Not sure how I missed hearing about this, or perhaps it vaguely rings a bell, but I hadn’t delved deeper into the situation.
Back in 2006, a 31 worker was killed in a Cabinet-maker shop in East Bentleigh when the router bit she was using disintegrated and hit her in the chest. (Although what I gather is that with the forces involved, the bit acted more like a bullet than a stone). I don’t know what the resulting ruling against the companies was.
From the WorkSafe website, the following Alert has been re-released April 2010 (read PDF for official document)
WorkSafe Alert – Router Safety
Background – Routers are a common item of fixed plant used in wood machining. They are used to cut, trim and shape materials such as wood, metal and plastic.
A worker was operating an industrial router at a cabinet-making factory when the bit disintegrated and a piece of
metal hit her in the chest. Contributing factors may have included:
- use of an inappropriate bit for the tool—in this case, a bit with wings too large for the shank;
- use of a bit with a shank not long enough to be properly grasped in the collet;
- the tool not being marked with the maximum permissible speed;
- The tool not being balanced before use.
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No etching of the maximum speed on the side of the bit |
Router bit’s wings are too large for shank |
Control Measures
- Ensure that the maximum permissible speed is clearly marked on the tool (preferably by etching).
- Ensure that the bit is properly balanced prior to being put on the market or into use.
- Tools should only be sharpened by a competent person or organisation and regular checks of collets should be carried out to ensure they hold router bits firmly.
- Under no circumstances should local modifications be made to bits or collets to allow the use of non-compatible components. Staff should be trained and supervised in using these pieces of plant.
Some observations of my own:
The router bit is exceptionally ugly – the design is exceptionally poor – sharp internal corners are very bad stress raisers – this bit should never have been made (IMHO)
The shank on this bit is 20mm, so at 150mm outside diameter, it is a significant router bit
There are no anti-kickback features – you could easily overfeed this bit
I never knew router bits were meant to be etched with a maximum usable speed – something to look out for!
Routers are as dangerous tool as any other major one in the workshop, and deserve equal respect.
Without knowing exactly what happened in this instance, I would be surprised if material wasn’t being fed into the router bit at time it broke.
A very unfortunate, tragic industrial accident.
Filed under: Safety | Tagged: Bit, Industrial Accident, Router, Worksafe | 4 Comments »