Pant leg

[Blue]

Hmmm. My ST 1 has an exposed shaft and I always wondered if I should cover it. Now I have an old guard of an HR so I think I will cut off the mounting brackets which are different to the ST and reweld them so it can work. Might be a good use of time by the sounds of it. Sleeman Hawken have a ST guard on ebay for those in the UK.

[bandmiller2]

Found an old piece of radiator hose that's a perfect fit over the ST-1 shaft, easy to pull off if I want to handcrank. I run an old cement mixer with tractor PTO and long shaft. When I'am using it I take an old towel and let the shaft snatch it, sort of disarming it. If you get next to the shaft you can feel the end of the towel slapping your leg. Frank C.

[LowGear]

This sort of comes off like talking about the hazards of using a Bic lighter to fire up crack.  In case some of you have missed it there is usually two giant spooked flywheels rotating at some 6-700 RPM almost six inches from this super dangerous shaft.   

Casey

[Thob]

Those spooks in the flywheels will get you every time!   

OK - to be fair, I looked it up, and I still don't know.  Is it spoked flywheels?  Or just spoke flywheels?

[millman56]

Casey,  those spooky flywheels would probably knock you away unless you were unlucky enough to get a body part wedged between the block and the flywheels....  Spinning   rubber, gib head keys and sharp edges of keyways grab loose cloth very effectively.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     One piece  lycra cycling suits are essential wear  when near an unguarded CS engine.
                                                                                                                                                                                             I like the idea of throwing the PTO shaft a sacrificial towel Frank, sort of apeasing the gods of torque.

Mark.

[Combustor]

              Agree that shafts and keys are a hazard to treat with great respect, but an unguarded belt is even more dangerous. Original Lister SOM sets came unguarded
but it was probably assumed they were to be permanently installed in secure areas. I occasionally display my old VA SOM set in public, but always from the safe side of a wire fenced enclosure, and when it is called on for standby power at my workshop it is gated so that stray kids, pets etc. can not tangle with it.
         I once had to rush a guy to our nearby hospital after he ran a couple of fingers through a belt on a conveyor drive. They saved his fingers but they were never 100% afterwards. Left me with a lasting regard for the danger of belts.  Too close and you may not get a second chance.  Combustor.

[Tom]

For the first project in the new lathe, a plastic drain from a kitchen sink was converted to a slip on gib key protector. It works good and the price was right.

[BruceM]

4'' PVC drain pipe female slip fitting fit's my 6/1 spoked hub well with some electrical tape wrapped around it (about 6 layers of 6 mil tape). Nice bang it on friction fit, got a cap on it now, too.  It covers the key and slotted shaft.  I have a small dedicated engine building, so I have only my own safety to worry about, but I do appreciate the suggestion to cover that key and shaft. It only took me 15 minutes to cut the scrap piece pipe I had on hand and install it.

I'm cautious of the exposed belt. That slotted shaft and key always looked like a winter clothes grabber.