Pole lathe safety

One of the things about pole lathe turning, is that the work can come loose and fly off the lathe. If turning bowls, the weight of the bowl and mandrel means the work will come loose and fall onto the floor. But with spindle turning (long thin things like chair legs) the work can really fly. So, Spencer has designed an attachment to our pole lathes which can catch flying spindles.

Here’s a video of it in action.

This is what our risk assessment says. To reduce the risk of injury/ impact from flying pieces of wood caused by lathe:

In the workshop lathes are set up with adequate space and in a direction to minimise the risk of any work coming loose from the lathe will not hit other users or members of the public. In addition, when spindle turning, place a 15mm dowel at the back of the poppits to arrest the drive string launching the work and therefore reduce the risk.