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Upside Down Belt Sander DANGEROUS - Accident Report / Safety Tip

Hello,

I felt compelled to make a video and post it on YouTube about my oversight regarding the safety of an upside down belt sander.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i-G9k8-lrE&feature=youtu.be

For anyone considering setting up such a jig, please don't make the painful mistake I made.

If you don't want to watch the video, just look at this picture. See where the arrow points. Try to remember that the belt feeds into this spot. Not a good place for your fingers. Wear heavy work gloves. Build some kinda fence. Convert the thing to run in reverse, so this won't be a problem. Or, maybe cut away the plastic overhang on the right... Which would probably make it more dangerous to use in normal operation.

The soundtrack is me playing the 3rd CBG I've made, a 4 string fretless. I recorded it acoustically, not with the piezo.

Peace!

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Permalink Reply by jawbone on April 8, 2014 at 11:11am

Ooooowwwwwch!!! I feel your pain - I also have flat spots that should be round!!! As well, I manufacture steel rule dies - very sharp steel - I charge extra if there is blood on the die. If there are actual pieces of flesh missing - I double it!!!

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on April 8, 2014 at 5:53pm

Oh man. Next time I'd recommend one of these:

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on April 8, 2014 at 6:13pm

Use double sided tape to attach scrap wood to the work piece as a handle, keeps the fingers away from the belt.

Also works well when sanding small objects such as nuts, saddles, bridges, picks and such.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on April 9, 2014 at 2:27am

You also need to be extremely careful that you don't have any loose clothing or other dangly items that could get pulled into a power tool. Something as simple as a drawstring for a hooded sweatshirt could cause serious damage to your body if you leaned over a power tool while it is running.

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on April 9, 2014 at 8:47am

Yes, a lesson learned - a bench sander is for the bench, a portable belt sander is for holding! Thanks for posting and hope yer pinky heals up, ouch! :-)

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Permalink Reply by Madrone Candea on April 9, 2014 at 11:20am

Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions. I heal quick. The real comedy was when later that same day, after all the peroxide and bandages, I was numb there and didn't notice the appendage, shut it in the door behind myself. That hurt more than the injury!