Plug building accident
 

Posted this on FB but know a lot of guys here don’t go there so figured I’d share it here too.

PLEASE READ!

I see a lot of new plug builders only wearing safety goggles (or nothing) instead of a full face shield, cheap dust mask instead of a good respirator.

I can’t stress enough proper face protection!

Here’s why:

Today while sanding filler on belly weights on my lathe, I had a .40oz round belly weight come lose from the plug and smashed my face shield so hard it cracked!

Now if been building since 2008 and have never had anything like this happen.

There must have been a small air pocket that the filler didn’t get to and caused the weight to come loose. These were filled about 6-8 days ago so the filler was completely dry. I use a two part epoxy filler.

If I only had on safety goggles I’m sure that weight would have done some serious damage, it hit the face shield in the cheek/mouth area. I can’t say how much damage it would have caused but it wouldn’t have been pretty.

I’m so glad the guys that showed me the ropes always expressed safety as a major part of plug building, thank you.

Take this as a word of caution and invest in proper safety gear!

Not good Chris, glad you're ok

Wow - skipped another chance at beautification ; ) .

Glad no serious issue, yes and ounce of preparation goes along way

it's almost that time of year

Full shield has saved my mug on more than a few occasions.

What style/brand of face shield us preferred by folks here? I wear a shield but it feels a little flimsy (harbor freight). Can the mask and respirator be worn in tandem?

Yes the shield has room for both. My problem is glasses. That's more of an issue with fogging. 3M along with other manufactures has an all inclusive shield, dust respirator and ear protection. Same problem , glasses. I mill wood daily and the shield with a dust protector mask and separate ear protection suffice but still in the market big $$$$$$ for an all inclusive shield.

Can we assume that plug will sell at discount price ?

Ya know, kinda like that "scratch & dent" sale !

Glad you got common sense and wore the correct protective gear....

Rain-x anti fog.
I go through the same thing with welding helmet and eye glasses
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From woodcraft store, kinda flimsy, but does the job. Rainx like Ronnie said for fog issue.

Saw your post on FB Chris. Glad you are OK. I have had a couple of balusters blow up on me in 15 years of turning. Face shield saved me more than once.

If that's in gary2s I'll take it ;)
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Serious people will take the time to take precautions.
Fools will be the scar-ridden battle-worn will be the ones bragging about "how they lost that eye, tooth, finger, ear, or any other body part" and think it makes them some kind of hero!

After 2 particularly dangerous eye events (decades apart) I don't mess around with safety.

The old adage still holds true..."I'd rather be safe than sorry!"

What I really can't stand is when I mention safety issues when someone is going to do something inherently dangerous, and I get the condescending eye-roll reaction. Oh, well, when they end up needing a walker, wheel chair or seeing-eye dog we'll find out who was right....

I don't think it's about who's right and wrong and puffing up your ego Tim.

Always safety first
we are human and made mistakes, poor choices, inexperience usually adds to mishaps. Being complacent does not mix with inherently dangerous activity obviously.

Glad you are OK Chris, chit happens
lathes also fling wood at you at a high rate of speed especially when the wood splits along the grain while turning it. Safety first

as in most cases the best piece of safty equipment is that little thing between our ears our brain. a little thought on what we are doing goes a long way to staying safe in our wood shops.in my almost 40 years of woodworking and carpentry,i have seen many expierenced guys doing things that they gave a minutes thought about doing with not such good results

Only had a couple of plugs blow up on the lathe, but I was wearing the shield. However, I mill baseball bats to use the maple on certain lures, and twice I had them kick back and fly over mybright shoulder, once hitting my right shoulder hard. Nothing broke, but it was black and blue for weeks.

Frank cutting those round objects are dangerous. Kick backs are bad. I too had a few close calls. I try to cut a broken bat to a workable length and band saw a flat spot then joint it then now have a square spot to put along fence. I band is by far the safest way to make into a turning blank. If Plugfest comes around I have a few maple barrels if you want.

Hi all, Something I ;earned workin with weights in plugs. No matter what you use at some time the weight is gonna come back at you. When sanding you create heat. It softens the epoxy or putty. The high speed is gonna send a bullet back at you. I stopped using wood putty due to this. I use 2 ton epoxy or rod building epoxy to hold the weights in and let them set for 24 hrs so it completely hardens. A turners apron ,face shield and a mask work good. Add a dust system and it gets safer.

Safety first!

Glad your ok.