Shopsmith Forums

When you're not in the shop every day (j.o.b. ect), you can forget things that may be important to remember. One day I was using the jointer, a few days later I went out and swapped to the bandsaw for a quick cut. I did not glance at the speed control because I had previously been going from Table saw to jointer. In all of a couple seconds, my bandsaw was ramping up , I glanced at the speed control and very quickly just recognized the word "saw" , then eyes back to the bandsaw..then back to the speed control..holy #/*<!! ...hit the off switch just in the nick of time! For anyone new, there is a significient difference in rpm's from "Saw-Jont" to "Jig-Saw". Somewhere in this forum I had read about folks scattering bandsaw blades after making this mistake and I felt I had dodged a bullet, or blade in this case. At a glance just seeing the word "saw" on the speed control had me confused. BEWARE.
Think I did any blade damage?
How many of you have experiences with the wrong speed, you'd like to share? Yes it could be the "Dare to Share" embarrassing SS or woodworking blunders thread.

mrhart wrote:When you're not in the shop every day (j.o.b. ect), you can forget things that may be important to remember. One day I was using the jointer, a few days later I went out and swapped to the bandsaw for a quick cut. I did not glance at the speed control because I had previously been going from Table saw to jointer. In all of a couple seconds, my bandsaw was ramping up , I glanced at the speed control and very quickly just recognized the word "saw" , then eyes back to the bandsaw..then back to the speed control..holy #/*<!! ...hit the off switch just in the nick of time! For anyone new, there is a significient difference in rpm's from "Saw-Jont" to "Jig-Saw". Somewhere in this forum I had read about folks scattering bandsaw blades after making this mistake and I felt I had dodged a bullet, or blade in this case. At a glance just seeing the word "saw" on the speed control had me confused. BEWARE.
Think I did any blade damage?
How many of you have experiences with the wrong speed, you'd like to share? Yes it could be the "Dare to Share" embarrassing SS or woodworking blunders.

I doubt that you hurt the blade. The good thing is that the blade was not thrown off the wheel. If you want to see why, just leave it run at high speed. NO! Don't do that! Just trust - you do not want to do that.

This is why Shopsmith teaches people to always dial the speed down to the lowest speed when you are finished using it.

Been there, done that, broke the 1/8" bandsaw blade, got the heart rate way up past the red zone....

I've bounced a few out-of-balance blocks of wood off the lathe because I was too lazy to put on the speed reducer first. Teaches you pretty quickly to stand out of the line of fire when you turn on the lathe.

Gary

stephen_a._draper wrote:This is why Shopsmith teaches people to always dial the speed down to the lowest speed when you are finished using it.

Among others!;)

This comes in second only to the tighten headstock prior raising to vertical and always secure the 'vertical lock' screw.

I am new to Shopsmith. My Professional background is in a safety sensitive industry, and it seems every time I am in the basement working/learning, I see new common errors that I will make in the future, and others no doubt have made already. Thanks for passing this along.

I try to develop procedures and habits, Like checking the 5 locks before starting the table saw. 1-2-3-4-5. Even so, my sanding disc started migrating off the drive shaft because I missed sucuring the set screw.

This is one of those work habit things... While I am not above a mistake or two, habits I was taught before age 12 are still with me. You simply do not just flip a switch on a machine of any kind on with a passing motion. You touch the switch/lever/pedal.
You think about what your are doing and the effects of your actions for a second.
You start the machine KEEPING YOUR HAND ON THE SWITCH etc. until the unit comes up to speed and you are sure that everything is operating properly.
Only then do you remove your hand/foot from the switch/clutch/hydraulic lever/pedal/other control.
That applied whether it was something complex like a combine, sheller or corn picker or was something as simple as a blower or the belt driven vacuum pump that operated the milking machines.
Not carefully following such rules carried direct physical ramifications quickly and harshly applied by my father...


.

Been there, done that as well. I didn't hurt the blade or myself, thank goodness, but the tire on the top wheel came off in several pieces. And yeah, it scared the baloney out of me.

JPG40504 wrote:This comes in second only to the tighten headstock prior raising to vertical and always secure the 'vertical lock' screw.

This reminds me of a TA I attended several years ago. The instructor was going to demonstrate some procedure that would require drill press mode and he asked one of us to take part. So, I went up there and changed the SS into drill press mode and tightened the vertical lock (apparently, he didn't see me do that). After I was done doing whatever the actual task was, he talked for a bit and then tried to lower the SS back down, unsuccessfully. After a couple of attempts and then staring at the machine with a concerned look on his face for a few moments, I mentioned that I had tightened the vertical lock. He gave me a somewhat disgusted look at first, but then quickly complimented me for following safety procedures and mentioned that he hadn't tightened the thing in years of personal and TA use.