Shop apron safety

[mklotz]

If you wear an apron in the shop you'll want to stay well clear of rotating machinery, especially lathes. The typical apron uses a "string" that goes around your neck. If, Zeus forbid, your apron gets tangled in the rotating work or the leadscrew it's going to pull your head down into a mess of spinning metal.

I solved this problem by severing the "string" and sewing it back together with a SINGLE STITCH of crappy sewing thread. I tested this arrangement by grasping the apron in the shop vise and sharply pulling my head back. The thread broke easily.

Later I did the same thing to the other "string" that goes around my waist.

It's a simple fix that could save you a lot of grief.

I forgot to mention...

If your apron has one of those swing-free pockets (know why they're made that way?) it's worth lashing it down while you've got your sewing gear out.

[kbalch]

Another very useful post.

My friends all know me as the "safety guy". In every context, I'm the one who tries to foresee and mitigate all possible consequences. They think I'm nuts, but I still have my hearing, vision, and all fingers/toes/et al.

Ken

[mklotz]

One of the hardest safety-oriented adjustments for me was learning to file left-handed on the lathe. I'm massively right-dominant so doing anything "lefty" is a real pain. In fact, sometimes I'll set up the collet chuck for an operation that could be done in the 3-jaw just so I can file right-handed.

[Toolmaker51]

[QUOTE=mklotz;
If your apron has one of those swing-free pockets (know why they're made that way?) it's worth lashing it down while you've got your sewing gear out.[/QUOTE]

If about 2'' wide x 4'' or so, that a 1'' mic will fit, it swings preventing gravity from re-calibrating the instrument in a partially non-scientific manner.