There was an accident in my Machine Tool 1 class on Thursday. No one was hurt, the lathe was not damaged in any apparent way (it worked just fine afterward), and the only casualty was an anchor pin that was being trimmed in the lathe in question. I wanted to say all that now, as all that did seem the most important of relevant details. No one was hurt - after that, survey the damage, and report.
The accident in question was my fault. When informing my instructor (as is lab safety protocol), it was pointed out that I had made two mistakes. One: while parting the material, I had brought the parting tool forward too hard and too fast. It needs to be done slowly, carefully. Second: I had failed to properly support the material on one side. The material in the lathe chuck can only support so much. If too much material is sticking out, the material will become unstable, wobbly and you don't get good cuts on it.
The end result of my botched attempt was that at the point where the wider and narrower sections met (I had already trimmed part of down), the pin was now bent at a 20-30 degree angle. Useless. Throw it in the scrap bin and start over. At least the second time around I actually knew what I was doing. I also knew how to adjust automatic movement along the z-axis; in most of one class lab period, I was nearly back to where I was before the accident.
No one got hurt. I was set back somewhat in my work. I was definitely startled, and I think that I startled two other people nearby, because they were giving me weird looks. They knew. But no one was hurt. That's what's important.
I think sometimes (or much of the time) we forget just how easily things can go wrong. Yes, you can take precautions to minimize risk, but that only works so far. Sometimes stuff goes wrong. No one was hurt, but someone could have been. Me.
It's unsettling to think about these things, which is probably why most people don't if they can avoid doing so. But sometimes, can just can't avoid doing so. When something does go wrong, for a time after, it's all you can think about.
It could have been much, much worse. No one was hurt. That's what's important.
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