An artist and his wounds

My two "incidents" were immediately followed by a loud bellow for my daughter, then a more sedate list of things she was to get out of the first aid drawer while I kept pressure on the wound.

No subtlety there ;-)

"Arch" wrote: (clip) I can't see the d... branches even at low rpm (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Arch, it would be a shame for the artistic community to lose your contribution in this area. I suggest you go shopping for a strobe light--not the kind that goes on a camera; I mean the kind that flickers in synchronism with a rotating thing. I'm serious. I have an old strobe I could probably get working, and I would be happy to try it in this application if it would be any help. If you adjusted the strobe to a nearly synchronous speed, the object would appear to rotate slowly, so you could avoid all the dangerous ends.

Leo, Thanks. How about gluing some short dowels in a spindle as an experiment and letting us know if the strobe is another one of your good ideas. Also some suggestions for set ups and uses for strobes would interest many of us.

If it works out and provokes discussion, please start a new and more circumspect thread without embarrassing phallic references or dotted expletives being repeated in every post. ... and be very careful of your knuckles. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

====================== Arch and Leo, You could do a strobe with an automotive timing light. Using a set of old fashioned ignition points (remember those?), a cam lobe attached to the spindle, a battery and an ignition coil, you'd be all set. Of course, you'd have to turn the lights down, so that may increase your band aid bill !! :-)

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

Of course, that would be synchronous, and of little help. You could get the same effect by shining a flood through a hole in a piece of plywood spinning on the outboard.

Now one of those sound-to music things might work as long as the load has some asymmetry....

yep.. my wife tends to panic and overdo the first aid..

The last time I got a finger tip stuck between a bowl and the tool rest, she was in the shop doing wood burning... I think I actually said "ouch" before walking calmly into the house, where I could ice it and scream like a girl in privacy..

*g*

To help you see those pointy suckers, you might try a tip that George (he's like a rock star here, only needs one name) gave me regarding angel wing bowls... putting a sheet of paper or cardboard in a color that contrasts with the piece that you're turning makes the whole object much more visible... In my case, I hadn't noticed that the chips and shavings on the lathe bed were making the wings harder to see, until I tried George's trick..

Until then, maybe a set of kevlar turning gloves? *g*

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Arch, the last time I turned a piece with pieces sticking out, I painted the ends with that typing correction fluid, called "Tipp-ex" here in the UK. Under a bright light they shone through very clearly. I did kill all other lights in the shop.

Perhaps this would help before you get into strobes!

Regards, Peter Charles Fagg Freshwater, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.

Each can do but little! But if each DID that little, ALL would be done!

Arch, I just got through testing the strobe idea, and I think it will help. I chucked a 16" wooden ruler approximately midway in the jaws of a spigot chuck, so it was spinning like a propeller. Using the strobe, I was able to make the image stop, or drift in either direction. I was able to read the numbers on the ruler even with the room lights on.

My main concern is whether you can find a strobe light like this. Mine is probably 40 or 50 years old--I got it as a junk or surplus item, and I believe this is actually the first time I have used it. I'm sure there are new units available, but at what price?

I suggest attaching day-glo tape to the protruding branch nubs. Either tightly, or let 'em trail out a couple of inches.

mike Mike Patterson Please remove the spamtrap to email me. "I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." - Lily Tomlin

A little while after I started turning, I was hollowing a small box with a scraper. I was leaning over peering into the box and got a catch. The tool handle smacked me upside the head, knocked off my glasses and sent them flying across the shop.

I got a small but deep cut on my right temple. When I realized I was bleeding, I ran to the house, sneaked past my wife to the bathroom to see how bad it was. (I didn't want her to take my new toy way!) Well, the bleeding stopped quickly and I avoided a trip to the ER (although I probably could have used a couple of stitches).

Let's all be careful out there...........:-)

Barry

George, I'd have to try that, but I don't think that would "stop" the rotation like the timing light or a strobe light. The "stopping " effect is due to the sudden impulse of a capacitor thru the Xenon lights or single discharge thru the old cheapo neon lights trigged by the coil discharge. The plywood used with an incandescent light would give a moving "window", but the time of exposure at lower roughing speeds (below

1000 RPM) would tend to result in a blurring effect. There would be some penumbra effect as the hole approaches and departs the main beam area. The penumbra area would be dependent on distance from the plywood to the light source and the distance from the plywood to the work piece, and also the size of the light source. Like I said, I'd have to try it to be sure.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

Arch, is that a goal or a credo? Mick

Arch, is that a goal or a credo? Mick

"Ken Moon" wrote: George, I'd have to try that (light flickering through a hole), but I don't think that would "stop" the rotation like the timing light or a strobe light. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ken, I am pretty sure your analysis is correct. A strobe is a bright, very short burst of light, as opposed to a sweeping beam. I want to add: to avoid skinned knuckles, you don't want perfect 1:1 synchronization. You can play with strobe frequency to make the image rotate slowly, or you can set the strobe to a frequency which is a multiple of the spindle speed, so the threatening branches from all sides are seen at once. If you just "stop" the image by exact synchronization, it will create a real sucker trap.

With the strobe only synchronous with one protrusion, the flash blind turner would bark knuckles on the next. I meant it as a joke, but I daresay a Fresnel lens and/or a radial slit might do.

Actually, the branches can be used to reveal themselves by interrupting illumination by a properly placed flood with little effort. Light background to give greater contrast.

Yep.

================================== I agree. A contrasting background and good lighting should give you the best visual imaging of the protrutions as they twirl past your hand.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX