Pipemaking injuries

[kola]

It appears to me that this type of craftwork has its share of risks when it pertains to injuries. There are a lot of fast things spinning around and plenty of sharp tools being used. As a motorcycle rider and horsenut for the last 30 years I tell everyone new to bikes and horse hobbies that accidents are all part of the game and are bound to happen. But there is a way to reduce those chances and minimize injuries.

Therefore, I can only imagine there has been some close calls or serious injuries when crafting pipes. If anyone would like to share their experiences I think it would be helpful and could possible help others avoid making the same mistakes. In my experiences most accidents could have been prevented and they usually happen later in the day when the person is tired or when they are rushing...or just inexperienced.

The only pipework I have done is refurbs and polishing. I was in a bit of a hurry and lost a pipe to the buffing wheel. (pushing too hard and bad angle). Before I could blink it grabbed the pipe bounced off the cement floor and somehow belted me in the face. I ended up with a sore cheekbone but it easily could have knocked out a tooth or popped me in the eyeball or hit me in the nads'. I did have safety glasses on. The pipe did not survive. It cracked at the shank.

I guess my biggest fear would be cutting on the lathe, either getting a cutting tool hung up or having the briar block let loose from the chuck.

My intention of this post in one of curiosity but moreso I hope it brings some awareness when it comes to safety issues.

Kola

[tsgourley]

It was my first time using a sanding disk mounted to a motor. Shaping was going well with a 60 grit pad, until I slipped and sanded my thumb. 60 grit at a reasonable RPM will shape your thumb nicely! Although I could probably remove a little more material to make the shape flow better into my hand. :p

[Dixie_piper]

For trimming the excess off of a block before rough shaping, I use a hacksaw until I can get my hands on a bandsaw.
On close parting cuts, I mount the saw in the vise and work the block SLOWLY along the blade.
Just last night I got in a hurry with a trim cut, block slipped, middle finger ripped to the bone. Can't feel it past the 3rd knuckle, no biggie though
The most dangerous thing in any workshop, even in life in general, is carelessness.

[Alan L]

After attempting a really fiddly lathe setup with a four-jaw independant chuck I ended up with the imprint of a chuck key in the middle of my chest. Forgot the thing was in the chuck until I hit the switch, at which point I immediately realized the error of my preparations.

[KurtHuhn]

My most common injuries are skinned knuckles from the lathe chuck, and sanded fingers from the shaping wheel. For some reason, I never grind my fingers on belt sanders, just on the shaping wheel. These are fairly regular, and usually minor.

I used to go without safety glasses on a regular basis, until one day a piece of steel swarf shot up from the metal lathe and into my eye. I got it out easily enough with my wife's help, but I learned my lesson and always wear the safety apparel now. This includes a respirator when I'm grinding anything - wood, metal, it doesn't matter. Hearing protection is a necessity also, as I've learned from decades of punk and heavy metal played at eye-blistering volume. I'm now deaf over several frequencies, and cannot hear a damn thing in a crowded room except if I'm shouted at.

Other than that, burns, scrapes, cuts, and bruises are all an occupational hazard of using the tools we do.

Like you said, Kola - there's two types of motorcycle riders: those that have dumped their scoot, and those that will.

[kola]

c'mon guys fess up, lol.

[JMG]

I'm really new to pipe making...only on my 4th pipe. However, in this limited amount of time I've already ended up with 6 stitches in my left hand. I can tell you...do NOT use a chisel for trying to shape Briar. One, it doesn't work, and two, well...you know this part already.

[Dixie_piper]

Like any hobby, it's no fun until you've had to clean your own blood from a piece you're working on or the tool you're working with.
I can honestly say I've never worked on a vehicle (minus typical PM) that I haven't bled on. Just comes with the territory
Hence the reason our failed shop was named "KB customz,"short for Knuckle Busters, and the reason I'll never own another rice burner

[CastAxe]

While rough sanding my first pipe the block caught the sander and flew out of my hands and hit me in the face, i got a black eye from it. I also hit my knuckle on the sander and sanded right down to the bone, cold air does not mix well with exposed bone

[Sasquatch]

There are two really easy mistakes to make in the workshop. 1st is that a running machine is running, and all the bits that spin are spinning, be it the motor on the backside of a table saw or the handwheel (or god help you the chuck) of a lathe.... if they get ahold of you, they will eat your clothes, pull you in, and break/skin/joint/hurt you in the blink of an eye. It's easy to remember that the blade on the table saw is dangerous, but it's another thing to keep the entire tool in mind.

The second thing to keep in mind is that once in awhile, something is gonna break or slip. And when it does, there's no warning, no light flashes on the machine.... just "ping" and suddenly a drill bit is gone or something comes out of a chuck or kicks back or whatever. But you can't use machines without eye protection because eyes are much much softer than metal and wood. When you've seen a guy with a staple in his eye, kicked there from a circular saw while trimming the end of a 2x4 (something he'd done 80 million times), you start to realize that while you have 2 eyes..... 2 is not a real big number.

These accidents happen in a tenth of a second. There's usually no ability to fight back, to bully your way out of trouble. The noise is "click" or "pop" or "ZICK!" and the thing has happened and you are bleeding.

No loose clothes. No long sleeves unless they are almost skin tight. No jewelry, rings, nothing. Clean hands. Eye, ear and respiratory protection.

And don't play if you're tired.


Now, all that said, I have hurt myself any number of ways in the shop, from thin plywood coming back off a table saw to having a carbide router bit come apart mid-cut (the big part STUCK in the wooden wall nearby. A diamond bullet.)

I have only nicked fingers with a file doing pipes. Did have a pipe come off the lathe but it was no biggy because I glue chuck so there's no force if it comes off.

One of the reasons carpentry makes a guy tired is that you have to think all day long about not cutting your fingers or legs off. Every time you pick up a tool, there's a mental checklist. And it should be the same in the shop. "Am I on good ground? Is the area clear? Is there anything on me that this machine can grab? Is the workpiece secure? If the workpiece unsecures, am I protected? Is there a better way to do this operation?"

[Mike Messer]

I broke a fingernail, recently.

Seriously, I repeatedly sand the corner off of my little fingernail, because of the way I hold sandpaper.
I once did a two-coner bounce shot, from the wall to the ceiling and then back to the floor, with a bowl when I lost my grip on it using a disc sander. No harm done, though.
I also bent a wood lathe chisel, when it caught on the square edge of the bowl area when I was turning the shank. It triggered the power surge sensing circuit in the lathe and shut it down.
I also, occasionally, bounce various pieces onto a pad on the floor under my buffing wheel when a square edge catches on it and I loose my grip.
I'v been thinking about getting a baseball catchers cup, because I sit in front of the buffing wheel, legs apart, necessarily.