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Leaving your machines running? Check this out.

4K views 49 replies 22 participants last post by  kelvancra 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Here's the scenario: I'm milling up some boards and I happened to leave my jointer running. I've got my ear muffs on, the planer and DC are running, too.

I had just ripped a board to width on the TS and went back to the jointer to final rejoint the face prior to final planing and want to move the fence to adjust the width of cut to maximum for this board.

ONLY TO FIND the cutterhead spinning as I pulled the guard back!!! Wow and I was starting to reach down with my hand.

With the muffs on, the big planer running and the DC running, I simply had no idea the jointer was running because it is so quiet and so smooth.

I partly attribute this to rushing because I ran out to the shop for an hour before heading to work.

So this is a reminder to all =

1) don't be in a hurry around your machines
2) turn off your machines when not in use

(DUH).
 
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#3 ·
I run into that problem with the lathe an such when I have muffs on. Until I get off my butt and finish installing the two hundred amp service, I'm running off sixty amps. Several times, I've found I left, for example, one of the small collectors and the oscillating sander running while over on the sanding station and the big collector.

I've done that once with the jointer and a few times with the band saw.

I guess I need to make myself a rule that I MUST take my muffs off at each machine, or get crappier muffs.
 
#6 ·
I get into the shop and turn everything on, that way I don t have to think about it. Just walk up and use it , walk away…
Used to blow a lot of breakers but I replaced them all with 60ampers and besides running a little hot they don t break anymore.

- jbay
I seriously hope this is a joke. If it's not, this is possibly the worst advice I've seen on this website, and a good recipe for an electrical fire.
 
#7 ·
I get into the shop and turn everything on, that way I don t have to think about it. Just walk up and use it , walk away…
Used to blow a lot of breakers but I replaced them all with 60ampers and besides running a little hot they don t break anymore.
- jbay

_

I seriously hope this is a joke. If it s not, this is possibly the worst advice I ve seen on this website, and a good recipe for an electrical fire.
- William Shelley
Looks like jBay, and his "input" has been removed in totality. Maybe we can all now breathe a bit easier.
 
#9 ·
One of the hazards of hearing protection I'm afraid. It makes us less aware of our surroundings. My kids have noise cancelling headphones, that are the worst. I guess I would qualify as "noise" because they can never hear me when I talk to them.

Good advise to turn the tool off when you walk away. I think the jointer would be the most stealthy in this regard. It has a quiet hum, and a spinning cutterhead looks very similar to a stationary one.

Even though I always turn tools off when I move to another station, I have gotten in the habit of looking for the teeth and details of the blade before I go near it. That, and I unplug the tool before blade changes or maintenance. Even on my Sawstop, I unplug before swapping blades.
 
#11 ·
Nothing is safe if you aren't mindful while doing it. When I bought my first motorcycle and old fella told me to ride like a crash was inevitable. I took his advice and to this day, every time I swing a leg over a bike I think this could be my last ride.
 
#15 ·
Really? How could anybody think it s not humor?

Mike, sorry, still here :>/ (get back on the breathing machine)

- jbay
Advocating replacing breakers with higher amperage to avoid trips is never going to get a smile from me. The vast majority of people are novices with electrical work and would believe you at face value, and subsequently burn their house or shop down from an electrical fire.
 
#17 ·
I treat everything as if it were running regardless of whether or not it actually is. A fresh set of jointer knifes can mess you up pretty good with nothing turned on. Many other sharp spinning shop machines ate capable of the same.
 
#19 ·
Good thing I didn t tell them I run a sub panel off an extension cord that plugs into my dryer outlet.

- jbay

That d be great when it s a bit cold in the shop….you could just use the extension cord to warm your hands up!

- Tony_S
You people have NO since of humor or Creativity! His sub runs perfectly good off that dryer circuit, and the dryer exhaust is how he heats the shop! I'm too cheap to replace my little old panel, I keep everything going for 6 cents a day. That's one penny under each of the 110 fuses and 2 under the double fuse 220 circuit for my Lincoln. I keep my welder going to touch up the crack in the frames of my saws and such. Easier to tack weld when seen then have to put the piece back in place and weld up after cutting a few more boards. Feeding time, vultures!
 
#20 ·
I treat everything as if it were running regardless of whether or not it actually is. A fresh set of jointer knifes can mess you up pretty good with nothing turned on. Many other sharp spinning shop machines ate(aRe) capable of the same.

- bigblockyeti
Hahahaha….....you're funny Blockheadyeti. I always found the old used blades, do the most damage.
 
#21 ·
Really? How could anybody think it s not humor?

Mike, sorry, still here :>/ (get back on the breathing machine)

- jbay

Advocating replacing breakers with higher amperage to avoid trips is never going to get a smile from me. The vast majority of people are novices with electrical work and would believe you at face value, and subsequently burn their house or shop down from an electrical fire.

- William Shelley
I don't give electrical advice to you young'uns no more. Every time I try, you have too damn many questions. What's a fuse? Which direction to unscrew it? If I don't have a penny, will a dime work? Just ain't worth the headaches!
 
#22 ·
Will I wear out my electric motor tools sooner by stopping and starting them frequently?

I almost always stop my tablesaw between cuts if I have to walk away from the machine or make fence/miter gauge adjustments. I've had the same saw for 20 years and it's still working (knock on wood).

I often leave my DC running while I'm in the shop-primarily because Oneida included directions with the DC (mini-gorilla) advising that it should NOT be stopped/started more than 6 times per hour.

For me, hearing protection does affect my ability to hear how the tool is cutting and if something sounds odd/not normal. I would prefer to hear the tool running and hear how the cut sounds, but on the other hand I don't want to damage my hearing from the continuous loud noise. I make it a habit to wear eye and hearing protection.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
I often leave my DC running while I m in the shop-primarily because Oneida included directions with the DC (mini-gorilla) advising that it should NOT be stopped/started more than 6 times per hour.

- Bill_Steele
That's a big b/s from Oneida.
While your DC is running is spits a lot of micro dust that gets through the filter no matter how good the filter is.
So in some scenarios no DC is better than a DC that is always on.
 
#24 ·
I stack all pieces that require the same cut, when done shut off the saw, but I don't shut it off between each cut. My DC is outside the shop. I use a Long Ranger remote and turn it on when I open the door and turn on the lights. 1, 3, 9, hours later when I leave for the day, I turn off the DC and then the lights. 18 years has only cost me a half dozen batteries for the remote, age kills them before useage.
 
#25 ·
I often leave my DC running while I m in the shop-primarily because Oneida included directions with the DC (mini-gorilla) advising that it should NOT be stopped/started more than 6 times per hour.

- BillSteele

That s a big b/s from Oneida._
While your DC is running is spits a lot of micro dust that gets through the filter no matter how good the filter is.
So in some scenarios no DC is better than a DC that is always on.

- Carloz
Carloz, very nice to meet you. I have always wanted to have a friend that knows more than all the engineers that design and build our tools. Tell me, they are lying to us that static grounding should be done too, aren't they?
 
#26 ·
Sorry to those concerned those ignorant of electricity would not recognize the "advice" or "techniques used" as humor, but I thought it was funny. Of course, those of us who made a living herding electrons, often, would,

That said, I recognize there are those who, as was common back in the day (40's, 50's & 60's), would use a penny in place of a fuse, unaware or unconcerned it was a way to overheat lines in walls.

For the reasons stated, I guess we could leave it at, "for those unaware, if any, installing sixty amp or any larger breaker than your lines call for (e.g., 15 amp for 14 gauge, 20 amp for 12 gauge or 30 amp for 10 gauge) is inviting a fire and conversations relating to such, including using pennies in place of fuses and such were meant as humor AND should NEVER BE DONE."
 
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