Flexshaft Mishaps

Jewelry Discussion
1

When I was in college I had really long hair and on a couple of
occasions I forgot to tie it back, maybe more than a couple…

Well, once or twice my hair found its way into whatever attachment I
happened to be using and attached itself to my scalp. Of course
when this happened there was no one else in the studio to see my new
flex shaft hair jewelry or help to extract it. There I am fumbling
with a chuck key trying to get the damn thing off the back of my
head, laughing hysterically didn’t help.

Then there was the time we were trying to fire up a gas forge that
hadn’t been used for a couple of years. “Don’t worry, the igniters
not connected…click…whoosh” Well it’s easier than shaving…I
had a beard too, “had” being the operative word.

Eddie Colbeth
Metalsmith
San Diego, CA
858-204-4202

2

It could more than blind you, it could kill you. I work in a
hospital and am required to have yearly safety training sessions.
Last year I viewed a video about MRIs and DAMN! they are powerful
magnets. Nothing metallic is allowed anywhere near them. If you
need an MRI you MUST tell them you work with metal; the consequences
are just too awful to think about. ~kara

3

I’d like to add that you should NEVER work with the flexshaft
texturing wheels without safety goggles. These are the texturing
wheels that have 3/4" wires connected to the wheel and come in
several different grades of coarseness. Every time I use these
wheels, I lose at least one of the wires - which flys right into my
face, usually hitting my goggles. I love these little texture wheels,
but they can be very dangerous.