As long as you are talking about lathes, how many of you remember to take your wedding (and other) rings off ? My wife b*tches at me for not wearing a ring, but even though it has been 30 years since I quit working in a machine shop for a living, I still cannot get comfortable with a ring on. 

The very first day in the machining trade school program I took they taught how a lathe chuck will take off your finger and you won't even know it because it will be too fast to hurt.

Then it will start hurting. 

Also working on electrical stuff. Do you take off your rings and watches ? Those are conductors that will pull a current to you. 

I worked in some body shops (meaning people got hurt bad shops) around the Akron Oh area. Punch presses were the worst. At one shop there was one incident a week with the young girls they liked to hire losing one or both hands.

Do you all "ring" your grinding wheels ? Stick a wheel on a steel screw driver, anything to not dampen the vibrations and tap it with another metal object (tap not hit). It should ring like a bell. If it thuds, it is cracked and you have a hand grenade running in front of your face. There was a big snag grinder that blew up in the area just as the guy stood aside. It ground up the concrete floor down to the end of the shop, up the wall, across the ceiling, back down the other wall and up the floor to the back of the grinder.

Machines will get you as soon as you become complacent.

I totally agree about rings and watches. I spent 21 years working in a tooling shop for a company that put safety first. I know that may sound a little strange to many that have been in the machining industry, but it is a fact. My biggest claim to fame is that after 30 some years in machine shops, I can still count to 10 without having to use any of my toes. 
Like with DRC, my wife bitched that I didn't wear my wedding ring but I had good reason not to. I couldn't wear it at work and one time I wore it for Reserve duty I came close to loosing my finger on of all things a target frame. I was working the pics and when I ran the target up my ring got caught on the frame. Not a real comfortable feeling being suck on a target frame with rounds coming down range. 
There are just so many things around us every day that can hurt us and so many just don't think about it. The best advice would be, if your not sure if it is safe or not, it probably isn't. Use caution and try to do your best to remove anything that could cause you harm. Common sense can go a long way to keep your self safe.
Sam

frnkeore wrote on Oct 6^th, 2013 at 7:29pm:


I worked for a carpenter who's helper slid on the roof (3 stories).  His ring caught a nail and kept him from falling off the roof.  (OK it did tear up his ring finger).   

In general, I agree, take OFF the jewelry when working.

The only up side to getting hurt is getting to meet pretty nurses.  Candy stripers?

    Joe. 

Another aspect of shop safety.....
How many guys have used shop rolls of emery cloth to polish a shaft ????
Ever get the end of the strip caught around the shaft, then it winds up (very quickly) trying to take your thumb with it ???

How about filing a spinning shaft ????
I was taught YEARS ago, to file left handed so you are not hanging over the chuck.
That way if the file catches a chuck jaw, it won't launch it into your face or chest.
Better to take out an overhead shop light instead !
It's an awkward thing to learn unless maybe you are a southpaw.
Now it feels weird to do it any other way.

Lesson #1 in the GE Apprentice Machinist 3-1/2 year course I took (graduated 1st in my class ... ):

Remember ... the CUT OFF tools work much faster and better than any of the ADD ON tools ever made ...

Be careful on shop roof.
Sept 12, 2012, my shop had sprung a leak above my lathe. I decided to go on the roof and fix it. Set my ladder up, grabbed a can of TV commercial, seals everything. Climbed ladder, didn't tie it off, got on roof. Next thing I knew was waking up on the ground, a broken back, gash to forehead, bleeding profusely.  Had it not been for my dog I would have died. She saw me fall and let my wife know something was amiss.
After paramedics got me to trauma center, I spent next 10 hours in surgery. In about 3 days spent another 9 hours in surgery. Spent total of 67 days in hospital. I am just now starting to tinker in my shop again. Due to brain injury from fall, running my equipment is difficult at times. I had some memory loss, also I am now a paraplegic. Have to reach up to mill from my wheel chair but am getting the hang of it.
Any way, If only I had used that brain before it was injured. I might not be writing this today.
Think before doing anything.
Jerry

I have never had an accident nor got hurt with machine tools. Safety First! My solution is to mail parts, a check and a sketch/notes to a gunsmith/machinist and let him do the work. Who needs OSHA?