[crw-talk] Saturday 6-17-23 Demo Safety Concerns

Wed Jun 21 21:32:21 CDT 2023

Dear fellow club members, 

First of all, a thank you to our featured demonstrator for stepping up to
share his skill and concepts related to turning a footless bowl. I learned
things I did not previously appreciate. 

I arrived at Saturday's club turning demo a just a bit before 9 am. First
thing I noticed was no AV setup, once again! My belief is that the club
shows disrespect to any demonstrator kind enough to volunteer their time,
prepare for and share their skill with the attendees by not providing the
infrastructure, which the club currently has so the members can enjoy the
nuances of the presentation and maximize the learning taking place. By
providing the AV support/equipment we already have, all attendees can
visualize all that's taking place at the lathe: seeing the lathe's drive and
tail stock end, view from directly over the lathe, and clearly hearing the
voice of the demonstrator. At this past Saturday's demo, this was clearly
not the case.

As the demo began, I quickly became aware of several safety concerns during
the demonstration of turning the timber, a smallish bowl. 

In my absent mindedness, I chose not to take pictures, which would have
helped defend this writing.  However, I feel compelled to express my concern
and am willing to take the fall-out from mentioning.  After consultation
with others (thank you to those contributors), several positive steps are
listed and suggested to leadership to improve the attendee's experience.
There are a few web links embedded in this email, click on or copy the link
and paste into your browser to view if desired, value added, same price.

We all know or should know, especially if you are an AAW member, take
classes, be mentored from a respected turner,  or read the UK journal,
Woodturning that woodturning is a dangerous endeavor. In every issue of the
AAW journal, it clearly states, "an accident at the lathe can happen with
blinding suddenness, respiratory and other problems can build over years.
Take appropriate precautions when you turn. Safety guidelines are published
online at tiny.cc/turnsafe. Following these guidelines will help you
continue to enjoy woodturning"  Similar statements are found in the UK
journal. Many IRD's and quality YouTube turning videos respond in similar
fashion, for example, see Alan Scranton's,  <http://www.aswoodturns.com>
www.aswoodturns.com .

What are my observations?

#1. The featured demonstrator, while obviously skilled at woodturning chose
not to wear a face mask, however, was wearing safety glasses and a dust mask
throughout the complete demo. As all of us, especially seasoned turners who
turn non-spindle-oriented timber, i.e. end grain, know from experience that
the piece may come off the lathe, or chunks of wood can fly off the lathe at
lightning speed, not necessarily with forewarning.  It's happened to me,
more than once. Even with turning a piece between centers, the piece can
come off the lathe.  How do we know this?

#2. The Saturdays' club demo organizer chose NOT to coordinate the set-up of
the club's existing AV system.  Doing so however, would allow the audience
to not feel so compelled to be up close to the action.  Several people were
in the direct "line of fire" or "red zone" and sitting close to the action.
Sitting some moderate distance from the lathe; having multiple camera feeds
with the club's display screens or using the club's existing analog
projector would allow for a much richer audience experience, in a safer
manner.  The veteran club members reading will remember this AV support was
a given at all club demos at the Community Center.  The only thing that has
changed is the place (building) that demonstrations takes place.

#3. As in statement #2, 2 people were in the direct "line of fire" and very
close to the action should the entire piece or chunks of the piece come off
of the material being turned. They were not wearing PPE, nor should have
been.

#4. The club has chosen not to install the club's "plexiglass lathe
shields". These shields are free standing or attach directly to the lathe
stands to protect the viewing audience should an accident occur. We have
these devices! Please use em!

#5. There may have been, but I did not look for or see the club's "first aid
kit".  The first aid kit should be in place for every turning event, whether
at the club site or off-site demos.  I don't feel like I must define what an
accident is or the purpose of a first aid kit. I'm assuming none of us is
too cavalier not to feel to have a first aid kit present in the club's demo
space or their home shops.

#6. A club member in the viewing audience mentioned during the demo, of
their concern about people sitting close to spinning wood, and in the line
of fire. The demonstrator, kind of ignored the concern, mentioned that the
piece would not come of the lathe due to how it was captured between
centers, and did not suggest mitigation safety measures for the audience
such as moving the front row back couple feet or clear the path in the
"direct line of fire", nor personally wear a full-face mask  (the normal and
recommended safety device when turning bowls and other items) to protect
himself. 

For those reading this who may not know, many people have lost eyes,
sustained severe facial damage and even death from timber coming off the
lathe or a piece flying off the timber being turned.  To name a few, Joan
Kelly, an experienced turner, died May 4, 2011, 2 weeks after a lathe
accident, Jimmy Jeanfeau, a priest and hobby turner, died  more recently on
November 29, 2022,  an apparent instant death following a lathe accident,
and Lyn Yamaguchi,  <http://lynneyamaguchi.com/Yamaguchi_SafetyMatters.pdf>
Yamaguchi_SafetyMatters.pdf (lynneyamaguchi.com) an accomplished
professional turner suffered life altering injuries following a serious
lathe accident on Sept 12, 2012. There are many other examples. 
Some may say, well the club has liability insurance, for events at various
club venues, so what's the big deal? Well folks, safety is a BIG DEAL!!

#7. Sanding the bowl at Saturday's meeting was done without sanding dust
mitigation. In the past, at least at the Ona Community Center (maybe the
current guidelines have changed); sanding was taboo as the dust could not be
controlled and we understand some woods are an allergen to select people
i.e., walnut, cedar to mention a couple.  It is good to share the sanding
technic, reasons for different grits, discuss types of sanding materials,
etc. As these shows are demonstrations, there is no need to make a finished
product ready for sale or give away.  Exceptions may be helpful for small
finial type work or small diameter spindle work as little dust is generated.
If sanding is required on a larger item, a type of "sanding butter" which
reduces or eliminates generated dust, would be a safer method. 

Please consider these positive suggestions to leadership and all of us going
forward.  A setup checklist could be developed and adhered to, at each and
every demo meeting when actual turning of timber/material is used.  If the
demo is a canned, slide show presentation or IRD, the following list can be
disregarded.  Checklist parameters follow. 

Consider the following as a first draft! 

1.	When using the Commons room at Luther or other facility's room
space, place chairs so that a wedge-shaped open, empty, space (safety aisle)
equal to the width of and starting at the lathe and extending out to the end
of the seating. This will leave no one, other than the turner in the direct
line of fire.  Request that no members place chairs in that "safety aisle".

2.	Provide a Clean Face Mask/shield for the demonstrator turner, in
case they forget to bring their own. To emphasize that point, the meeting
convener should make a club announcement that ALL demonstrators are asked to
wear a full-face shield. In the case of small spindle type work such as
pens, only safety glasses could be used. 
3.	Place the club's first aid kit in an easily accessible location
known to all members.  The first aid kit should be present at all club
turning events, and all off-site turning activities.
4.	Place the club's plexiglass shields, which were made to be free
standing or attached to lathe stands at each lathe used for demonstrations,
even round-robin activities. The stands should accompany the lathes, whether
used on-site, or off-site.  These stands are designed protect the viewing
public. Ensure the plexiglass is Clean so people can readily see the
presenter and lathe project.  These plexiglass screens should be placed when
AV system is used or not used, which appears to be the new normal.
5.	Set the IG (instant gallery) table to the side and in front of the
demo room. This will make it easier for the audience to see, reduce the
steps the IG person/critique/presenter takes for showing the pieces to the
audience, optimize video capture if that is desired and will greatly reduce
members from having side conversations about the pieces while the demo is
ongoing. 
6.	The meeting or demo convener makes an announcement just before each
demo that, other than the usual comments about the demo and about pieces,
being passed around the audience, that other conversations, no matter how
brief should take place outside of the demo area.  In the case of Luther's
commons room, it has a very convenient vestibule by the entrance and hallway
just around the corner that should be used for side conversations. These
side conversations held in the demo room are extremely distracting, not only
to the audience, but for the demonstrator. Not to mention, they are rude!  
Some of us wear hearing aids or are hard of hearing, so these extraneous
conversations are very disruptive to the learning process.  Please remember
the main reason we attend the demo meetings. 
7.	Although the demonstrator has the responsibility to make the demo
safe, our club, has the responsibility to make sure our equipment and
physical setup are created with safety in mind.

In closing, I am writing this to plead with you, the membership, that for
the good of the club, safety for all is of paramount importance. Anyone
suggesting that "that (safety) will be addressed in the future" as I've
heard, is seriously and foolishly missing the point.  

As a turning club, our CRW mission statement states "To promote, to educate,
and to inspire ourselves and others in the fine art of turned wood."  The
"educate" is implied to mean the how's, what's, and techniques of turning in
a safe manner using promoted and accepted safety measures using PPE and
protecting the viewing audience as practical. By not adhering to these
principles, we are in effect, "poo pooing" the principal standards of
turning safety.  

Is the picture of unsafe behaviors and deficient turning space setups what
we want to pass on to learners, seasoned turners, children learning
woodturning, or new turners we are trying to introduce to the fun craft and
hobby of wood turning?   Thank you for reading.

Sincerely, Bob Raasch

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