Well, that's sorta what I assumed, but my knee-flex reaction training always kicks in...heh, heh... :D

I always liked the lever action too, but one day a workpiece that was enduring a nasty interrupted cut because of its odd shape didn't think it was restrained well enough and escaped just past my ear at about the speed of sound. Ever since then I tend to stand over to the right of the potential workpiece ejecta path, which is why the VFD control is there on my lathe in the photo above.... How many LOCs to guard against that?:confused:

I'm just teasin' you, Bill. When I was younger I spent a lot of time designing stuff like that for the shop simply because it was fun to do. "Because it's there" is a perfectly good rationale for doing it at times. And I agree with your observation about personnel safety regulations in Western countries. I suspect that the end result will be working uniforms that look like the Michelin Man and padded rooms to prevent us from hurting ourselves if we stumble into a wall. Wait! That sounds like an insane asylum!