After working with his old, smaller belt sander. Craig decided he needed a new bigger one to sand the 28 steps involved in the deck refinishing project.
He bought a 4 X 24-inch Variable Speed Craftsman belt sander at Sears. He has not had a chance to use it on the steps yet, but he did try it out on the top board of the railings.
More Power!
[From Craig] This new belt sander is one of the finest tools I've used. It includes a speed control that keeps the belt speed constant, regardless of how hard or how lightly it's pressed onto the work. Its 11 HP motor enables such pressure-independent speed control, and at 8.8 pounds it's much lighter than Makita's competing 11 HP sander (16.6 lbs). The speed with which it handled today's work on the top boards of deck railings was very satisfying! (Just don't let it near your clothing! See below :-)
But then he got in trouble! I had just walked up to him as he was working, when he suddenly started shouting: "Turn it off! Turn it off!" As far as I could see, nothing was on, and then I realized the sander had stopped and was jammed in some way. I grabbed the cord and unplugged it.
He was lucky this time. It only got his jeans.
I don't think Sears will want this picture for an ad campaign.
He took his pants off and tried to get them out of the sander without damaging it. He had to take it apart a bit and use pliers to get the jeans out.
The sander is fine, Craig is fine, but the jeans are beyond repair.
Craig has had other power tool accidents in the past. He cut his leg with a chain saw, his finger with a table saw, and scuffed his knee with his disc sander. Three trips to the ER in almost fifty years is not bad.
I'm very glad he was not hurt this time, and that we can laugh about it. As I took the pictures above, he said: "I sense a blog post coming." He was right.
Accidents: I almost always cut myself with a new knife or after one is sharpened. I have burned myself more times than I can count both in the kitchen and with hot glue in the studio. I bought an electric scissors once and it cut more than the fabric I was working with.
What about you?
Haha, I shouldn't laugh, but he's lucky it was just his jeans that got damaged! You're right, a blog moment in the making :)
ReplyDeleteWow that's a little too close for comfort!
ReplyDeleteGlad Craig is okay. That could have been really serious.
ReplyDeleteI laughed and laughed (but only because he wasn't hurt).
ReplyDeleteYou guys are so funny! Love your "work" photos with the masks, and goggles!! I think Craig has discovered how they make those new jeans look old and tattered, so they can sell them for a lot more than "plain" jeans. "Sander Style Jeans" might prove to be a huge hit over the Holidays. Better get busy!!
ReplyDeleteRuss is right about the jeans. My grandkids only buy the ones with holes already in them. Could be the latest fashion craze!! That was hilarious and the picture of Craig with the mask and the sander hanging from his jeans is priceless. Of course it's only funny because he wasn't hurt.
ReplyDelete"Beyond repair"? C'mon! Put a big ole patch on there. Preferably using good strong leather. That'll work.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I have a good imagination for what can go wrong, but I've never had to go to the emergency for any tool related thing. *knock on wood* Had an issue tobogganing once. Pinched something. They stuck a needle in me. Felt better.
So it turns out the belt sander really IS pretty powerful. Now you know.
My dad was into woodworking and cut off the tips of a couple of his fingers. Glad Craig wasn't hurt this time, and you could laugh about it. You guys sure are ambitious!
ReplyDeleteToo funny! But sure glad it just was the jeans. Can't think of anything humorous myself but have burned my fingers so many times on glue guns, my kids say I shouldn't be allowed to use them!
ReplyDeleteThe only comments I can think of aren't very appropriate! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I'm laughing so hard!!! This could have been disastrous. Maybe he needs to wear one of those heavy duty canvas type shop aprons.
ReplyDeleteA little too close for comfort...glad Craig wasn't hurt.
ReplyDeleteThat would be funny if it weren't so dang scary. Great to see Craig looking so "Craig-ish". Really cute.
ReplyDeleteYikes! I live in fear of Carm doing something bad with a power tool. the chain saw scares the crap out of me. I did have to take him to the er when a 2x4 kicked-back out of the radial arm saw - it almost took his baby finger off...
ReplyDeleteGlad there was no real problem. Does he wear a wedding band? Might want to take that off. And wear tight fitting sleeves (and pants!).
Be safe.
Somebody might pay you big bucks for those jeans. Sure glad he didn't get hurt that was way to close for comfort.
ReplyDeleteOMG. Kudos to Craig for letting you show us his predicament.
ReplyDeleteActually there was not much danger to me. The slot at the back of the active sending belt, into which the denim was pulled, is only about 1/8 inch wide. Also the motor shut down as soon as it encountered unusual resistance. Even at my age :-) no body part was in danger of being pulled into there. The worst that might have happened was getting pinched.
ReplyDeleteSure happy that Craig is past the reproductive years! What an ad for Craftsman....not! Glad he is OK
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Craig is okay but this is the funniest blog post I have seen! Imagine taking the sander back to Sears (they used to have great warranties) and asking them to get Craig's pants out of it.
ReplyDelete