Again I proved that it is hard to see when you have your head up your a##!!!
I was turning another 20" by 8" bowl from laminated fir beam and it came off
the lathe at close to 1200 RPM.
I turn, sand, fill any voids with WoodEpox and spray on a heavy coat of
poly on the exterior of the bowl first. The piece is then left to dry for
at least 4 hours. Then I finish sand and spray on another couple coats of
poly and let dry overnight. This procedure drastically reduces warping.
Then I start on the inside. All this long winded explanation is to show
that the piece had been turning for about an hour before disaster struck.
Two things saved me from getting hurt.
1. I make a very concentrated effort not to stand in front of the piece
being turned.
2. I always keep the piece between centers as long as possible. On a
bowl of this size I will remove 90% of the interior before I remove the tail
stock.
After action report
Cause of problem was that I had only used 2 screws instead of 6 when
attaching the faceplate to the waste block. I guess that I got interrupted
when mounting the piece.
Piece didn't fly across the shop but fell on the floor under lathe. I
suspect that the piece started slipping and hit the ways causing it to come
out. Being trapped between centers caused most of the energy to be adsorbed
by hitting the ways and tearing the piece from between centers. I got lucky
and learned a lot with no damage to me or the shop.


--
Art Ransom
Lancaster,TX

www.turningaround.org
http://tinyurl.com/clhg