Drill press safety ( lesson cost six stiches)

Any accident, mistake, or blunder is a learning opportunity.  The following incident is no exception.

 

I was making an oak cabinet which included some nice brass hinges, but the screw holes in the hinges were not large enough. No problem, I could just ream out the holes on my drill press. I chucked the drill bit.  I paused, realizing that a power drill can be dangerous, the bit can catch in the workpiece and cause it to spin; it can become a very dangerous spinning blade. Since I didn’t want that, I got out my vise grips and held the hinge tightly in one hand as I operated the drill press with the other.  It did not spin, that’s for sure. The helix of the bit caught in the hole and slammed the hinge and my hand almost instantly up into the chuck. In a fraction of a second the sharp edges of the spinning chuck did the inevitable damage to my thumb and forefinger.  A trip to the emergency room and six stitches later, I had definitely learned another lesson. Like clamp the workpiece down and get my hands out of the way!

Comments

[bfk]

Been there, done that... But unlike you, kept doing it many times. Some people just don't learn. I finally picked up a drill press clamp at Harbor Freight, but because it was a pain to use, it sat next to my drill for years. It took forever to thread the wing nut up the long shaft that holds the clamp to the table... A few years ago, I had a "duh" moment and cut the shaft down. Now, it's so quick and easy to use, it doubles as a stop clamp for production setups.

[flavrt]

Thank you for a good lesson.

[Bill WW]

I'm a retired engineer, trying to stay out of trouble (and not always succeeding!). See the Instructable I just posted for an example.

Thanks for the comment.

Bill

[Mindmapper1]

mmm I have taught 'shop' for years and despite telling and telling and telling students there is always one who will not believe (until it happens) that they cannot grip thin, sharp metal, plastic or wood to drill it safely without taking the risk that they might not be able to hold it. They think they can get away with it but as others have said, it spins and the natural reaction is to grab it, of course the worse thing that you can do!
Never try and think that you can beat the drilling machine 'cos you can't and won't!
Fortunately never done it myself but have seen others come off second best. You have been quite rightly warned.

[Bill WW]

Thanks for your comment. I'm still learning!

[digitallyinsane]

I now take a moment before turning anything on to think "Is this the safest way I can do this?"

I lost three months of work, loss of the use of most of my left index finger, and copious amounts of scar tissue on my middle finger and ring finger when my hand caught my table saw blade. It was a momentary lapse of judgement, I've been behind a table saw for more than 15 years. I partially amputated my index, middle and ring finger, lost the last knuckle of my index finger, and had to endure pins sticking out of my fingers for months, and even a bone graft harvested from my hip when there just wasn't enough bone material for it to solidify.

Never reach past the blade of a table saw. If anyone can learn from my mistake, it's not a total waste. Here's a safe for work picture of my hand while I was healing.

Stay safe and enjoy your hobbies.

[Bill WW]

Thanks, appreciate the comment, very timely.

I started working with tools when I was eleven, so (I'm doing the math now) I have been "lucky" for sixty years.

So, yesterday I was cutting a 12" x 18" 3/4" thick panel on my table saw, using the rip fence. I reached past the blade. The panel caught, kicked back so hard I thought it had hit and broken my car windshield. Again I was lucky and not hurt. Will take your advice.

[digitallyinsane]

Complacency costs those with our hobbies (or professions) fingers or grave/catastrophic injury.

I was milling wood from an oak pallet, trimming off the arches on the 2" piece, hit an air pocket and then a knot while reaching past and guiding the trim out of the way. That's what did it. Complacency and momentary oversight.

[Dardaro]

i learn that lesson in the same way

[shannonlove]

Six stitches is a cheap lesson. Only my compulsive wearing of safety glasses saved my one good eye some years back.

I think people get bit by this because they think the danger comes from the size of the workpiece, which is small and easily controlled and not the power of the drill motor, transmission and leverage. They should reflect that a bullet is much smaller and has less mass than the gun and propellent that fire it.

Once any work piece becomes engaged by the drill press the full energy of the press's rotation, including angular momentum, can be transferred to and concentrated in the workpiece turning it a whirling blade or projectile. Like a bullet the workpiece now that packs most of the energy imparted to it by the drill press but concentrated in a very small area.

That means our intuition is backwards. We intuit that the smaller the workpiece the safer it is and the less clamping and securing it means, the opposite is true. The small the workpiece the more it needs to be nailed down.

[Bill WW]

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

I also have just one good eye left, so this is serious stuff.

Bill

[noahw]

I agree with Rimar2000, I find myself making the exact same mistake you just described at the drill press time after time. I pause for a second before flipping the "on" switch and say to myself, "boy, I should really clamp this piece of material down". I usually do, but sometimes I proceed anyway due to some mysterious force inside of me that seems compelled to do things knowingly in the wrong way.

[Quick-tune]

I too do it most of the time... the force also known as stupidity.

[dll932]

I use a drill press frequently at work. After nearly getting my hand broken and ruining a mold worth a few K$, I drilled and tapped the table for lathe/mill clamp hold-downs (5/16x18 thread). Cheap insurance. Some tables have slots for clamp hardware-use them!

[SlickSqueegie]

Glad you are ok! I find the drill press to be one of the most dangerous tools on the shop....

[kenkaniff]

I agree. I think sometimes people get careless because of how easy it is to work with. I was lucky, one time while using a drill press, the whole quill fell loose; if the table were not set so high, it probably would have fallen completely off, onto my hands or spun into my torso. Since that day, I always make sure the quill is nice and tight.

Any machine with power can be dangerous, and sadly I think this one is one of the more overlooked dangers.

[Bill WW]

Thank you for your comment.

I believe one reason for overlooked risk from a drill press is that it is relativly quiet. If machinery is loud, we assume it is also dangerous. A nice quiet drill sounds "safe".

[wolfkeeper]

I wonder if it would have been safer to clamp it in a vice and use a hand drill to do this.

[Bill WW]

You are quite right, Wolfkeeper. All I needed to do was enlarge the screw holes a bit.

Bill

[rimar2000]

Es muy difícil escarmentar, Bill, lo digo por experiencia propia. Yo me sorprendo a menudo haciendo las cosas mal, arriesgando mis manos, mis ojos, etc, indebidamente.

It is very difficult to learn a lesson, Bill, I say this from experience. I catch myself often doing the wrong thing, risking my hands, my eyes, etc, unduly.