Polishing

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rake60

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Polishing is probably the most dangerous act in machining.
Maybe you missed a size by .001", maybe the it's a part that has to have
a 16RMS mirror surface finish.

It's just rubbing sandpaper, emery cloth or scotch bright on a
spinning part. What can go wrong?
A knuckle making even slight contact with a spinning chuck will result in
a very colorful if not painful display. A piece of emery cloth that is too
long for the task can wrap around the part and suddenly jerk fingers close
enough for a bad situation.

Many years ago I was making a rectangular die plate at work. The
machine I was running didn't have a variable speed capability so of course
as the tool came to center on the plate it tore the finish. While hand
polishing it I got a little too close to the edge and it caught the tip of a
finger. It didn't hurt bad but the blood was flying. I stopped the machine
and saw something sticking on the ways of the machine. It was 1/4"
thick chunk off the end of my finger. After working up the nerve to look
I saw the end of a bone trimmed perfectly square. That was almost 20
years ago, and it still causes me problems.

If it has to be polished, break the corners with a file first!
If it has square corners make a polishing stick to keep your fingers away.

As little as 20 years ago a machinist could easily be identified by his
missing fingers. We are better then that now!
Let's keep all 10!!!!!!

This is a great hobby but it can jump out and do you seroius harm
without any chance of reacting quickly enough to avoid harm.
Your best safety device is between your ears.
USE IT!!!

Rick
 
Oh yes! The use a stick trick, the same goes for pulling chips tangled up off a tool.

As the stick gets shorter you gain a clear understanding why it works like that and with luck you get to keep your fingers full length.
 

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