I was making my first bowl last weekend (to be posted later) and in the “burnishing” of the outside of the bowl, I accidently caught my thumb on one of the chuck jaws. It wasn’t too bad, in terms of the potential dangers of using a lathe, but it was enough to make me stop any work on the lathe for a few days. The chuck caught my nail and tore almost half of it off and created a little blood blister on the tip of my thumb. Again, it is bound to happen when you have a chunk of wood spinning at about 3000 rpm, and I console myself with the fact that it could have been a lot worse. I glued the nail back on with my handy dandy CA glue (super glue) and will baby it until the nail grows out. Lee Valley sells a chuck cuff (a little rainbow coloured elastic that goes over the chuck jaws) that I will pick up. Not only does this cover up any sharp corners of the jaws, but because it is brightly coloured, I will be able to see where the spinning chuck is. The cuff is only $5 so I don’t know why I didn’t pick it up when I bought the chuck. This is why I have titled this post as a cautionary tale.
The picture is of a largely healed thumb after almost a week of care.
To Everything, Turn...Turn...Turn 