Making the buffer safer

Patrice Lemée;14120963 said:
Bill, that was exactly the point of posting this, not doing more harm than good. I think that with all your advices I can come up with something that will help.

PT Doc, I don't think I can come up with a way to actually test it. Not without causing damage to SOMETHING in my shop, maybe even me. :( Where are the Mythbusters when you need them. ;)

Thanks again for participating guys.
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I know what you are saying but you NEED to know how something will work or not so that you don't end up injured, right? You are trying to prevent injury after all. I hope the would try to a a blank pulled into a your buffer and seeing how your safety idea works out. Put plywood I front and stand on the side. It's not that difficult to execute safe testing in my mind.
 
Doc, the plywood protection is easy but finding a way to have a blade catch on the wheel is not. I'll just have to do the best I can and hope that it does work in case of an accident.
 
Patrice, how hard is it to change buffs with your guard setup? Can it accommodate different sizes and types of buffs? I use a total of 4 different compounds when polishing stainless, which require four different buffs. I use stitched buffs, felt buffs, and radial disks when polishing. I also use buffs from 3/4" to 6" in diameter and different shapes. While I really like your design, I don't think that 'one size' buff will be the most practical for buffing. But then, there are a lot of different ways to polish and achieve the same results.
 
This is where I am at, backed the shield as far as I could toward the axis of rotation.



More next week.

PS: Smithy, I missed your post. Let me see what I can come up to accommodate wider buffs. It goes up or down for different diameter.
 
Patrice, I was a little critical of your guard when I first saw the photos but now that you have moved it back I think you might have a pretty safe guard. It would be nice if you could change the width of the slot but maybe that is the thickness of buff that you will always use so it should work well. I see that you have a space problem like me so your safety solution is pretty good for the space you have to work in. I would like to have a pedestal stand also but have no place for one. My buffer overhangs the right edge of my bench so I just watch my feet and wear glasses and apron. I don't think you will have any problems with the way you have modified your guard. Looks real safe now. Larry
 
I have watched this thread to see where it went. Good points have been made and ideas exchanged.

Personally, I think Patrice has ended up with a pretty good guard. Maybe it won't really help prevent a cut finger, but it probably will keep a blade from coming around back at you.
 
Stacy's right. That set-up is not too bad.

In 30 years of mirror polishing I have had a couple of incidents early on working with a soft buff just like the one on Patrice's machine.

In the first incident, I was cleaning up and polishing a factory fixed blade, and not paying close attention to what I was doing. I had the blade at a bad angle and the tip got caught in the cloth, snatching the knife out of my hand, taking it around the buffer, cutting my thumb to the bone on the way to the garage floor where it broke from the speed and impact. Stitches required.

In the second incident I was buffing a small fighter blade. I got a little far up the side I was working on and the buff caught the top edge of the blade. I was gripping it tightly, so when it pulled it out of my hand the handle portion spun, tearing my left palm. The blade continued completely around the buffer, and was propelled out the front, over the top of the wheel, slamming into my upper chest. I felt the impact but didn't even realize I was cut until I saw blood running down my shirt. Stitches in both places. Makes you think. I took buffing a little more seriously after that and haven't been hurt since.

But: Patrice's safety set-up would have prevented both of those particular injuries.

Lovestrand
 
Thanks Skyman, we all tend not to really believe these things until it happens to us. Hearing it from someone who was the recipient of two of these one-hundredth of a second incidents may help others see that there is a real danger.
 
I have also had buffer accidents. In restoring old cutlery I do a lot of polishing to match original finishes.
Fortunately, no major injuries-but they taught me to respect the tool, but not be afraid of it.
Practicing with the machine off, and watching how you would present a blade to the machine may help.
If you have an unraveling thread that grabs a blade, there is nothing you can do except learn when to hold on or when to let go.
 
Patrice Lemée;14132221 said:
This is where I am at, backed the shield as far as I could toward the axis of rotation.



More next week.

PS: Smithy, I missed your post. Let me see what I can come up to accommodate wider buffs. It goes up or down for different diameter.
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Are the bottom edges rounded on the part the part of the guard that is vertical ? That would likely be way more hand friendly. Actually rolling a radius like the top corner would be helpful.
 
Made some good progress.

Thanks to the suggestions I got from you guys, here are the the improvements I made

I moved the grinder to the edge of the bench to get as much clearance underneath as I could.
I also now have adjustable side guards on the front that let you use different width buffs.



This is as wide as I need for now but I could always made it wider. I did not take a picture of the back but as you can surely imagine, those screws run in channels in the back.



And finally, the whole thing is on hinges for easy changing of the wheels. The adjustment knob controls the height for larger diameter wheels.



I am really happy with it and I think that this offers a good degree of protection against “some” of the possible accidents involving a grinder. Of course the best protection is always good work practices as some of you guys mentioned.

Only thing left to do is for some kind of catch trap underneath and if/when I get a bigger shop, maybe even test it.

Thanks again for all your help.
 
Great engineering! You have addressed everyone's concerns and built a really functional guard. I really like the adjustment knob for height. Very clever. Larry
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Thanks Skyman, we all tend not to really believe these things until it happens to us. Hearing it from someone who was the recipient of two of these one-hundredth of a second incidents may help others see that there is a real danger.
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Here's my 'buffer' accident story. I was polishing a small pendant. The wheel caught it and the pendant hit me in the eye. The accident caused traumatic glaucoma requiring surgery. Fast forward 35/40 years and another problem reared its ugly head. That same injury caused scar tissue to form and I had to have macular eye surgery. It seems I have 'dented' my optic nerve and my depth perception is really screwed up. Since my operation 2 years ago, I am trying to learn how to 'see' again. But, thank God, I am adapting to my condition and it is getting better---slowly. Be careful out there guys...
 
Hi Guys, here is the last update. This is what I came up with for now to catch parts falling directly down. Simple plastic bucket filled with a loosely packed old bed sheet. Hopefully enough give there to take away the momentum of whatever gets thrown at it and protect it (and me) from damage. I'd like to to something that extends a bit farther, up to the wall maybe, but that will be a little lower on the To Do list now that I have something that I believe is safe enough, coupled with good safety practices of course.



So thanks again for your help and participation, much appreciated as always.
 
I like the cross slide vise for precise positioning of the power strip!
 
Until you have had a knife grabbed out of your hands and thrown on the floor or worst from a buffer this is all academic!

Believe me! The Buffer IS the most dangerous piece of equipment in the shop and you need to have a good healthy respect for one no matter what!
 
Its always seemd to me as if the normal guards on a buffer act as a funnel to propel the object around and back at you ie: an automatic ball thrower. In my mind, a buffer without a guard would be safer, with empty space underneath for an object to go down instead of bouncing off or channeling around. I think Patrices idea is good in that an object will only continue around until it hits the steel. what about a sandblast box though? They're big enough for a buffer, offer full view of your work while giving protection from any grabs or bounces.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
I like the cross slide vise for precise positioning of the power strip!
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lol When I installed the pump for the platen cooler (which the power strip controls) I needed a quick way to hold it there so I could measure stuff. That was what? a year ago. :o Guess I need to finish what I start.
 
Just one comment for people making lexan shields/guards. Not all polycarbonate is created equal. Some varieties are more impact resistant than others. Please either order from a decent supplier or make it a little thicker than is really necessary.
 
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