-
January Turning Challenge: Thin-Stemmed Something! (click here for details) -
Conversations are now Direct Messages (click here for details) -
Congratulations to John Lucas for "Lost and Found" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 13, 2025 (click here for details) -
Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.
Death at the lathe
- Thread starter n7bsn
- Start date
Quite sad and sobering.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
That's very sad and my sympathy goes out to all her friends and family. I photograph for a University and have been in many chemistry labs. I've never seen a wood lathe in one. Not trying to question the article I'm just wondering what they use one for. I've also never seen metal lathe in one and that would seem more logical. Needless to say it's very sad and we can't stress enough about the safety when around machinery.
Lathe death
I too am too old to know about machine shops in chemistry departments but there was a nice one in our physics department. It was run by a mad Russian who tolerated nothing outside of good safety. I read another article besides n7bsn link and it stated it was a metal lathe. It will take a few days to get all the details squared away but the young lady who was killed certainly died a tragic death. It always takes an accident like this to get the ball rolling on safety.
I too am too old to know about machine shops in chemistry departments but there was a nice one in our physics department. It was run by a mad Russian who tolerated nothing outside of good safety. I read another article besides n7bsn link and it stated it was a metal lathe. It will take a few days to get all the details squared away but the young lady who was killed certainly died a tragic death. It always takes an accident like this to get the ball rolling on safety.
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2005
- Messages
- 13,039
- Likes
- 5,481
- Location
- Dalworthington Gardens, TX
- Website
- pbase.com
The machine shop is in the basement of the chemistry lab building and not in a lab itself. It is sad that the person who wrote the news story that I read about this tragedy didn't do a good job of making the story coherent or factual. The lathe was explained to be a machine to mold wood and metal into different shapes.
Only certain students were allowed into the machine shop and only after taking a required course.
Only certain students were allowed into the machine shop and only after taking a required course.
why were anyone permitted to be running the lathe alone ? it makes sense to require two students to be at attention at the time
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2005
- Messages
- 306
- Likes
- 14
I disagree on there needing to be 2 students. She was a young intelligent adult working on her project. It was a tragic freak accident.a split second and it was too late. Most everyone works on their own. Just think next time you go out to the shop. A piece of wood could splinter off and strike you in the neck piercing an artery. All accidents are preventable but sometimes they happen anyway. Maybe she was following all the safety procedures and sneezed bringing her head and hair closer to the lathe than normal. In an instant it's too late. We may never fully know what lead to the accident. Such a loss...
If she was following ALL of the safety rules, her hair would have been tied back and under a hat.
That being said, this is a tragic accident and a terrible loss and reminds me of all of the safety rules I personally only sort of follow. I'm sure I will think again when I go down to my shop.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2005
- Messages
- 306
- Likes
- 14
Point being you can follow all the safety rules that are in place and things still happen. Not sure a hat is a requirement. We could go back and forth about every safety rule and how things can happen even when they are followed. It just irks me when people say what she should've been doing when we don't know what she did to cause it. I give her the benefit of the doubt when others are ready to ask why this or that wasn't done.
Just got back from a class with Dale Nish and one quote of his was "I never saw a smart accident".
Lots of little things ....
I would not be surprised to find out that she knew the rules and had probably used the lathe before. Late at night, tired, in a hurry, distracted...... I have heard the same comments many times. It's usually not one big mistake, it's lots of small mistakes the combine and compound to create an accident. Sometimes we get lucky and only bend or break something.
I would not be surprised to find out that she knew the rules and had probably used the lathe before. Late at night, tired, in a hurry, distracted...... I have heard the same comments many times. It's usually not one big mistake, it's lots of small mistakes the combine and compound to create an accident. Sometimes we get lucky and only bend or break something.
Had this been an old salt with many years under the belt the discussion would be a tad different. If folks knew the person as safe then man what a tragic event. If the person was known as one who took lots of risks? Then same thing only? Wonder what took so long? That person was an accident waiting to happen. But here we have a young person. So I also feel very sad for her parents. The addage we should die before our kids. The ones of us who have had events that could have killed us at the lathe tend to be a bit more gun shy so to speak. Last time what seemed a small chunk broke at a thousand rpm and hit me in the chest? Knocked my(you add a term) in the dirt. I was on the floor wondering what the hell happened. Black and blue for weeks. If it had hit me in the head? I feel sorry for the loss of all young folk who then do not have a chance to be makers or anything else they might have done. But as a parent who has lost a child I really feel for her folks. Be as safe as you can folks.
.....so sorry for the young lady.....a very tragic accident.
As I understand, it was her hair that was caught in the lathe. My hair is long, as well. I ALWAYS keep it tied back in a pony tail while working in my shop. In the machine shop, where I work, the rules are to keep long hair tied back......but, no hat requirements. Rules are rules, and there is a good reason for them. One of the ladies who works there had a patch of hair ripped from her head last year......she wasn't following the rules. She was operating a grinder, very much the same thing as we turners use to sharpen our tools. She now does not fail to follow procedures, because her accident was a cheap lesson.
ooc
Hair
Not to worry about me-my hair is short!!!! 😀Gretch
Not to worry about me-my hair is short!!!! 😀Gretch
This would be to Brian, we don't know but, if there were at least two people in the shop during this time period she might not have died. IF it were her hair that got caught in the spinning material and slammed her head to the material and knocked her out, with another person being there she could have been saved. Sence we don't know all of what took place at Yale, like all humans we are just guessing.
And yes it could happen to any one of us at any time working alone in our own shop. It is the risk we take working in our private shops.
At our club we have a rule that no one works on any equipment alone.
It is not only a safety requirement but also deals with insurance.
All that being said, my thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of the young lady.
Glen
An add on here:
At last years SWAT I was talking with Doug Thompson at his booth when all of a sudden something happened a couple of booths down from his. A girl/woman had her long hair in pigtails (count 2) coming off the side of her head, turning a pen in the pen booth when one of those pigtails got caught in the lathe. Jerked her head down to the lathe and she wound up leaking red stuff with some loose hairs. She cleaned up the blood and without changing her hair style went right back to what she was doing. I tried to stop her but was told to mind my own buisness. Should I ever see something like this again, I will make it the buisness of who is putting on the convension.
And yes it could happen to any one of us at any time working alone in our own shop. It is the risk we take working in our private shops.
At our club we have a rule that no one works on any equipment alone.
It is not only a safety requirement but also deals with insurance.
All that being said, my thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of the young lady.
Glen
An add on here:
At last years SWAT I was talking with Doug Thompson at his booth when all of a sudden something happened a couple of booths down from his. A girl/woman had her long hair in pigtails (count 2) coming off the side of her head, turning a pen in the pen booth when one of those pigtails got caught in the lathe. Jerked her head down to the lathe and she wound up leaking red stuff with some loose hairs. She cleaned up the blood and without changing her hair style went right back to what she was doing. I tried to stop her but was told to mind my own buisness. Should I ever see something like this again, I will make it the buisness of who is putting on the convension.
Last edited:
Very tragic indeed.....
A solemn reminder to those of us who may not give the lathe the attention and respect it requires.
I plan on posting a safety reminder on my lathe where I have to see it. Hopefully this will allow me to keep all my parts separated from the lathe parts as was intended when I landed here.
A solemn reminder to those of us who may not give the lathe the attention and respect it requires.
I plan on posting a safety reminder on my lathe where I have to see it. Hopefully this will allow me to keep all my parts separated from the lathe parts as was intended when I landed here.