Try companies such as RDM Engineering or Nelsa Machine Tools (Google etc)

They supply machine tools guards.

ALso British Standard docuemnt PD5304 or HSE book HSG129 Safety in Engineering Workshops (or something similiar!!)

The lathe may be very old but you still need to provide adequate guards to be able to use them. As has been suggested by others you need to provide guards that adequately prevent anyone being trapped etc. Modifications need to be designed and installed that allow the required standard of compliance with the law at least. I suggest you call an equipment designer and get them priced and installed before the lathe is used again. Otherwise you are left wide open to both criminal action and very high compensation should anything go wrong.

Thanks JJ, I have looked at the sites you mentioned and it will cover some of my concerns (chuck area etc) as these are normally thought to be the dangerous parts.
What I am trying to decide is now I know that it was the actual bar that was being worked on which caused the damage as it was this that caught the clothing and dragged him through (not the chuck part etc).
The operator has to constantly check this bar which could be 4 metres long and trying come up with suitable guarding is proving a headache.
thanks
again

The issues you have are quite common, the company you work for seem to be at least 10 years behind the times.
I retrofitted pre war machines about 15 years ago for my then employer, it can be done. I used RDM as a matter of fact.


Here is a recent incident that sounds pretty much the situtaion you have:

http://www.crownoffice.g...nguarded-Machinery-Death

In my previous workplace, we had a very similar setup, a lathe from year dot, no guard, and a reluctance to actually sort it.

I ended up getting a standard guard from a local engineering firm, which turned out to be too small, and they just delivered it, wih wires sticking out for the interlock guard, which wasn't compatible with the electrics of our lathe, it was laughable.

The best bet is to get a good engineering form round to your place and explain what you want, i would suggest a good interlocking chuck guard, possibly adjustable if you have large diameter flanges on the lathe etc, and an on tool guard for the saddle\moving tool section, this way you are protecting from flying debris and from anyone leaving a chuck key in the tool!!, however preventing people from being dragged in on such a large unit poses its own problems, you may need an enclosed unit that cannot be entered when operating, however the older lathes will have manual adjustment.

Another idea is upgrade the lathe, we did that, but instead of a 1940 lathe, we got a 1970 lathe, tbh it wasnt much diff!

the main issue is you are trying to prevent debris hitting the operator, entanglement may need an adjustable full length guard that has a slot for the tool piece to move along, and then control the risk with SSoW. Its not easy.

I have been told that the old lathe we had threw off a 24" steel flange because the chuck was getting worn, there was a dent in the railing where the operator would have stood, thank god he had moved. this was another in the list of reasosn why i left that site!

Doug,

I regard BS EN23125:2010 as applicable to NEW machines, so it is aimed at manufacturers and companies who have bought machines made to that specification

This thread is talking about old lathes so the PUWER regulations are what we should aim to comply with when designing guards and interlocks for them.

JohnW