Safety Reminder

[gtwister09]

Just a few minutes ago my neighbor caught me and said come look I added another tool to the drop in bench that you helped me make. He had bought a paper wheel system and had it running. I asked him if it was turning the right direction and he said, "Yes. I already read the instructions. I trued it up and put the compounds on the wheel." I said well good. He was still talking to me and reached across the grinder to turn it on. He started to run the knife across the wheel and then looked over his shoulder and asked me another question. Next thing I heard was this loud twangggggg and a clink..clink.clink on the concrete. I asked what happened? He said that he didn't know but as I looked at the knife there was no blade on it. I laughed and asked where did your blade go? He started to say right here and issued a few choice words. We found the blade and I ran to get the camera...... One of those learning moments.

Here's the bite that it took out of the paper wheel...most likely catching one of the slits as he looked away. The other is his new two piece knife.

Just a reminder to stay focused on the task at hand especially when dealing when spinning wheels, high rpms and sharp instruments. He was lucky!

Regards,

Ben

Edited September 29, 2010 by gtwister09

[bruce johnson]

Ben,

WHERE'S THE BLOOD?! THERE HAS TO BE BLOOD TO BE A GOOD STORY!!

Good point about the rotation direction and safety aspect though. I have flung a knife or two also. In every case it was from not paying attention the where the rear edge of the blade was. I would be merrily buffing along and catch the back edge of what ever I was working on. The back edge would get up into the wheel and it would grab and throw. The tips of round knives are particularly easy to catch if you are not paying attention.

[dirtclod]

Don't lay a knife on a shelf above the grinder / buffer either !! Reason i know not to do that is because i did ONE TIME. It fell and hit wheel while it was running, tore the wheel up, i noticed after i finally found the knife. Lucky it didn't hit me or my dog.

Edited September 29, 2010 by dirtclod

[King's X]

I remember when I first started woodworking, many moons ago, I squared off an end, but on the inside (towards the blade). As I came to the end of the cut....it was like that same sound you heard....something was coming, but not sure what............................then heard a sssswwwwwooooop right pass my left side and disappear behind me! The piece I cut off was no where to be found until I looked behind me. I was sticking in the wall like an arrow would be! Luckly, in my case too, no one was hurt!

Your friend and you are very lucky! Damn it, go play the lottery right now!

[dirtclod]

Here's a picture of the wheel.

[King's X]

Damn!

[gtwister09]

Bruce-------Sorry..... It's not a GOOD story. No Blood! However the look on his face was a MasterCard moment...Priceless. When he saw that he was only holding a handle.

Dirtclod ---- Your knife was NOT kind to that wheel.

KingsX --- Middle school shop was the first time I saw that type of projectile. No lottery for me...almost seems like a self imposed tax with my luck.

On another note this guy understands clearly why I sharpen with a facemask. He stopped and is going to find himself some type of jacket/apron that can provide some protection for his midsection and pick up a facemask. All he could think about was what if that thing had come up into his face and slit his throat or his stomach. However I have to say that the rotation worked in his favor and carried the knife away from him....

Regards,

Ben

[dustin29]

I second that!!! You guys are lucky, that could have been a bad day!! I was ripping down a piece of wood on the table saw when I was younger and it was a cold january day here in Maine, so I decided to leave my gloves on. Yeah, that was not good! The blade caught the glove sucked my finger onto the blade, luckily for some reason it kicked my finger back and broke it. Better than cutting it off. It happened to my trigger finger, Thank God it didnt cut it off!!

[dirtclod]

I was younger and it was a cold january day here in Maine, so I decided to leave my gloves on. Yeah, that was not good! The blade caught the glove sucked my finger onto the blade, luckily for some reason it kicked my finger back and broke it. Better than cutting it off. It happened to my trigger finger, Thank God it didnt cut it off!!

Dustin i know a guy that did the same thing except the saw got his whole hand in the blade. I don't remember if he lost any fingers or not. But i know he had a bandaged hand for months.

Ben that wheel is hanging on a wall in the shop just remind me not to ever do it again. Plus a couple of fork covers are laying around so i find them once in a while for another reminder of what not to do...LOL. Lessons you pay for stick better than told lessons.

[Mike Craw]

Geez Ben,

I got to the part of your story where you asked, "...where did your blade go..." and I was almost afraid to read any farther! I know where it would have gone with my luck!!!

Lucky story, thanks for sharing.

Mike

[Billy P]

When I was about 18 or 19 years old I was helping my dad in the pulpwood/logging business that he/we ran. One Friday he said we were going out with some of the crew and cut the last of a tract of timber, so we could begin to move equip. Monday. Well Friday night I went out to the local dance and tied one on. When I got in about 3:30 soaked to the gills Daddy didn't know it. He called me about 5:30 and I rolled out got some clothes onand out the door. I had an old pair of work boots in the truck and they were too big for my foot. Now what I done was sawing the timber to length on the hill after the gogetter drug it up. I had one foot on each side of a log and was using a chainsaw and wobbling around and let the saw cut thru the wood, and when it fell thru it cut the end clear off my right boot. It sobbered me up ina hurry and I have tried to be careful with sharp objects every since, especially fast moving ones. Billy P

[TexasJack]

He was lucky! The most dangerous power tool for knifemakers is the buffer. It can grab a knife and fling it in an instant. Flinging a knife is NEVER a good thing to have happen!

[gtwister09]

Mike - I never thought of it being somewhere else because the clink..clink.clink gave it away for me. However the thought that it might have stuck somewhere else was not lost on him. I have to chuckle a little because now I am going to have to call him the Samurai Sharpener. He is armored up now. Last night he went on a buying mission. He now has a heavy leather apron that goes down past his knees, a leather welding jacket, steel toed lace up boots and a full face mask to sharpen by. It certainly scared him!

TexasJack ---Buffers are certainly nothing to screw around with either. Of course there is a long list of other powered tools like tablesaws, bandsaws, chainsaws and other machines in metal working, woodworking and other fields that require as much scrutiny and safety consciousness as well. Maybe every once in a while a wake-up call is needed to keep us on our toes. Fortunately this was a casualty-free accident except for maybe his pride, the knife and the paper wheel.

Regards,

Ben

Edited September 30, 2010 by gtwister09