It is essential that every care is taken to ensure that people use the equipment safely and that their health is protected.
The following pages give details of some of the aspects that need to be taken into account Contributions and comments will be most welcome. Please use our Contact page to send these to us.
| Safety (this page) |
Safety screen
This protects people watching the lathe in use from object flying off the lathe. They are easily built using 25 mm x 50 mm wood and Perspex sheet.
It is essential that the face and eyes are protected. The item being turned on the lathe CAN come off the chuck and cause damage to your body. The absolute minimum protection is safety glasses. The safety helmet as shown in the picture to the right is better, but best of all is a safety helmet with a built in filter that filters out all the fine dust and gives a flow of cool air over the face. These helmets are expensive, but well worth it to ensure that you do not breathe in toxic dust.
Helmets that cover the top of the head either with a hard plastic shell as shown in the picture or a hood are desirable. This stops or minimises the amount of dust and shavings that can get into the hair.
Other aspects regarding safety
If you have long hair, ensure that it does not hang down over your chest. There is a strong risk that the hair will get caught in the spinning wood, with VERY painful or worse consequences.
Do NOT wear ties or loose clothing that can get caught in the spinning wood.
Sanding the wood
ALWAYS sand the wood where it is turning away from you. In the picture to the right, the wood is turning anti clockwise, so the sandpaper is being held underneath. If the sandpaper is caught by the wood, it is pulled out of the fingers and drops on the floor behind the lathe. If the sandpaper is held at the top, the wood is turning towards you and there is a risk that any catches will damage or break your fingers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Applying finishes when the wood is spinning on the lathe
Always use paper towel or safety cloth to apply finishes when the wood is turning. If there are any catches, the paper towel or safety cloth will tear and not damage your fingers. Use the same location as shown in the picture above to apply finishes with the wood turning.
Spinning the wood before turning the lathe on
After mounting the wood on the lathe and setting the location of the tool rest, ALWAYS spin it before turning the the lathe on. This confirms that the wood will not jam on the tool rest.
Moving the tool rest
Many turners adjust the position of the tool rest whilst the wood is spinning. This is hazardous as it is easy to put the tool rest too close to the wood and thus cause damage to the wood, lathe or tool rest. This is particularly important when turning an item with sticking out pieces, such as the winged candle holder pictured to the right.
Odd shaped pieces of wood
Great care is needed when mounting an odd shaped piece of wood on the lathe. The wood will almost certainly be out of balance. Use the lowest speed possible on the lathe and it is ESSENTIAL to spin the wood before starting the lathe to confirm that the wood will not jam on the tool rest.
Wet wood
Wet wood has a lot of sap in it, which will spray you, the lathe and the workshop. Full face protection is essential as the sap can cause rashes on the face and swollen eyes. The Secretary of the Forest of Bere Woodturners was turning wet Yew recently, with inadequate face protection. He subsequently had a VERY uncomfortable three days with rashes on his face and very swollen eyes - not an experience he wants to repeat!!