The Breakroom > The Water Cooler

Any hope for the kids?

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Raggle:
Currently advertised on Ebay is a small lathe/mill aimed at children. The seller has found it necessary to add the following comment:


--- Quote ---Was used to show young children how little steam engines were machined but for health & safety reasons we had to stop letting them use it as the chucks are unguarded so we teach them to make sailboats now.
--- End quote ---

Yes, it's a Unimat 1. I'm not suggesting any of you buy it, though it is the metaline version.

In Europe CoolTool, the manufacturers, visit village halls and the like to involve children from 6 years upwards in machining, beginning with wood and progressing through soft metals. In schools they are present at all levels including CNC. Or at least the website seems to claim.

Youth unemployment is now running at about 20% in UK (and US I hear). Manufacturing is an alien world to kids now. Seems they've been told it's dirty and you can get hurt. Any ideas who told them that? Teachers need a degree these days, and it doesn't seem to matter in which discipline, arts or science.

Unimat1 in plastic is not up to much, but it runs on 12v and will turn brass and aluminium. Users are encouraged to reinforce the setups with extra plates of metal and this in itself can be instructive to a youngster, rigidity is ingrained into the memory.

So why can Austrians and Germans subject their small people to the rigours of spinning chucks and we in Uk cannot?

Ray

Bogstandard:
Purely because we are following the way of the US.

Lawsuits rule OK.

You won't be able to fart soon without someone bringing a lawsuit against you.

It all boils down to greed and looking after #1, like most problems nowadays.


Bogs

benchmark:
JI totally agree with you.
Just like steam engines were standard toys for little boys my granddad used to say, for me i was not allowed to get one until i was almost a teenager.
I am not saying its wrong to protect kids, but to over protect them is equally dangerous and robbing them of the much needed common sense and 'street safety' as i call it.

In my sons school, i still see parents helping thier 7 year old children to wear shoes!! something that every child should be competent enough with at that age especially condisering that i have seen 6 year old child in Africa responsible taking for 30 cows down to the river to drink every day he got back from school.

Point is , responsibility and common sense isshould be taught and not expeectet to be aquired automatically with age.

Ned Ludd:
Hi Guys,
I saw youngsters using a lathe, on the SM&EE stand, at Alexandra Palace last weekend and not an H&S inspector in site. Funnily enough they seemed to be enjoying themselves too.

About this greedy idea of suing at the least provocation, I like to refer to it as "Lottery winning culture", by which I mean that people seem to think they are owed, or can get, a fortune for nothing. The Lottery has put the idea in the minds of the "great unwashed" that money, and lots of it, is the answer to all their problems. This is of course a false assumption, but I am willing to put the theory to the test if someone has a few million spare.  :wave:
Ned

krv3000:
HI all if a H/S man went into most home workshops they wood ban you from entering them  :zap:

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