THIS happened, I could get hurt pretty bad", only to find myself doing that exact thing. Glad your injury wasn't too serious!

And yes, I always try to treat my tools with respect. I mean, when even my skew is so sharp that I'd hate to step on it or rub my finger across it, imagine the damage the power tools can do!

 

[opus]

I'll attest to the sharpness of the Norseman bits from BB.
As much as I hate to admit doing it, Back in Jan. while assembling a bunch of bottle stoppers, I had a redwood burl that the stopper wouldn't quite screw in all the way, figured it was just bottomed out, just need to be drilled another 1/32 or so....no big deal, grab the wood in one hand, Norseman bit in my drill in the other......I'm sure you all know what happens. The bit caught in the wood, and pulled the bit right through the wood and through the web between my 1st and 2nd fingers, all in a split second! I now have a $300 bill from the clinic, a still sore hand and a redwood burl stopper with a big hole in it sitting above my bench to remind me! I've been doing woodworking and cabinet making for ten years now, always worried about the big tools and was extra careful there, but don't forget about the little ones!!!

 

[mick]

Good healthy respect is what we all need for our tools! Over the years I've had various nicks and cuts, scrapes and burns from my tools .........not to mention many many near misses that have caused me to pause and think. My worst injury however was from a wickedly sharp 3/4 inch wood chisel! I was hanging some doors at an empty house my former mother-in-law owned at the time. I was alone and purist that I was at the time I was gonna chisel out the mortises instead of using my router. Well next thing I know I've sunk the chisel to the bone on my right index finger. Several, several stitches later and a rather scary drive( ever try to drive a straight shift holding a arm up in the air? ) I thought to myself what a stupid thing it was to grip the door with my finger draped across the edge of the door, especially in line with the chisel. So it's not always power tools......sometimes it's the simple things that jump up and bite us. I still love my nice sharp chisels though....lol

 

[GregD]

Scare me? No. Do I respect them? Yes. Every now and then, something will happen to wake me up. A board will kickback and go flying across the shop, maybe a router bit will gouge in when I'm not expecting it, maybe my skew will be ripped out of my hands and stuck in the wall. The thing is to know how to use the tool properly and follow all safety precautions before using the tool. The other part is using a little common sence when operating the equipment.

 

[arjudy]

I am scared of my 3 1/4 horse Makita router when it has a 3" panel raising bit in it. That is a lot of metal spinning there!

 

[Thumbs]

Big Tools! Little Tools! They can all be dangerous when used recklessly! No brainer! Now let me tell you about the little screwdriver and the great big 240 volt switch I was replacing......

 

[Fred in NC]

A few years back I had a table saw I bought at a garage sale. It was a piece of junk, but with a new blade it made decent cuts. It probably was very underpowered. I was never scared of it, and had no problems or accidents with it. Now that I have read about all kinds of table saw accidents, I have a lot more respect for them.

When turning, I use the 'underhand' grip on my tools. No big deal when turning pens, but a catch on a big bowl can put your hand between the tool rest and the wood. Besides, I get better control on the finer cuts. Matter of taste and getting used to.

 

[pen-turners]

I've never had a bad accident but I look back on some of the stupid stuff I've done the shop and just shake my head. Like holding my Milwaukee router in between my legs and rounding over corners on small boards because I was incredibly stupid and did not have a router table. Now that I look back on it - that was probably one of my stupidest moves ever. My dad turns white every time I tell him I did that.

Chris

 

[btboone]

Wow Chris, you're right. That rates right up there with stopping a saw blade with your hand. Good thing nothing ever happened. []

 

[Randy]

All of my tools scare me, it is that nut that is attached to the end of the wooden handle that really bother me.[)]

 

[Rudy Vey]

Pretty much every tool in a workshop can scare you, but for me the most scary one is still the table saw. Especially when I need to rip boards and it is pretty narrow board and when I have to make tapered table legs. Many years ago I cut a bit from my left index finger off and this was - so far, thank God - the only bad accident. Hope this was also the last one.

Rudy

SE Mi

 

[Daniel]

I lay awake at night dreading work on my table saw sometimes. that thing has shown me ways it can act up that I never could have Imagined. Every time I fire it up I expect the unexpected. after that I have a leary respect for every tool in my shop. I consider that the number one reason I have never gotten hurt. my worst accident came from the same tool as Mick. a properly sharpened 3/4 inch chisel. I was hend cutting a mortis for a beam. had the chisel in my left hand and hammering with my right. it was a deep mortise and quite a few chips where laying in it. I brought the chisel back and used the hammer claw to dig the chips from the hole. well I had actually pointed the business end of the chisel up so when I swung my arm with the hammer my forearm ran into the razor sharp edge. layed my arm wide open. the chisel was so sharp I never felt it. my father was standing next to me, he sort of made a gasping sound and turned real white. I kind of looked around to see what he was reacting to when I noticed blood all over the wall. so for me the greatest fear of the shop, is not thinking. jsut that little auto motion or whatever that ends in a big deal. I was told once that the most dangerous time while using a circular saw is right after you finish the cut. most people let the saw swing down and toward there leg. most people never realize or think about it. and zap. just a touch of that spinning blade against there leg.

 

[woodscavenger]

Chris, the image you gave really scares me! The ole' router between the legs trick! YIKES!!
And Daniel, I knew where that was going the moment you started the story. I have a friend who worked in a restuaraunt and taught me NEVER to put my kitchen knives in the sink with the rest of the dishes. He watched a guy reach in and the soapy water had covered a knife that was standing up in the drain, business side up. Laid his arm wide open.

 

[anstranger]

Always respect the tools and what they can do. Always concentrate on what you are doing, not what the next step is. If something doesn't feel right step back and take another look, so you don't regret it. Nothing is so important that you can't stop and check again. I haven't cut any fingers off, broken any bones or the like. Did drill my finger once and that was an eye opener. That metal sliver in my finger wasn't. When I went to pull it out with the tweezers, I went to the floor and my wife couldn't figure out why.