Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik
High speed flying chuck keys are terrifying and loud when they hit the wall.
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Or anything else, for that matter. From the two or three times (over four years) I've accidentally had the key fly out, I'm convinced that the chuck key exiting the chuck also creates a terrifying bang.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik
So yeah, everyone please remember that lathes are one of the most dangerous machine tools you'll encounter. And keep your hand on the chuck key whenever it's in the chuck. If you never let it go till it's out of the chuck, it's stupendously less likely to take flight.
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I can't echo this enough - I'm my team's main lather operator, and I've learned that those things are horrendously dangerous. Chuck keys are one among the many things that can go flying if the operator isn't careful. Please also remember to make sure that whatever is chucked up is in there TIGHTLY. If you start cutting and hear a clunk, stop the lathe and check to make sure the metal (or PVC, or plastic, or whatever you're cutting) hasn't slipped. Make sure that the material is in there straight, and that EVERYTHING is squared up. You definitely don't want your material to slip out and hit you in the face. I'm sure it hurts.
One more lathe safety thing: even though we don't want chuck keys flying at all, make sure that the area in front of and behind the chuck are clear. Nobody should be standing in the area in front of and behind the chuck, including you. Take a step to the left or right before you turn the machine on.
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I've had a few close calls myself, but thankfully nothing horribly bloody. Freshman year, I managed to tear off about a quarter of my fingernail on the lathe, and I'm still not entirely sure how it happened, but I think my finger got hit by part of the chuck somehow. I also currently have some small burns from hot metal chips hitting my skin. It's painful.
I was also drilling a hole in a piece of extruded aluminum that I had clamped in a vice, and the drill bit got caught on the metal. It spun the entire vice around and took a good amount of skin off of my left wrist, which was the hand that was holding the vice. No blood, but it was very painful, and I still have the scar. Always clamp things down to the table when working with machinery!