On Wed, 29 Nov 2006 04:46:08 GMT, "Toller" wrote:

I have just finished a bowl turning course; my first lathe work. The
instructor is very casual about safety; he says that is reasonable, since no
one ever get hurt on a lathe. I wonder how true that is.

Not true at all. There's a hunk of wood spinning around, and you're
jabbing a sharp piece of metal into it. Provided you're careful, it's
safe enough, but it's just as dangerous as any other tool, and more
dangerous than some.

I read through the website on woodworking injuries, and there aren't many
lathe injuries reported. The main problem seems to be the work breaking
apart at high speeds. Does that happen much?

Depends on what you're doing- I've had it happen a few times when
cutting wet wood very thin. It dries on the lathe, and if it cracks,
it will explode off at fairly high velocity. More *dangerous* to my
mind are spinning chuck jaws that can quickly tear all the skin off a
knuckle or remove a fingernail if you get too close, and getting
something loose wound around the spindle. Easy to bust up a finger or
two if you're sanding the inside of a hollow form like a vase with
sandpaper held in your hand.

A number of people recommended full face shields. I have one, but it is
pretty thin flexible plastic; I don't expect it would help much against a
high speed chunk of wood. I looked up a few websites (amazon, hartsville,
woodcraft) and they just sell ones like mine, except mine has a metal frame.
Is there something better, or is it strong enough?

It's strong enough- unless you're doing something really crazy, like
turning wood with live ammunition in it. Think about it for a minute-
the rotational force of the piece isn't the only thing that affects
how it's going to fly off if something breaks or is not held
correctly. Gravity has it's say as well- and from previous exerience
when I got my first chuck, anything that could possibly be heavy
enough to break the sheild drops just as fast or faster than it is
moving towards you. Most heavy things will fall fast, then roll along
the floor- not shoot at you like a cannonball. The face shield will
easily save you from high velocity splinters and smaller chunks of
wood that are moving really fast, and those are the dangers that piece
of equipment is guarding you against.

I am the only person wearing a dust mask, and it gets pretty dirty after a
few hours.

A dust mask is always a good idea, not matter what you're doing to
make dust.

As always, common sense will keep you safe as much as anything else.