Thumbs Up!

[rake60]

It's the opposable thumb that give the human animal an advantage over most other
beasts.

A few things to think about.
Your thumb is the strongest appendage on your hand.
When a small bore needs polishing, you can get more control and pressure
by using it than you could with a finger.

That's a NO NO!

Never put your thumb inside a rotating part!

It's strength also give it the capability of causing the most damage to your hands
if things go wildly wrong.

I'd sincerely hope that no one here will EVER lose a finger.
I know many machinst who are wearing fewer than 10.
It CAN happen!

Losing a thumb creates a disability that is very difficult to overcome.

Rick

 

[tattoomike68]

Rather than use a finger to polish a bore I recomend a wood dowl or even a chop stick with a slot hacked sawed in the end to hold some emory cloth.

 

[Davyboy]

I'll try to keep this short. About 5 years ago, I was using 2" wide emery cloth strips to polish a shaft on the lathe. I let go of one end. It wrapped into the spinning part and pulled my thumb with it! happened in the blink of an eye. Well, a thumb don't bend around a 1.25 dia backward direction. I'm lucky to still have it. after the pins came out and some therapy, I think the doc welded it up crooked. It's just not where I think it should be. bottm line is : NEVER let go of the end of that cloth! Use short enough pieces so that it can't wrap around. A thumb is a precious thing, as mentioned above.