Power Lathes
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Communication & Entertainment · CPSC Code 805
Up 74% over 5 years
The verdict
Power Lathes carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 456 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 74% over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 456
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 4.6%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 805 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for power lathes - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume456 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)4.6%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+74%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Power Lathes (CPSC product code 805, in the Home Communication & Entertainment category) generate an estimated 456 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 9,117 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 37/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are rising by about 74% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2007 (917 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2016 (174 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for power lathes is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 2,378 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by foreign body to the eyeball (740 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 2,327 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 4.6% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 1 consumer incident report filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how power lathes fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 158 | 87 | |
| 5-14 | 263 | 108 | |
| 15-24 | 2,239 | 88 | |
| 25-34 | 924 | 69 | |
| 35-44 | 348 | 95 | |
| 45-54 | 973 | 57 | |
| 55-64 | 1,198 | 77 | |
| 65-74 | 1,398 | 56 | |
| 75+ | 982 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Foreign Body | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Finger | Amputation | |
| Finger | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Hematoma | |
| Finger | Other | |
| Face | Fracture | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
11YOF WAS WORKING WITH A WOOD LATHE YESTERDAY AND NOW IS HAVING EYE PAIN TODAY. DX: CORNEAL FORIEGN BODY, RUST RING.
31YOM PRESENTS WITH FACIAL LACERATIONS. PATIENT WAS USING A LATHE TO SHAPE WOOD, WHEN THE WOOD FLEW OFF AND STRUCK HIM IN THE HEAD. DX: COMPLEX LACERATION OF FACE, LACERATION OF SCALP
65YOF PATIENT WAS USING A WOOD LATHE WHEN A PIECE OF WOOD WAS EJECTED FROM THE MACHINE HITTING HER IN THE FRONT OF HER FOREHEAD CAUSING HER TO FALL BACKWARDS HITTING THE BACK OF HER HEAD ON ANOTHER PIECE OF NEARBY EQUIPMENT DX: TRAUMACTIC INJURY OF HEAD, LACERATION OF FOREHEAD, HEMATOMA OF SCALP
28YOM PRESENTS TO THE ED AFTER THE PATIENT WAS USING A LATHE AND INJURED RIGHT HAND COMPLAINING OF PAIN. DX: HAND PAIN AND SWELLING, HAND LACERATION, OPEN FRACTURE OF TUFT OF DISTAL PHALANX OF FINGER, INJURY OF NAILBED OF FINGER
71YOM WAS USING A POWER LATHE WHEN HE CUT HIS RIGHT RING FINGER DX: LACERATION FINGER
29YOM PRESENTS WITH LACERATION TO PALM AND MIDDLE FINGER WHEN HE CUT THEM ACCIDENTALLY WHILE USING A LATHE. PATIENT STATES HE WAS WEARING GLOVES AND WAS CUT BY SANDPAPER. DX: HAND LACERATION, MIDDLE FINGER LACERATION
42YOM PRESENTS WITH AN EYE INJURY AFTER WOODWORKING AND BEING STRUCK IN THE EYE WITH THE BOWL WHILE USING HIS LATHE. ENDORSES WEARING EYEGLASSES AND FACE SHIELD AT THE TIME AND REPORTS A LACERATION TO HIS FACE. DX: FACIAL LACERATION
4 YOM PRESENTS WITH FINGERTIP AMPUTATION S/P STUCK HIS FINGER IN THE GEARS OF A LATHE. DX: FINGERTIP AMPUTATION
8YOM WAS CARRYING A LATHE WHICH ROLLED OVER UPPER AND LOWER LEGS DX: LT TIBIA FRACTURE
81YOM LAC FINGER USING A WOOD LATHE. DX: LAC FINGER
57YOF WAS TURNING A PIECE OF WOOD ON A LATHE AND IT KICKED OUT AND THE PIECE OF WOOD STRUCK HER FACE CAUSING A LACERATION DX: FACIAL LACERATION
37YOM USING A LATHE WHILE CUTTING METAL AND LACERATION TO RIGHT FOREARM. DX: LACERATION, RIGHT FOREARM.
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Defective wiring in the product causes the machine to cut off by itself. Since the machine is off it is possible to forget to turn the machine off with the on/off switch which leads to the machine cutting on by itself at a later time.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to power lathes on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are power lathes?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, power lathes have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 456 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from power lathes?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 2,378 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from power lathes increasing or decreasing?
Up 74% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for power lathes injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 2,327 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by power lathes?
Of all ER visits involving power lathes, approximately 4.6% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.4%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with power lathes?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Communication & Entertainment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 37/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
