Stupid shop tricks

Danbo · Mar 6, 2001

Drilling pin holes on a small blade last night and somehow let go of the blade(no, I was not smart enough to clamp it down) and the blade, being half drilled(luckily not sharp)spun around and smacked me on the very tip of my left thumb. OUCH!

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Danbo, soul brother of Rambo

Tom Anderson · Mar 6, 2001

Danbo:

I believe the technical term is "propeller effect!"

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives

chisel · Mar 6, 2001

Hey! thats my famous "helicopter"trick... i on the other hand was not so lucky...the blade got me good...thank God i did no permanent damage(except to my ego)to my hand..it healed up fine after a long recovery..i cant emphisize enough clamp your work down...dont learn the hard way

george tichbourne · Mar 6, 2001

At very least have a vertical pin mounted on the table to intercept spinning objects before they have time to do a complete revolution.

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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com

RJ Martin · Mar 6, 2001

Danbo: If you do hold a blade freehand, hold it tightly and with the edge facing so that it's not out in front should the blade get away from you. Proper speeds and sharp bits help keep it safe, too.

You can get hurt bad really fast on a drill press.

Glad you're OK and that thumb wasn't cut off.

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Stay Sharp,

RJ Martin
http://www.martinsite.com

Plain ol Bill · Mar 6, 2001

Another good way to stop the blade from spinning is a pin with an arm about 1/2" long (L shape) that will keep the blade from climbing the pin after it hits it. Been there - done that.

indian george · Mar 6, 2001

Joe(chisel): you sure that hit you in the hand and not in the head. Hmmmmm

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INDIAN GEORGE
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=261337
http://www.indiangeorgesknives.com/

[This message has been edited by indian george (edited 03-06-2001).]

Kit Carson · Mar 6, 2001

Danbo,
A good foot switch is a must, and I never tighten the belts up on the pulleys very tight. I'd rather them slip a little.

RJ Martin · Mar 6, 2001

Kit: Yeah-that's a good tip about the pulley belts-better to have the motor stall.
Could you recommend a good source for foot switches>

Thanks

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Stay Sharp,

RJ Martin
http://www.martinsite.com

Kit Carson · Mar 6, 2001

Randy,
I got all mine from MSC. I think it was Darrel talking one time about using refrigerator switches for foot switches.
They sure make it easier on drill presses and other equipment, especially when you got it in just the right position and then have to move your hand to turn the machine on.

Taz · Mar 6, 2001

HEhehehe. i have done that more times than i can count, which aint sayin much!

Also, dont play with those cool looking metal spirals. They look cool, blues and purples, but are very hot and sharp. Don't ask how i know this

cdark · Mar 7, 2001

at the tool and die shop i work in all the drill preses leak a lot of oil. the coolant we use has vegtable oil or somthing in it and gets down right nasty. so instead of wiping the oil off the handles on the drill press some guys will just wear their gloves. get a little to close to the tip of the drill and yeoooch you've got a hurtin puppy on the way to the emergency room. i've seen it a few times and it really is not a pretty picture. this other guy i know was using a pretty decent size floor grinder with about a 1/4" gap between the rest and the wheel. i'm not sure how but he got his finger in there and the wheel pulled it through the 1/4" gap like it was butter. it was ugly, plus he freaked out too. all he could say was oh my hand, oh my hand, he must have said it 50 times. we just about had to slap him to get him to say what happend. it was a bummer. you really have to make the extra effort not to get hurt.

chris