Sewing machine safety

[Handstitched]

My middle finger on my right hand is now sporting a few layers of band aids  after getting my finger caught up at the business end. I was putting a fresh bobbin into my Seiko stw, and I have no idea how I did it, but I hit the pedal and crushed the nail. Blood poured out , that and a few choice words. Just glad it wasn't the big leather machine, I would have passed out from the pain .

My mother on her machine , Pfaff 60, the needle  went straight through her finger , dad had to unscrew the needle  and pull it out with a pair of pliers I we both nearly passed out .

Be safe peeps  

HS

[AlZilla]

I'm pretty cavalier with the domestics, but the industrials I (usually) shut off.

A good reminder,

[SUP]

58 minutes ago, Handstitched said:

My mother on her machine , Pfaff 60, the needle  went straight through her finger , dad had to unscrew the needle  and pull it out with a pair of pliers

Yep. My grandmother went through the same - same solution by my grandfather too. Put me off sewing machines for ages. 

[friquant]

I even drop tools onto the pedal and the machine says giddy-up. Not fair I say!

Like @AlZilla, I intend to turn the machine off (and wait for the digital servo LCD to go off) before I thread the needle or touch the bobbin. If I'm doing more than that, I often unplug it from the wall.

[Mulesaw]

Ouch, jamming a fingernail is really not recommended. 
I never really thought about it until now, but that is an advantage with foot powered machines.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

Brgds Jonas

[1hp]

my mother once put a needle through her thumb nail. very gnarly. i always wear safety glasses while using a machine. never know where broken needles might go.

[fredk]

you lot are really dangerous to yourselves. I'd not let any of you loose with a plastic spoon to eat some Jello/jelly !

[CowboyBob]

Hope you heal up quickly,just remember to use it once in a while to keep the blood flowing,LOL!! Had a guy in here one time that got one in his thumbnail,had pics & x-rays to show me,said it took 3 hrs operation the get it out(went into the bone)Closest I've ever came was a needle broke once hit me in the cheek,felt like it stuck in.Glad I have to wear glasses & recommend safety glasses when sewing.

 

Stay safe!

[Handstitched]

Even after the machine is turned off, the motor continues to turn  and takes a long time to comes to a complete  stop, that's how good these motors are.

My finger is still a little sore but getting  better  . However, I did knock it while collecting fire wood,  , I didn't  even swear, much . I was extra  cautious when sewing today. It was just a lapse in concentration that caused my silly injury , it happens  . 

HS

[friquant]

12 hours ago, Handstitched said:

Even after the machine is turned off, the motor continues to turn  and takes a long time to comes to a complete  stop, that's how good these motors are.

My digital servo motor has the same problem...the foot pedal is still hot for about ten seconds after turning off the power. I'm thinking on how to bring it to full off sooner. So far my best approach is:
 

1. Turn off power
2. Grab hand wheel with two hands so it can't move
3. Press the gas pedal and let the motor pulley spin to scrub off the energy

I imagine with a clutch pedal one could take a gentler approach...hold the hand wheel with one hand and press gently on the clutch to scrub off the energy.

[AlZilla]

13 hours ago, Handstitched said:

Even after the machine is turned off, the motor continues to turn  and takes a long time to comes to a complete  stop, that's how good these motors are.

 

Is that a clutch motor?

[Handstitched]

Yeh, it's a clutch motor, and runs real sweet, touchwood 😀 

HS

[BlackDragon]

Wow! I hope you don't bump it anymore.

When I was a kid I was working at a sail making company in Florida. One of my friends there made the mistake of running a sewing machine faster than his finger could move out of the way. He put a couple stitches in his finger and was lucky it didn't hit bone. That instilled in me to this day to keep my fingers away from things that could severely damage them. Whether it's a sewing machine or a circular saw I keep my fingers at a safe distance. And I always turn them off or unplug them if I have to work around the business end.

Stay safe

[Handstitched]

@AlZilla I did a smple test whilst sewing today .I turned the machine on , let it run for a bit, then turn it off and hit the pedal without  thread, the machine turned  for almost 10 seconds after it was turned off.  So I would still need to be careful after  its turned off .

I made absolutely sure my fingers were well away from the business end and kept my foot away from the pedal  when adjusting , refilling bobbins etc. 

Lesson learnt 

HS

[AlZilla]

29 minutes ago, Handstitched said:

the machine turned  for almost 10 seconds after it was turned off. 

Yeah, mine also take a bit before that servo light blinks out.  All of them. If I watch, they all flash "err 2".  For me, "Off" means lights out.  Especially on that 441 clone!

EDIT: I forgot we were talking about those torque monster clutch motors. Absolutely, if that bad mother is spinning, it's "ON".

[mbnaegle]

Yep, gotta make sure the machine is off and the motor is wound down (if it's the old clutch motors) or the power is bled out (if it's the newer servo motors). The old motors need time for the momentum of the motor to wind down, while the servo motors have some electricity stored in capacitors that needs to bleed off.

My dad used to tell the story that not long after he and my mom got together (they met and worked together doing leatherwork) he was sewing on one of his old Landis 3 needle-and-awl stitchers, which have an awl punching from the top and a hook tipped needle coming up from the bottom. He always used his thumbs for edge guides as he sewed and did so safely for years, until one day he got a little too close and the awl came down into the nail of his right thumb. He stopped right away and said it wasn't too bad, but he couldn't reach the handwheel with his left had to back it up. He knew if he kept going, the awl would come out but immediately followed by the needle which would really tear up his thumb when it came out. He called for my mom to come help, but as soon as she saw it she got scared and ran off. She came back a couple times and kept running off saying "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" until finally my dad had to raise his voice and holler "STOP!!!....... Ok..... I'm going to step on the pedal a little bit to take the brake off of the motor, and you're going to turn the wheel BACKWARDS slowly...." Which she did, he pulled his thumb out, sucked the drop of blood off of the nail, and finished sewing the tack or harness he was doing. He still used his thumbs as edge guides too, as do I, and Mom quickly got better acquainted with the "blood and gore" associated with working in a shop too. Having level-headed help with you is a major necessity.

Over the years, we've had lots of people try or ask us to make sewing machine more OSHA friendly to operators, adding barriers and switches and everything to keep hands out of the danger zone, and in almost every case the safety measures significantly reduces it's utility and increases spoiled work, if not making it just impossible to use. It's just one of those things that takes some training and respect for the machine and the task at hand. It's like trying to make a bicycle impossible to crash. On the plus side, the new servo motors shut down a lot quicker than the old clutch motors, but you still need to tap the pedal or watch the LED light dim away until the power is all the way out.

Edited July 14 by mbnaegle

[Mulesaw]

@mbnaegle ouch.. 
That is some really ice cold thinking under pressure, to be able to tell someone quietly that they need to step on the pedal to loosen the brake and getting them to back the handwheel!. Kudos to your dad!
I agree completely with the problems of making things safer without messing up the utility. 
Brgds Jonas

 

[toxo]

My dogs (only two left now) won't leave my side even when sitting on the loo they have little beds at my feet. This goes for the project room as well and once or twice one of em has trod on the pedal, fortunately at a safe time. I know I should find a way to stop this happening. If I kept them out of the room they would howl the place down.

 

[Handstitched]

  @mbnaegle totally off topic, but i was working on a vintage radio  and got zapped, it was unplugged.  Capacitors  didn't bleed off before I  worked  on it. 

But I hear ya . USM motors  are so good . Finger is not quite healed , yet. 

What I read in your post made me feel the pain as I was reading it , ouch ! 

 I wonder how many  leather workers on here are now paying (more) attention  to what they are doing after reading this thread ? 

It's so easy to get get distracted 🙄 

[fredk]

8 hours ago, Handstitched said:

  @mbnaegle totally off topic, but i was working on a vintage radio  and got zapped, it was unplugged.  Capacitors  didn't bleed off before I  worked  on it. 

ohh that happened to moi too, but it was huge amplifier. I got thrown 30ft. Wud have been more but the wall I hit stopped me!

I'm keeping my sewing machines caged! Dangerous beasties that they are