Re: Arcs off the fingers and getting killed in the process...

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Arcs off the fingers and getting killed in the process...
From: Phillip Heslin <pheslin-at-home-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)
Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2000 22:34:03 -0700
Approved: twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net
Delivered-To: fixup-tesla-at-pupman-dot-com-at-fixme

Hi all,

  I must agree strongly with Dan here! I made my living as a machinist
for over ten years and I have seen some ugly accidents. Gloves are fine
for lifting a sharp and/or heavy workpiece but the gloves come off
before you ever touch a power switch or approach a moving piece of
machinery.
  One additional note: many of us who wear glasses tend to think that
our eyes are adequately protected. Your glasses should have side shields
and have "Z87" stamped on them somewhere, this indicates that the frames
and lenses are safety rated, at least in the U.S. If not you should have
goggles designed to fit over glasses whenever you work in the shop. 

             Safe coiling,

             Phil Heslin

> [snip]
> 
> >I was wearing googles, and heavy duty
> >leather work gloves, and had all body parts accounted for at the end of the
> >day, but I fear for the person that does not take all possible precautions--
> >even the ones that don't seem necessary, are!
> 
> Arrgh! When building anything, including Tesla-coils, and using power
> tools, *do not wear gloves!!* It's ten times better to screw up and lose a
> finger-tip than it is to get your glove caught in something and have half
> your forearm ripped off! No ties or loose, long hair either. No outside
> shirt-tails. And it's even better to not wear a long-sleeved shirt. You
> *really* don't want to have *anything* cloth-like or loose and floppy
> connected to *you* that can get caught in a power tool. I speak from
> experience here. 19 stitches from a horizontal mill. It's a miracle I still
> have the finger, but if I had been wearing a glove, I would have lost my
> hand for sure and probably half my forearm too. It's best not to mess up,
> but there's no guarantee. Another time I caught three fingertips in a table
> saw. I got chopped a little (didn't need stitches, just had several days of
> throbbing ;) but if I would have had a glove on, I would have lost *at
> least* two complete fingers.
> Always be as safe as possible, but please don't wear gloves when working
> with power tools.
> Dan