Metal chips will take a finger easily.

[emtor]

Today my middle finger is bandaged due to cutting it on a long and stringy chip.
I should have used a pair of pliers to remove it,-and yes, I did stop the lathe before removal but still I was blessed with a long and nasty cut.
The chip was stuck between the workpiece and the cutter and I thought it was loose so you can guess the outcome of that.
Chips are razor sharp and can easily take away a finger or even worse;-if the lathe is running a long and whipping chip can take out an eye.
I usually get short chips when cutting with carbide tools but this time a used a home ground HSS tool with no chip breaker.
Works fine with aluminium and brass but produces unpleasant and long whipping chips when turning steel.
-Take care!

 

[pontiac428]

Sometimes, especially with stainless, the chips can work harden and the result is like concertina wire. Glad it wasn't worse! Did it take any stitches?

 

[great white]

Been there, done that. Learned my lesson after the first "cut". That it continued to hurt like a bad paper cut for a couple hours/days only reinforced that I never want to learn that lesson again.

I never touch chips or curls anymore with anything less than a gloved hand (not worn when running the machine) and stopped tools. Usually use a chip hook or a set of clapped out pliers I keep by the lathe. I keep a couple paint brushes by the mill to remove chips and the shop vac lives in a nook between the lathe and mill.

Still, it is tempting to just reach in with a bare hand and pull a curl away from a work piece when stopped or a quick barehanded swipe at the bed on the mill. I just remind myself of that first cut every time I feel like reaching in with a bare hand.

I’ve also “learned” that blowing off something with your breath isn't a great idea either, even when wearing eye protection. By the same token, using compressed air is also an exercise in caution and something I try to avoid if I can.

Shields, guards, eye protection and clothing that makes sure chips don't get into my shoes and aren't loose enough to get caught in rotating parts are all a given.

I really should get myself a leather apron (or similar) some day.......

 

[mmcmdl]

Ouch . Maybe H-M could make up a sticky just for safety threads in the future . Good news is you turned the spindle off before grabbing it . Bad news is you grabbed it . Stainless will not give you a second chance either . Just a message to all , be careful and THINK before you ACT .

 

[SLK001]

When I get stringy chips like this, I jamb a wooden stick (oak) right into the cut. It puts enough stress on the chip to break it into pieces. Mind you, the stick will get hot enough to burn and burst into flames. I just dip it into my cutting fluid jug and re-engage it. If I am using HSS, I will use a Dremel with a small abrasive disk to cut a chip breaker into the tool.

 

[emtor]

No stiches and no doctor. I watched the cut and it took a good many seconds before it started to bleed so I thought it didn't do more than penetrating skin. But it was a long cut and if deep enough it would have been adios finger.
Also there was no pain and still is no pain.
I'm glad I have several first aid kits at home and experience in patching together self mutilating kids from when I worked in a psychiatric hospital.
No,-I'm not a nurse or a medic but on night shifts we had to do that kind of work and wait for the medical personell the next morning.
A machine shop is full of disasters waiting to happen so I'm usually pretty paranoid but this time the chip just lay there quietly so I grabbed it.
A lathe is a dangerous machine but one machine I'm really afraid of is a soft polishing wheel. The wheel wont hurt you much but it can catch a knife blade or a wood chisel and fling it at great speed into the user.

 

[Nutfarmer]

Glad it wasn’t any worse. Most of us all have something to look back on and ask why did I do that? Thanks for sharing. It may help to keep some from making a similar mistake.

 

[markba633csi]

Had a table saw throw a piece at me once, leery of them ever since
Granted, it was a warped piece that I should never have tried to cut but thankfully only a bruised shoulder
I take extra care around chip nests too- even aluminum can be very sharp
-M

 

[great white]

Had a table saw throw a piece at me once, leery of them ever since
Granted, it was a warped piece that I should never have tried to cut but thankfully only a bruised shoulder
I take extra care around chip nests too- even aluminum can be very sharp
-M

My dad had that happen once. Kicked back a piece of 4x4 and it caught him square in the chest. Knocked him out and he was all alone at the cottage. He came to about 5 mins afterwards and spent the rest of the week on the couch.

Shortly after that, after I had given him a good dressing down, I introduced him to something called a featherboard.

Odd thing is, he was a qualified shipwright many moons ago building wooden ships. He should have known better or at least known not to get in line with the blade/work…

 

[jbobb1]

Some guys always have the idea of checking surface finish with a finger. I had a guy decide to do just that on the shoulder of a SS cut. A sliver of metal went in the end of his thumb and curled inside and around the bone. Ouch!