machine shop horror stories

[Astarties]

Not really in the shop, but I was at a regional competition 3 years ago. I bent down to pick up our robot after a game and caught my arm on the end of a machine screw. Naturally, it was not a clean cut. It actually looked pretty cool, it had jagged edges on either side of it. I now have a scar on my right arm a few inches below my elbow. It's mostly faded now, but you can still faintly make out where I got cut.

[alex334]

Well, nothing serious happened to us, but during my rookie year, I was milling a circular piece of aluminum the old fashioned way and while turning the knob, I managed to scrape my thumb against the edge of aluminum. It bled quite a lot and I learned that I should start wearing gloves a lot more.

As for this season, one of our seniors was working on the lathe, cutting down a cast iron pulley and accidentally cut too much in one pass, sending a large chunk of cast iron flying by his head. He was safe, but was quite embarrassed seeing that we had to order a new one.

[Chris is me]

This thread is why I don't machine things.

[nighterfighter]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

This thread is why I don't machine things.

But do you drive a car?

I don't know the statistics, but how many people get seriously injured from machining things, vs how many people how don't?

[Chris is me]

A simple look at "number of injuries" wouldn't really suffice as many more people drive cars for longer periods of time than stand in a machine shop.

When machining, if you forget something critical you can do some major damage very quickly, a lot more than in a car. I am totally the kind of person who would forget to clamp something down or have a part kick back on a table saw - hence I avoid machining.

[apalrd]

I have only ever used a lathe twice. One of the two times, I left the key thingy in and it flew out. Not good.

Being a programmer, I generally don't do precision machining (mill and lathe), but will make small parts - generally to mount electrical components. They generally aren't that perfect, but they are good enough for electrical components.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

A simple look at "number of injuries" wouldn't really suffice as many more people drive cars for longer periods of time than stand in a machine shop.

When machining, if you forget something critical you can do some major damage very quickly, a lot more than in a car. I am totally the kind of person who would forget to clamp something down or have a part kick back on a table saw - hence I avoid machining.

Chris, if I can do it anyone can.

I always have someone else double check the set up before I do anything more complex than use a bandsaw. We also have a rule where no one works alone on anything so oversights are pretty rare, we've had a few times where things come loose but nothing flying across the shop.

I have to disagree with your comment about the car. I drive a small car (2800lbs) but it'll do 0-60 in sub 7 seconds. Do some quick math on that, 2.5 tons moving at 60mph compared to a lathe chuck key. You screw up in a car and someone is just as dead as if you embed a lathe chuck key in their head. All you can do is follow the appropriate safety precautions. Don't operate under the influence, don't horse around, focus on what you are doing, and respect the machine. For the longest time I was afraid of the mill, a couple years ago I had to get over that and now I have a healthy respect for it. Until about 2 hours ago I was nervous about using a lathe but turning out a couple pulleys and I got over that.

For those of you who don't want to read a block of text:

Respect the Tools.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

This thread is why I don't machine things.

Me too. I don't even go into the shop to take photos.
Ignorance is bliss.