Dial Indicator Attachment

[mklotz]

Along those lines are the folks who, when polishing on the lathe, will wrap the emery strip around their hand (or hands) before applying it to the workpiece. A classic case of not thinking things through. The emery should be glued on a board or something and not hand held.

In modelmaking, we use jewelers' polishing "threads" and "tapes". These are like strings or narrow strips embedded with polishing compound meant for getting into tiny recesses. The work more or less dictates that they be hand-held. The safest technique is to hold a short length using the thumb and index fingertip of each hand. Then, if it's grabbed it's plucked out of your grasp without dragging your hand into the work. Of course, much of this work is done on Unimat-scale machines driven by sewing-machine-like motors so they don't really have the torque to do great damage.

Another danger that's often overlooked is knurling. No sharp tools so it looks safe. But get a shop towel near those knurls and watch a vivid demonstration of what it can do. DAMHIKT.

My Dad taught me to "always imagine where the chisel will go when it slips because it will always slip". I think of that advice every time I pick up a chisel, knife, or saw.

[Frank S]

I'm for sure not the safety poster child and have done things that not many would consider doing at any price. Like the time I had climbed all the way to the end of a 300 ft boom atop a 250 ft tall tower crane then stood on the block and kicked and kicked the cables until they became free even though I had my static line if I had lost my footing and fell there was no one who could have gotten me down. As the senior engineer of the project I made it a rule never to send someone to do something that I wouldn't do

[tonyfoale]

My Dad taught me to "always imagine where the chisel will go when it slips because it will always slip". I think of that advice every time I pick up a chisel, knife, or saw.

Wood working tools scare me much more than metal working ones.

[Toolmaker51]

In agreement with previous posts, a solid design and well made.
I rate it higher than commercial Co-Ax indicator contrivances by far more compact use of Z axis. Z is always at a premium; mount tooling, part and cutter. And tramming is always more accurate when work is performed at same position of knee or head were indicated.

[Toolmaker51]

Certain gloves are hazardous around rotating members; primarily that leather is far more resistant to tearing than skin. A grinder or end mill will only penetrate a small area and wind up the remainder immediately, taking your appendage along. Even the thin [.002] and easily torn vinyl glove variety are risky.
Stains on fingers and soil under your nails are short term issues: the permanence of missing fingers a bit more. Not to mention possible inability to pursue your avocation.
An old adage, a manager would rather buy hand cleaner than bandages.

[mklotz]

Wood working tools scare me much more than metal working ones.

It's the same for me.

I've come to terms with woodworking hand tools although I do as little woodworking as possible. What have always terrified me are the table saw and its handheld cousin the circular saw (American terminology). Maybe it's the noise or the nightmarish thought of what it could do to my hands but I shudder whenever one is used. I rid myself of the table saw I had despite having built a sled for it to further remove my hands from the vicinity of the blade. I kept the circular saw because it's just too efficient for slicing the occasional 2 x 4 or sheet of plywood.

[tonyfoale]

Certain gloves are hazardous around rotating members;.......
Stains on fingers and soil under your nails are short term issues:

Welding is about the only time that I use gloves, I never do in the machine shop, or general mechanicing.

[mklotz]

There's a psychological problem with gloves as well. They can give the wearer a false sense of security and invulnerability which cause him to pay less attention to what he's doing. It's probably more an issue with novices than with old hands but there are far more novices and today they have access to lots of dangerous equipment.

[olderdan]

Could not agree more, any glove thick enough to give protection destroys any feel for things, I think I may have a glove allergy as my nose starts to itch as soon as I put them on.

[NortonDommi]

Dr Stan,
While I would not wear gloves in many situations there are times,(such as polishing,linishing, buffing ect), when wearing gloves is safer than not.
As I said I spent a lot of hours working in several polishing shops not just my dads. I have never seen a polisher or linisher used in an industrial setting without the user wearing gloves. Linishing casting flash, rough edges from shearing ect I wear gloves. I place a VERY high value on my skin and try to practice safe working habits at all times and this includes wearing gloves when appropiate. I also do not abuse tools, use rests where possible if advisable ect. Using a wire wheel on electric motor is definately a situatiion that I sometimes wear gloves. If my hand was ever to come close enough to touch the wheel I would rather it rub on leather than rip my skin.
You said that the student who lost his fingernail was wearing welding gloves and you also noted that they are a loose fit. They are a loose fit so you can shake them off fast if something you are holding gets to hot. I will make an assuption,(not something I like to do), that the machine he was using had a rest incorrectly fitted which had a sizable gap between the rest and the wheel as getting the digit jammed is about the only way it would have been ground. This leads to the question: why was there an unsafe tool in a teaching evironment?
Very good reminder about pliers/vise grips though. Amazeing just how far and how fast an ounce steel can travel!