Although it is certain that gloves, loose clothing, etc., etc., can be a danger, when one is working in a machine shop at twenty below with the bay doors open and a logging truck parked halfway in, he is going to be wearing coveralls and gloves.
I've been caught in machinery and suffered semi-serious injuries as a result and I know the avoidance of such things is primarily a matter of awareness and being alert. When you are working in your own shop, at your own pace, this should be easy. Those working for someone else, under difficult conditions and under pressure, don't always have the luxury of taking the care they should.
A young friend recently had his coveralls wrap up around the feedshaft on the big old lathe he was running. The machine had no brake and, by the time it stopped, he was pulled in pretty tightly and his clothing had to be cut off to get him loose. Badly bruised but nothing broken and still alive though wearing nothing but shorts and boots. He had voiced concern over the unavoidable contact with moving parts on this old machine but the owner didn,t feel it was necessary to interupt production to guard the shaft. Care and awareness can only go so far. The truth is though, this is the sort of environment many work in daily. Sometimes they get bit. Regards, Bill.
