Just been poking about on YouTube looking at folks turning stuff.

I saw one chappie sanding a pen.
Holding the sandpaper ON TOP of the turning piece
Just in case my eyes were deceiving me and the lathe was running in reverse, he held it to the bottom as well

Keep your eyes open folks - one of these days he'll be in the market for some turned wooden replacement fingers

For any beginners hereabouts - ALWAYS hold things like this in such a way that they will be whipped OUT from your fingers if there's a catch - not rammed INTO them.

Sorry - this will sound patronising to most of the experienced turners here, but sometimes we need reminders

Cheers,
R
BTW - love to see him try that technique with this

Though I don't waste my time watching You tubes there is no difference in the chances of a catch wrapping your fingers around the work piece whether you hold the paper on the top or the bottom. The direction of the revolution does not change.
I do hold it on the top from time to time and do not feel any danger.
I have had the piece "grab" steel wool while holding it on the bottom.
Pull hands away immediately.

You may like to think this through fully sometime, and perhaps read the post fully.

Regards,
Ruaidhri

I did read the post,this part in particular
"Holding the sandpaper ON TOP of the turning piece headsmack.gif"

With the paper on top the revolution of the lathe would actually push your hand AWAY.
The prblem with that methjos is you cannot see what your progress is.
In truth with the sandpaper under the turning piece a catch would take the hand into the piece.
Think about it.

With pen turning, I use strips of sandpaper about an inch wide that are held between the thumb and forefinger of each hand, and work on the top or bottom, and in fact prefer the top. I don't know what the YouTube guy was doing exactly, but the worst that can happen with my method is that the sandpaper is pulled out of my grasp.

I tend to prefer holding it on the bottom -- that way I can wipe the top and see how I'm doing.

The idea of holding sandpaper, wire wool etc at the bottom is that if anything happens it is snatched from your fingers - obviously it will be held loosely enough to allow this.
If a catch occurs at the top of the workpiece, the paper/wool is thrust towards your fingers. Many a broken finger because of this.

This is NOT my personal brainchild, but the accumulated wisdom of hundreds of years of woodturners experience all over the world.

I must, however, concede that they are your own fingers, so do with them what you please.

I have nothing further to say on this subject.

Cheers,
Ruaidhrí

"This is NOT my personal brainchild, but the accumulated wisdom of hundreds of years of woodturners experience all over the world."

So much for accepted wisdom.Most turners sharpen with a grinding wheel also.

So only YOUR accepted wisdom, even though virtually all highly experienced turners (which does not include me) disagree with it, is right....
I don't think so..... but then again, they are your fingers....
BTW, Ruaidhri has more turning experience doing fancy ornimental turning and large turnings and pens, etc, than you and I combined... I would listen to his advice.
What you are advising MIGHT work on a small object like a pen, but you will definitely be in jeopardy if you try it on larger items.

I didn't see the video, so I'm not sure how the turner is approaching his piece. It took me a few minutes to understand Ruaidhri's point. It wasn't until his last post that I understood what he was saying. Until then, I didn't agree with him. To explain: I sand pen blanks on the top frequently, BUT, not with my fingers pointing into the piece. I believe that is what R is warning about, and on that, I would agree. When I am sanding on the top, my hand is sort of coming from behind the piece, so my fingers are pointing at me, downwards or slightly towards the head stock (I'm right-handed). If there is a catch, the paper comes toward me.

Perhaps this is why there is disagreement on this point. We are not all sanding on top in the way that the your tube guy apparently is.

I think it probably needs to be kept in context. I sand all my metal rings and pens from the top. I feel that going from the bottom would definitely be more dangerous because you can't see what's happening, and I get near my 3 jaw rotating chuck. I do use a single finger leather glove for sanding for heat protection. My parts are pretty smooth by the time I sand on them though. On a part that is more rough, I do sand from both the top and bottom, sometimes at the same time to equal out the force.

To keep it in context, it was a pen part we were talking about, and if the part is relatively smooth to start with, I see no reason why not sand from the top so you can see what's going on. No need for shock and horror. Sanding something large or something with notches or corners is a different situation.

Thanks Bruce
Since it is pens we are speaking about and since I do not turn anything other than pens I saw no need for shock horror or AWE!

Having worked in a machine shop, and having a brother who is a Journeyman toolmaker, I don't "climb mill" ANYTHING unless it's unavoidable and never use a tool above the normal cutting point (at or slightly above the centerline -- woodworking tools have to be a bit higher by their design, as they slice).

Never, never, ever use a tool so that it will be thrown toward you, always away. ALWAYS keep all body parts BEHIND the sharp part....

I sand with paper glued to a flat wooden block to keep the tubes true, held against the bottom of the piece and moved constantly. Using a strip requires reaching over the part, another serious violation of safety rules -- keep all body parts well out of contact with rotating items.

Finish sanding is done on the mandrel after removal from the lathe, along the grain. I usually use a tiny bit of very fine paper to "shine up" the wood off the mandrel, too, just before applying Marine Varnish.

Peter

The thing that always bothers me is Lathe Filing metal. Often can't get the file under the work and the risk from catching the corner of the file on the chuck makes me reach for the body armour (well, leather welding apron) and face shield.

Regards

Richard.

The secret to filing metal on a lathe is to use a fairly low speed,and hold the work piece out of the chuck as far as possible without distorting the work.Place the file on the top of the work piece,hold the file with both hands with the handle towards your body and adopt the correct body stance in relation to the work.The rotation of the lathe will then push you away,giving a better "bite" on the file.This is as opposed to filing on the bottom of the work,which pulls you in and causes an accident.If you are right-handed keep your left elbow up in the air out of the way to avoid the rotating chuck or collett.Just take things slowly and you will be ok.
As for polishing I have seen people take their fingers off polishing small diameter parts.Not a pretty sight when I was a sixteen year old apprentice,and blood and guts and thumbnails are all over the floor and workshop.
When I polish I try and use an emery board or something like a polishing stick which supports the abrasive and I only use fingers as a last resort,and then taking great care.
Top.

I wouldn't normally reply to this kind of thread, but I feel it important that I point something out, and while I'm at it, I'll point out a couple more things.

DO NOT WEAR GLOVES WHILE RUNNING MACHINERY! EVER! NEVER EVER!

I understand the heat problem, but find another way of dealing with it. If you should touch something like a chuck, or anything else while the part or wheel is rotating with a glove, it could grab the glove and pull your hand into the moving part. You will not be able to become un-involved with the glove. Think of bones being broken, fingers being mangled, and things like that. If you touch it with your finger, sans glove, you may loose a piece of skin or something, but you will probably not be pulled into the moving part.

If you are one of those that sands with a strip of sandpaper, NEVER wrap the sand paper around the part and pinch it between forefinger and thumb of one hand. If you must.... use two hands, one on each end of the sandpaper, and avoid wrapping more than 135 degrees around the part. If the sand paper snags and you have it in one hand, it will wrap the paper around the part, pull your fingers into the part and, pinch YOUR fingers between the part and sand paper. From there it just gets worse, as it will not be inclined to let you go until the fuse blows.

As far as sanding from the top or the bottom of the piece. You should sand at the bottom. Imagine touching that three jaw chuck while it is turning, just touching it with the end of your index finger. If you touch it at the bottom of the chuck, while the jaws are rotating away from you, it will likely bat your finger out of the way, and relatively little harm will come of it. (Of course this assumes you are not ripped by a sharp corner, chip or something along those lines.) Now, if you touch the top of the chuck, while the jaws are rotating toward you, the jaw will try to introduce your index finger to your elbow. That makes sense, doesn't it? Come on now, it makes sense.

If you sand at the top of something, it is going to throw whatever it can, i.e. dust, chips, sand, paper, fingernails, broken pen barrels, whatever... at you. From the top, toward you. This is not good.

Now, I am not suggesting that you do anything that involves your fingers and a motorized tool, but I know you're going to do that anyway. Try to do it safely.

Qualifiers:

I am a machinist and have been since I was a child. My Father is a machinist as was his. I have worked with this stuff all my life without injury (permanenet anyway) what so ever. I teach this stuff at a university, it's my job to keep all manner of child and boyish man (Women are not excluded) safe.

By the way..... I'm damn good at it.

I appreciate the concern. Again it needs to be taken in context. I've done about 20,000 rings in the way I've done them. I have a specific way I rest my arm on the headstock of the lathe to control a file and have a specific stance when sanding a ring. I'm not about to start sanding from the bottom where I can't see what I'm doing or stop using my index finger leather finger protector. These are made specifically for this purpose and are for a single finger only. I wet sand with 320 grit paper and WD-40. I know what works in my situation, and I am very safety conscious. Like you, I'm also damn good at what I do.

As I said, I would not recommend others to do different types of things in this manner, but I do know what works for the rings.

Lets remember this thread started out with a pen turner sanding over the top(I am assuming with the blanks on a mandrel)
I questioned The OP"S shock using that technique.
USing a metal lathe is a whole different ball game.
I make segmented pents just about exclusively.Many of them have metal in them.
Normally I Use an unorthodox method of supporting the blank with my left hand while turning,
I do not use this method with blanks that have metal in them.
IOW differnt people have different techniques.
Personally I never sharpen with a grinding wheel, I Like my tools sharp.
I don't use a gouge.
I only use a skew.Is that a reccomended method?
I doubt it but it works for me.
I still contend that it is not less safe to sand a pen blank over the top than under the bottom.
I am half way decent at what I do.