Posted By Phill Galpin
I've done a search on the above but aside from one reference under a prosecution notice I've not been able to find what I'm after.
We have a couple of pillar drills on site, both with chuck guards fitted. However there is a disagreement between myself and the production/engineering staff on the use of gloves. My view is that gloves should not be used while operating the drill because of the danger of entanglement. The view of the production/engineering guys is that there is also a danger from swarf and so gloves should be used. In my view if the correct drill bit is being used, the work piece secured properly, the drill speed set correctly and the chuck guard in its correct place, there should be little risk from the swarf.

So can anyone point me at some clear do's and donts with regard to operating this type of equipment.

Posted By Chris Pope
GEt a copu from HSE of PM83 which states in para 29 "nearly half of all driling machine accidents involve the entanglement of gloves"

Posted By Mitch
PS should have mentioned do a search this has been discuused recently in some detail.

Posted By John J
Phill,
If feeding manually your operators should know to back off the drill now and again to break the swarf. This keeps it at a length where it isn't a hazard while drilling. If its autofeed you merely need to be within reach of the buttons.
Accidents often occur when operators are attempting to manually add cutting fluid or remove swarf while the chuck is turning.
If the guarding is appropriate I would not be too hung up about the gloves as they shouldn't be able to get near the hazard.
John

Posted By Glyn Atkinson
Sharp drill bits, correct speed of drill, auto feed whenever possible, proper lubricant in use - oh, and properly trained operator, of course!

Gloves, no, just something that gets in the way of dexterity and feel for the drilling operation.

Rule 1 - the drill does not sharpen itself by laying full weight on the drill feed lever - it just creates more smoke !

Rule 2 - teach everyone how to sharpen drill bits properly - a sharp drill will go into materials like through butter if the drill flute angles are correct.

Rule 3 - don't be scared to run a pilot drill down first - you don't have to gouge all of the hole out in one go, and the finish will be better.

Rule 4 - let things cool down before handling them - burn marks are painful !

Rule 5 - stop and clear swarf up regularly - after stopping the drill!