During my apprenticeship, in the early 1970s, the company installed some German "automatic" machines, (automatic in that when a part rolled in and tripped the limit switch, the machine did its job and that rotor rolled on to the next station.) The installation crew came with the machines, and our company hired a translator. an ex-patriot German who had left Germany in the 1930s to Canada. During the installation period I got to know "Johnny." At one time during the war, he had been working (in Canada) in a munitions plant making BIG guns. I never found how large the guns were but the Lathe operator rode in a saddle on the carriage. At one time, he had come on shift just as the previous operator had placed a new barrel in the lathe. Johnny asked him if it was secure. "Yup, its ready to go," he was told. He climbed up in the saddle and started the spindle and engaged the tool, turning the diameter. The previous operator had done everything right except engage the tailstock. As soon as the tool engaged in the work, the barrel came out of the chuck and landed in Johnny's lap, before knocking him to the floor. He, of course, survived, but both thighs had been broken. By the 'seventies, he had completely healed, had no limp, but he told me to always check if a part is really secure in what ever machine I was running.
