handpiece disaster!!!! Auuugggghhhh!!

[susieq]

I am so mad at myself that I could spit right now......
I had a dreadful accident with my Foredom 1050 micro motor handpiece this after noon. I was carving a figure in tupelo so using power all the way. I have 3 micro motors on my work station and have had the big Foredom for about 2 years now. Love that thing.....

Well, the news was on tv and I was changing bits while watching something about the royal wedding. I picked up a slotted, tapered sanding mandrel and put into my Foredom without thinking...watching the story about the royal wedding...sigh. I never put the sanding mandrel into the big Foredom and for a good reason. It is set for 50,000 RPMS. (you know what's coming, don't you)
I flipped on the unit and the handpiece went crazy in my hand, startled me out of my thoughtlessness...just a tad too late. It exploded in my hand and bits and pieces of the handpiece went flying all over my work station...all in about 5 seconds or less. I couldn't have turned it off any faster than I did but it was way too late to save the thing..... The centrifugal force at that speed, just bent the shaft of the sanding mandrel at a 90 degree angle instantly, then the bent bit flying around at that crazy angle just tore the handpiece to pieces.

This is gonna cost me big time. A new handpiece is $600. I'm calling Foredom tomorrow to discuss a repair. After getting a range of repair price possibilities I will decide whether to get a new handpiece from Marathon or have the Foredom repaired...... I know better than to do what I did...if I had been paying attention, I would have been putting the sanding mandrel into the unit that I keep set at half speed just for sanding mandrels....

[Eddy-Smiles]

Susan... Been there and earned "T-Shirt"! Darn near lost my hand in the process. You can be lucky that you weren't hurt! That's the upside! The downside is that you're going to have to sell a lot of Santa's this year!

[blanchard65]

I agree with eddie you are ok cost some money good lesson and the royal family ain't worth the time

[Nomad]

Wow! That sounds kinda scary! Hope you weren't hurt. Bummer loss.

[Rustic Rick]

Wow that will teach ya to pay attention won't it. Glad you are okay

[carvingbarn]

I have never been hurt when I am not comfortable with a piece of equipment. It has always been when I am use to what I am doing and not giving what I am doing all my attention, whether with hand or power tools. I have been lucky I have not had any permanent injury. But It has cost me a few thousand dollars in medical bills to get my attention. I am glad you were not hurt. If what happened makes you do things safer it is worth the coast of new equipment. Friends get upset with me because I am now a really safety Nut. But it is because of the mistakes I have made I do things the way I do now.

[susieq]

I was not hurt. Just frightened half to death... To be fair, last night was one of those rare, bad nights when I could not fall asleep....I probably got 2 hours sleep at the most. When I went out to my shop this afternoon, my husband warned me that I was too tired to be messing around out there with the tools. I told him I was "just power carving today, no gouges".

It was also near quitting time. I had put in about 4 hours and was just going to "clean up a bit"....got distracted and BAM.

I am a safety nut too. Paranoid, actually. When I pick up a handpiece I double check that the collet IS closed before turning it on even though I KNOW I closed it. OCD. I have also never been hurt seriously while carving.

Unpacking a brand new PFeil gouge that just arrived in the mail..now that's a different kind of freak accident story....

Well, I just had to vent about this. I've been checking out handpieces on line and I do have a friend who is a Foredom Rep. I will check with him to see what kind of discount I might get on a new handpiece. Not sure Foredom could even repair mine. It looks like a stick of dynamite went off inside it.

[Ron T]

Susie, darn that wedding news. I, too, am glad you weren't hurt.

I just started power carving recently and learned here to turn the speed down to zero on my micro carvers. However, on one occasion I put in a drum sander in the hand piece and cranked up the speed. Fortunately, the drum broke of the mandrel without destroying my unit.

[Hohenems]

Send the repair bill to the Royals!
Demand restitution!

[susieq]

Well, I just got off the phone with Foredom this am. Spoke to a nice lady and explained the situation. She said to send the whole unit it to be checked out. I don't know if the main control unit would have been damaged or not but it's going back to be checked as well.

She said if the handpiece could not be repaired, that they would offer me a 20% discount on a new one. A lot will depend on what I can buy one for through my friend or through Marathon. Shoot, for just a little more than what the Foredom handpiece costs new, I could buy the whole Marathon unit that has the same handpiece plus another outlet to plug in one of the old style handpieces.

With the other micro motor units, I always kept the dial at zero and dialed the speed I wanted after I turned it on. But the 1050 is a little different and you set your "cruise speed" on the digital read out and leave it there. Bet I don't do that anymore....... I am really bummed at my carelessness but also really glad that I wasn't hurt.