re: Marrero Priest Killed in Woodworking Accident

Know of a guy doing something similar to this that ended up losing his arm at the elbow.

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I knew nothing about lathes before this thread. I don't think I'll ever go near one now. Yikes.

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same!

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Thought these things usually have a safety feature.

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The best lathes are US made and 100 years old. Safety wasn't a priority.

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I don't understand how anyone would ever use a lathe without some sort of shielding, it's just way too risky.

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A 10lb block of oak spinning at 1300 rpm would likely dent steel plate pretty easily.

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table saw is definitely my most dangerous tool as well.

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Had a run-in with mine a few years ago. I am lucky as hell that my impatience and stupidity did not leave me with half a finger on my right hand.

I did not take the time to lower the blade when I changed to a thinner piece of wood. My push stick slipped, and I heard the 'ping' of something hitting the blade.

Luckily, it only took a corner of meat off the finer and missed the bone by a millimeter or two.

Needless to say, I no longer do any woodworking if agitated or in a hurry. shite can go sideways in a blink.

Very sad to hear of the good Father's passing, BTW.

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I always feel most "nervous" using my table saw

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from age 14 to 16 I worked in my best friend's dad's meat market. I used table saws, slicers, cleavers and an array of butcher knives. Never felt nervous or scared until I got old enough to realize what those things are capable of doing.

Very sad.

I did not know this priest, but I read that he had a whole career before he became a priest. I often find those priests to be the best ones when it comes to pastoral care.

Between this and the retired priest killed on the NS, tough few days for the Archdiocese.

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The best lathes are US made and 100 years old. Safety wasn't a priority.

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Old iron woodworking lathes are probably the least desirable vintage machine in a modern woodworking shop. Robust (American) and Oneway (Canadian) make much better lathes today than the old ones. Part of that has to do with VFD motor controls though you can add that to older lathes.


There are a number of ways someone can get seriously injured on a wood lathe which spins a lot faster than a metal lathe. One that hasn't been mentioned is starting to rough out a large ~100lb unbalanced blank and spinning it too fast and it flying off. Getting a huge catch in a large burl is also scary they can explode like a grenade or send the tool flying if the setup is wrong.

Most people start with a mini lathe and work up to large lathes with 18-22" swings. This allows them to avoid high energy situations until they have made mistakes with small pieces. Lathes are simply dangerous tools that you can not account for all the variables. That said, I still maintain the most dangerous machine found in a well-equipped hobby shop is a shaper.

Father Jimmy was one of the good guys.