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Did you hear that our maker, Sean Dunphy, has been injured?
Oh no!, what will we ever do! Is he hurt bad? How will he ever be able to finish the rest
of us before the market at Dartmouth here in the United Kingdom?
What happened? Well, you know he makes a lot of us snowpeople.
We used to be just plain hardware store pine or bits of wood from the woodpile.
He mounts our wood on his lathe and turns us until we’re nice and plump. Some of us
are only 2 to 4 inches tall. Other are up to 12” tall and get a tea light candle on
our heads. Some of us get painted, other are left natural
with just a bit of beeswax and a nice massage with a buff. Sean’s wife dresses us up with
little scarves and bow ties. Well, Sean had made so many of us, he needed
a break. He mounted a 10” by 3” piece of old oak on a screw chuck. That would have
been ok except he turns us at 2500 rpm and that’s way too fast for a piece of old oak.
That edge of the oak was ripping by at nearly 80 miles per hour. The oak couldn’t take
that speed and flew off the lathe and hit Sean on his head. He wasn’t wearing a face
shield. Was he hurt bad?
Well, take a look for yourself. It looks pretty nasty. Must have been a lot of blood.
He could have been killed! What would we have done without him.
Fortunately, it only cut him badly. He’ll be ok in a bit and be able to finish the rest
of the snow family. What will he do next time?
First, he’ll make sure he always wears his face mask.
Then, he’ll check his lathe speed before turning on the lathe. The oak should have
been started very slow. And he’ll stand out of the way when he turns
on the lathe We’re glad to have Sean back to participate
in the Christmas Ornament Woodturning Challenge. Thank you – Live Long and Prosper!