Sewing machine safety

[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