In article , "George" George@least
wrote:

How about some "rules?"

First rule is to avoid anything thrown by the lathe. Don't stand in harm's
way at startup, listen and watch for signs that anything's working loose.
Keep your on/off switch near the tail of the lathe where you won't have to
reach through the zone, either.

And wear a full face shield rated for impact protection...with a hard
hat if you like. Things don't always jump the way you think they will. A
faceful of wood that's traveling away from the lathe is a bad, painful,
and often expensive thing. A faceshield can be had for $10 and up.
Cheaper to buy it before the first time, rather than before the second
time.

Cranking up the speed is a crutch, and mostly a modern-era crutch.
Doubly so if you're not doing production turning where 5 minutes more
time will impact your income in a bad way. Some expert has claimed
(IIRC) that you need never turn above 1000 RPM (or was it 300?). I'd
certainly rather have a lathe that went from 100 to 1000 than 500 to
5000.

You must control the tool - despite the motor, turning is still
essentially a hand-tool activity, and requires user control of the tool
(unless you're using a spindle-copying jig, and thats not really
turning, IMHO.) Practice on firewood for a while - cheap, guilt-free if
it gets damaged beyond reclaiming, and gives you experience.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by