Goofs & Blunders You Should Avoid.

Oh I get it KI LOL (actually though, over decades, it's perty' much a given that one is gonna' work next to some that their "hands just don't fit the handles", so it's always good to learn how to duck! LOL
 
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When turning parts to within .010" of the hard chuck jaws do not forget that you have faced .020" from the length and set Z zero there.

Did this last week, fortunately I always run the first part slowly with a finger on the feed hold button and only scagged an insert when the tool hit the jaws.

Brain fade
 
I grew up around blacksmithing. Dad put me on blower duty at the ripe old age of 7 (as soon as I was big enough to crank the forge blower) and by 10 or 12 I was swinging my own hammer. At about 15, I knew I'd seen it all and knew how to do everything! As a seasoned metalsmithing pro, I'd just finished forging this nifty tanto-shaped blade. Now it's time to fit the handle (stacked leather disks with brass bolster and butt). In preparation, I'm cleaning up and squaring off the tang with an angle grinder; the knife held firmly in a leg vice. It looks great and I know I've got it made. I turn off the grinder, wait for it to spin down (for safety!), set it down, and grab hold of the tang of the knife...

You know, it's funny how the really, really hot things feel cold and slippery. The cold is because the nerves are misfiring as they die from the heat and the slippery is from your own skin melting. I melted the fingerprints off the first four fingers of my left hand with that little "oops." Couldn't touch anything for days and didn't get the fingerprints back for about six weeks. I still have that knife, though. Holds a right fine edge. I guess I made a pleasing offering of pain to the metal gods.

Never forget that grinding adds huge amounts of heat to your workpiece or that steel doesn't glow until about 900 degrees fahrenheit!
--
Hurley in Memphis
 
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That reminds me that I am probably due, or over due for some. When I was active duty any time I went in for anything and they saw the cuts etc, They would just give me one as a precaution.
 
Tetanus vaccinations are not without risks, some severe. My favorite aunt died a painful death from Guillain-Barre syndrome that was caused by the tetanus vaccination. Other reactions are more common than you think (paralysis, seizures). I still get tetanus shots, but not indiscriminately, I make sure I am due for one and definitely not "just for precaution".
 
Like many things, they are a means of risk management. It's true there could be adverse side effects (as with most any medical treatment), and you should not take them indiscriminately. But in our line of work (or hobby) there are definite risks of infections that are non issues if we are current on our shots. It is a personal decision, of course, but the generally accepted reasoning is that the risk of side effects is low in comparison to the risk of serious consequences resulting from an infection that would have been prevented by the shot. I've been taking them since I went into this line of work, every 10 years I believe.
 
Just today, I remembered one that had slipped my mind......

I was doing some woodworking in my multi-use shop and noticed that saw dust from cutting or sanding was building up on my new MIG welder.
Well I can't have that....so I looked around and there was some vapour barrier left over from a recent renovation.
Using nothing more than scissors and a stapler, I made a very serviceable dust cover. It worked a treat.

Days later I needed to weld something. I try to be careful about any flammables including saw-dust etc. so after a good vacuuming I pulled the dust cover off the MIG machine put it aside and continued the welding project. Part way thru and out of the corner of my mask I saw some "moving light"......what was that?

Some sparks had hit the vapour barrier and set it on fire!
I must say I was surprised by how well that plastic sheet supported a flame. It would burn, drip flaming goo, and both the fresh edge and goo continued to burn.

Hmmmm, we build houses with this? Sure it's behind the sheet-rock fire barrier, but once a fire gets in the walls, look out!

I guess I need a big piece of leather for a spark-proof dust cover.......

-brino
 
You would think vapor barrier would be flame resistant. That's kinda scary.
 
Chip control or a lack thereof, did a bunch of parts in 303 SS from 3 1/2" diameter stock in a 3 jaw chuck, when roughing the chips came off in small C shaped bits, this was excellent.
The finish cut was a nightmare however, the chip would not break in this material, it coiled a single strand around the part, tool and chuck.
Ran the next one and went to get a cup of coffee, the chips wound around the chuck jaws in an epic birds nest and turned all of the lock line coolant components into little blue and orange plastic bits.
 
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