Well I had a list of Christmas requests as usual from friends and family so I thought I would make a start with an nice 18" platter for the mother in law, I had a nice looking 3" Yew blank which has been drying for a couple of years.
So I popped this on a face plate and bolted it to the VB36, started nice and slow and trimmed it to round.
I took my Aircap off had a cuppa admired the emerging grain patterns, then returned to the lathe, popped on my headgear and started to increase the speed of the lathe when BANG!!
The whole blank shattered leaving just the faceplate on the lathe, a large chunk hit the bed bar, bounced and took out a wall socket, window (even though covered in steel mesh) and put a large dent in the work shop vac. Other chunks shot around the workshop knocking things awry.
Now luckily I always stand to the side when upping the speed, and I have decent head and face protection, but, had one of the larger chinks hit (it was a heavy bit of yew) I am sure I would at best had some decent bruising. I also have some heavy curtains to catch shavings around the lathe which caught many of the chunks before they hit expensive tools and accessories.
I gathered the bits together and found that hidden inside the blank was a long bark inclusion which hardly showed on the outside, this combined with the increased centrifugal force opened the blank in a very impressive manner.
Now in 20 plus years of turning, (touch wood!!) I have only has a couple of minor bumps and cuts, but this served as a timely reminder not to be complacent with safety gear (PPE) and safe practices in the workshop.
Oh and an excuse for a small nerve settler of single malt as I finished for the day...........