Is a hammer on a surface plate worse than leaving a chuck key in?

One apprentice in my year lost his middle finger from leaving a chuck key in. From what I had been told the Turning Instructors usual trick was to drop such an offending chuck key on the apprentices foot. Just behind the steel toe cap. Clearly he missed this person.

Surface plates especially the old cast iron ones get used for all sorts of things these days. As seen on TV. Seeing a hammer on a surface plate is not so bad. It was what that hammer was used for in connection with the surface plate and whether that surface plate was still in used for the purpose it was intended, that bothers me.

It certainly is not the sign of a good craftsman and I would give these video's a miss in future.

Regards

Gray,

There are many opportunities for finger-wagging zealotry and imperious statements beginning "Never" and "Always".

Plus there are sometimes instructors or authoritarian deputies who take advantage of excuses to injure or humiliate learners.

The important thing is to get the learner to cultivate imagination of possible unintended consequences of actions or neglect.

The worst injury I ever suffered in my younger days was from finishing a part-off with a hacksaw when I'd left a knife tool in facing position in the toolpost. That took a few stitches and is the only time I've seen my own bone.

I wouldn't normally expect to see a hammer in close proximity to a proper surface plate - they don't generally have any business together - but there are far too many worse things to list.

Though what's considered bad practice varies.

I was brought up to treat the humble flat-bladed screw-driver with great respect, never using them as crowbars, chisels, scribes, stirrers or wedges. Soon realised that screw-drivers are excellent for all those jobs, and collected a bunch of battered old ones for what I call bodge-driving. Now when the old ones are past it, I'm happy to buy new screwdrivers specifically for abusive work. I think it's OK as long as I never use my bodge-drivers on screws!

Dave

Ironically a damaged edge might not even affect that plate's certification grade since the specification allows for a border area of 2mm per 100mm length of the shortest side (up to a maximum of 20mm), if it was in a condition to achieve one which that one isn't. Being a 300mm sqare plate it could have damage extending inwards up to 6mm and still be certified so long as the damage caused no high spot.

Anyway, that plate looks like it's been heavily rusted then dumped too long in citric acid and it's grown a skin. A flat anvil is all it's good for, unless you could get it planed.